Dohnanyi: Variations on a Nursery Song / Symphonic Minutes Op.36 / etc

"This is a fine performance of the Symphonic Minutes, idiomatic and sensitive, with great care being taken over the interpretation. There is a real Hungarian feel to the two slow movements - the variations of the slow movement being especially soulful. There is also no lack of playfulness and, indeed, boisterousness in the three fast movements. The finale moto perpetuo will leave you breathless. This work is a riot of ideas and it's colourful and entertaining. What's best here is that Falletta displays a light touch and doesn't try to make something big out of the music - she allows it to speak for itself.
If it's an introduction to Dohnanyi's music, or if cost is important to you, then this Naxos issue is very good and it will give much pleasure. At the price you cannot complain."
(MusicWeb July 2010)

Ernó´ von Dohnányi had a long career as an important composer, pianist and teacher.

Deeply indebted to the Germanic Romantic tradition, the works on this disc showcase his love of scintillating orchestral tone-colour - notably of brass, wind and percussion - and his fascination with Classical forms such as the variation.

His Variations on a Nursery Song traverses several musical styles in a tour de force of good-humoured virtuosity, while the Symphonic Minutes and the Suite in F sharp minor cultivate a lush, romantic mood with characteristic dashes of suavity.