Album Review: The Bavarian Radio Recordings – Chamber Music for Flute with Linda Marianiello
American flutist Linda Marianiello has built a career defined by elegance, versatility, and an adventurous spirit. Her latest release, The Bavarian Radio Recordings: Chamber Music for Flute, showcases not only her luminous sound but also her gift for collaboration in a wide range of repertoire, recorded during her years with Bavarian Radio in Munich.
The album opens with Philippe Gaubert’s Sonata No. 2 for Flute and Piano, performed with pianist Franz Vote. The pairing is exquisite—Marianiello’s ethereal sound glides seamlessly above Vote’s sensitive playing, creating a performance that is both stunning and dreamlike. The Martinu Madrigal Sonata for Flute, Violin, and Piano, H. 291, with Wendy Thompson (violin) and Kazue Tsuzuki-Weber (piano), is a true tour de force. The three musicians perform with impeccable brilliance, interweaving their lines with luminous clarity and vibrant energy. The result is chamber music at its most alive and engaging.
Another highlight is Carl Mansker’s Danza y Fuga, Op. 33, with pianist Barton Weber. This rhythmically riveting work demands both precision and fire, and the duo executes it with flair, delivering a riveting and beautifully balanced performance. A sparkling gem follows with Raffaele Galli’s Capriccio on Donizetti’s Linda di Chamounix, featuring fellow flutist Brooks de Wetter-Smith alongside Franz Vote on piano.
The interplay between the two flutes, buoyed by piano, is both playful and sublime, breathing new life into bel canto elegance in chamber form.
Equally captivating are Carl Mansker’s Five Chinese Poems, Op. 13, where soprano Ursula Hennig joins Marianiello and pianist Barton Weber. This cycle is haunting and bewitching, each movement bringing poetry vividly to life through sound. The trio achieves an ideal balance of voice, flute, and piano—expressive, subtle, and unforgettable. The greatest surprise of the album comes in the closing track: an Improvisation on Bach’s Sarabande for flute and Indian percussion. With Tunji Beier on mridangam and ghatam, Marianiello reimagines Bach through a cross-cultural lens, blending Baroque phrasing with South Indian rhythmic vitality. The result is mesmerizing, both timeless and adventurous.
Marianiello’s journey is as compelling as the album itself. A Powell Artist and nearly 50-year veteran of the flute world, she built her career in Europe after moving from New York to Munich in 1984. Her time with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra not only gave her a platform as an orchestral musician but also the opportunity to record this wide-ranging program of chamber music. Today, she continues her artistic leadership as Executive Director of the New Mexico Performing Arts Society, while maintaining an international presence as a performer.
The Bavarian Radio Recordings is more than a showcase of chamber music for flute—it is a portrait of an artist deeply committed to musical collaboration, curiosity, and expressive depth. With partners including Franz Vote, Barton Weber, Kazue Tsuzuki-Weber, Wendy Thompson, Brooks de Wetter-Smith, Ursula Hennig, and Tunji Beier, Linda Marianiello creates a radiant, multi-faceted listening experience. From Gaubert’s dreamy lyricism to Mansker’s rhythmic drive, from Donizetti’s charm to the improvisatory brilliance of Bach reimagined, this album is a treasure for flute lovers and chamber music enthusiasts alike.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Highly recommended