On the West side of the Alps, Italian composer Vito Palumbo (born in 1972) isn’t very well known yet, even though his music is played in abundance in many countries in the classical world. Right from the start, let’s say the first three seconds, one could very well imagine his 2006 Concerto barocco to be two hundred fifty years older, but after just two bars, the musical discourse diverts, becoming atonal, breaking up, while always keeping the rigorous form of baroque entertainment in mind. Granted the choice of the harpsichord as a soloist corrupts our vigilance and, much like in Martinů, Poulenc or Falla, one tends to think this is the work of a very old artist who would have gone mad! Regardless Concerto barocco is deliciously fresh and leads the listener to wonder how the next track on the album would sound like, in the present case his 2007 Cello concerto. And there, baroque references are nowhere to be found, we are thrown right in the 21st century – meaning the 70s and 80s avant-garde has been carefully left out in a language where musical beauty and phrases prevail, even if they are on the fringes of tone. The listener, growing further intrigued, starts wondering about what the 2013 Recorder concerto that closes the album might sound like… and how in the world a recorder can compete with a great modern symphonic orchestra! The recorder is indeed modern, from the brand Eagle, and its material, range, sound uniformity from bass to treble, and most importantly its power, make it equal to any of today’s transverse flutes. But with the sound of an unknown recorder. The music itself makes use of all the possibilities, plays with balance and unfolds with great modern beauty. Vito Palumbo, a name worth remembering! © SM/Qobuz