The 18th century established the horn as a solo instrument, with virtuoso players commissioning concertos throughout Europe. The technical demands required to play hand-stopped instruments meant that many such concertos have not surfaced until recently. An exact contemporary of Beethoven, Friedrich Witt makes athletic use of the horn’s range in his Concerto in F major, which is also a feature of the cat-and-mouse interplay in Hoffmeister’s Concerto No. 3 in E flat. Expressive lyricism is present in such works as Leopold Mozart’s elegant and refined Concerto for Two Horns in E flat major, while the graceful Larghetto in Pokorný’s Concerto for Two Horns in F major is framed by two exuberant outer movements.

The three concertante works for flute and orchestra on this album are by composers who lived and worked in East Germany during the four decades of its existence. Günter Kochan, best known for his symphonic compositions, wrote an admired Concertino in 1964 that fuses succinctness with neo-Classical influence. Inspired by soloist Claudia Stein, Gisbert Näther’s Concerto from 2007 is characterised by teasing, fugitive gestures of a stylistically and technically diverse yet coherent nature. Composed in 1978, Siegfried Matthus’s Concerto is a striking example of his mature idiom in its use of serial elements and sonic innovations in the course of what proves to be an eventful and ever-changing relationship between soloist and orchestra.

There are fruitful contrasts in the works for piano and orchestra of these two French composers. Gabriel Fauré’s Ballade in F sharp major is graceful and serene but ends with a Lisztian flourish, whereas his neglected Fantaisie, though modestly orchestrated, is distinctive and characterful. Francis Poulenc, himself a gifted pianist, wrote his Piano Concerto for the Boston Symphony during his second American tour in 1949, full of alluring melodies and seductive orchestral colour. The ballet Aubade was composed for piano and 18 instruments with a scenario by Poulenc himself. It foreshadows the concerto while also revealing a Stravinskian influence.

The brilliant dynamism of Italian Baroque music is at its most virtuosic and thrilling in works featuring the solo trumpet, whether in original compositions or transcriptions. Albinoni’s astonishing ornamentations and the luminous dexterity of Vivaldi’s concerto both represent each composer’s distinctive character, heard alongside works by Corelli, Grossi, Zipoli, Baldassare and Torelli. Domenico Sarri’s Sinfonia a 5 is heard here in its world premiere recording. Thomas Reiner is an acknowledged exponent of this repertoire with his performance of German Baroque Trumpet Concertos (Naxos 8.551419) described as ‘first rate and spirited … an excellent protagonist’ by Fanfare magazine.