Chamber Music for Flute

Saverio Mercadante (1795-1870) was one of the most important opera composers of 19th century Italy. Nurtured on Neapolitan soil he soon gained success all over Italy, where his operas were praised for their strong dramatic impact and brilliant orchestration, a link between Rossini and Verdi. Mercadante wrote 60 operas, symphonies, concertos and a vast body of chamber music. This new recording presents works in which the flute is the soloist: flute duets, a trio for flute, viola d'amore and cello, and

variations for flute and string trio, as well as several works for flute and piano. All these works show a personal language that blends a taste for

lyricism with the pleasure of instrumental bravura.

Gian-Luca Petrucci has been first flute in several of the top orchestras of Italy. He was professor at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. As a scholar he published monographs on several (Italian) composers: Mercadante, Briccialdi, Gazzelloni, de Lorenzo and ... Mozart.