The Kölner Akademie under Michael Alexander Willens recorded a disc of Kalliwoda symphonies for CPO that left me less than impressed, but on this first disc in a projected series of concertinos and overtures (Kalliwoda wrote 24 of the latter and plenty of the former) everything goes swimmingly. Although Concertino No. 1 lives up to its title, being a light and jolly piece a quarter of an hour long, No. 5 in A minor is as substantial as many a concerto: more than twenty minutes with a passionate first movement, a singing central Adagio, and a substantial finale chock full of good, romantic tunes. Soloist Ariadne Daskalakis plays both works with charm, winsome tone, and where required, bravura.
Unlike so many of his mid 19th-century colleagues, Kalliwoda’s music has real character. He knew how to write good tunes, and score them brilliantly. These qualities are abundantly evident in the three overtures offered in tandem with the two concertinos. Overture No. 3 is brief and fairly lightweight, but the other two are more substantial and, as always with this composer, the music packs a perky rhythmic punch that keeps the listener fully engaged. Willens and his crew sound better balanced and more in tune with the idiom than on their previous Kalliwoda outing, playing with both finesse and verve, and as usual the German radio engineers do an excellent job. Recommended without reservation.