Henri Dutilleux is without doubt one of the most remarkable contemporary composers, and his music is frequently performed all over the world. Upon his death in 2013 he was recognised as 'one of the greats'. His musical language is highly original and emotional, not 'easy', but accessible for everyone with an open ear and mind.

The chamber works featured on this disc demonstrate Dutilleux's superb command of instrumental timbre – as flautist Andrea Oliva says, “Dutilleux is brilliant at custom designing the music to suit the specific characteristics of each instrument”. These are highly demanding pieces that exploit the possibilities of the instruments to the full – all can be considered milestones in the repertoire of their respective instruments. Yet the technical difficulties of the works are never gratuitous - Dutilleux draws on his profound understanding of the instruments to create deeply expressive, colourful and evocative music.

These are excellent performances by award‐winning pianist Akanè Makito and principal soloists of the legendary Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.