When one speaks of Donizetti, it is usually with reference to his operas: as a leading figure
of the ‘bel canto’ tradition, he composed what are today some of the most popular and
widely performed dramas in opera houses around the world – La fille du Regiment, L’Elisir
d’Amore and Lucia di Lammermoor immediately spring to mind.

This 2CD compilation, however, is dedicated to a little-known area of his output: his solo
piano and piano duet works. One shouldn’t forget that around the time Donizetti was
maturing as a composer, the piano was fast becoming established as the entertainment
centre in middleclass 19th-century homes: like those written by Wagner, Rossini, Offenbach
and a string of other famous operatic figures, Donizetti intended his piano works for
domestic use.

There’s everything to delight the listener in these digital recordings. While idiomatic in
terms of keyboard layout and textural effect, they still manage to incorporate Donizetti’s
infectious tune spinning together with such operatic devices as chordal introductions, long
tremolos and the occasional dramatic silence. With the ambience of the theatre thus
prevailing, this release presents a fine opportunity to become better acquainted with an
area of Donizetti’s repertoire that deserves to be better known.