La Folia
Grant Chu Covell
January 15, 2014

These three Gandolfi concertos spotlight less familiar instruments: bass trombone, bassoon and alto-saxophone. The orchestra responds quickly with glittering colors with little introspection in these briskly moving, extroverted essays. Gandolfi dabbles with popular styles: Jazz/rock explicitly for the
trombone; the saxophone navigating Purcell, a bolero and mambo. There are moments in the bassoon concerto, as with the Presto finale, which recall Copland’s popular idiom. Gandolfi sports an easy-going language, reflecting bold American minimalism and an admiration for Wagner’s imposing edifices. Excellent work from the soloists: Subero’s velvet agility on an instrument associated with plodding pedals, Svoboda’s supple singing voice in a register
often higher than Radnofsky’s husky alto.