Italy – next to sun and exquisite cuisine it is music, what many people associate with the name of the south European country, in a way sounding art as such. Native country to many well known composers and inspiration for numerous musi- cians more, aesthetic references to Italy can be found within any style and genre, any epoch and media. Many a regard Italy as the birthplace of modern opera, sound of cinema legends such as Nino Rota have their roots here, and even Johann Sebastian Bach created an “Italian Concerto”.

Within the “Concerto Italiano” presented on this CD the musicians of the diX woodwind ensemble and harp player Liane Pinquart discover several Italian moments in the world of music: compositions by Italian masters of several time and style and works on Italian subjects have been detected or arranged for woodwinds and harp. Hendrik Schnöke, spiritus rector of the diX ensemble has – as proved within many productions before – created those arrangements. Covering the spectre from a fantasy on themes of Puccini’s opera “Tosca” to the first movement of Bach’s “Italian Concerto” the proposed repertoire is as diverting as demanding. It invites to a sensual as well as intellectual discovery at the same time.