Search - Ernesto Halffter, Muhai Tang, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra :: Ernesto Halffter: Symphonic Works

Ernesto Halffter (1905-1989) studied with Manuel de Falla, and absorbed a great deal from his master. Nights in the Gardens of Portugal, which Halftter could have entitled the first of these pieces, is very similar to Falla's work, including the use of piano obbligato. And the opening of the Sinfonietta will sound maddeningly familiar to anyone who knows Falla's Harpsichord Concerto. If you don't mind secondhand Falla, though, these are entertaining pieces, and in the case of the Sinfonietta the neoclassical wittiness is particularly attractive. The German performances have plenty of Spanish tang to them, and the recorded sound sparkles. --Leslie Gerber