Capriccio

Lovers of opera and ballet are familiar with the name of Amilcare Ponchielli. "La Gioconda," premiered in 1876 and revised several times afterwards, rapidly brought the composer international fame which, however, was later surpassed by his pupils Mascagni and Puccini. Among Ponchielli’s many instrumental works, his oboe pieces deserve particular attention. His friendship with the oboist Cesare Confalonieri gave rise to two works for oboe and piano: the "Piccolo Concertino" op. 75 (MR 2257) and the present "Capriccio." The first edition of the Capriccio was published posthumously in 1889 by Ricordi in Milan. The musical text presents substantial interventions that no doubt go back to Confalonieri. The manuscript of the work is located in the publisher’s archives (Archivio Musicale Casa Ricordi). The present MUSICA RARA edition is the first to be based on this manuscript.