Der Magische Spiegel

Der magische Spiegel ('The Magic Mirror'), a 1954 ballet by the Swiss composer Richard Flury (1896-1967), tells a pantomime tale of flirtation, cuckoldry, magical spells and perdition - but this is no puritanical morality play: using the limited resources of a chamber orchestra to surprisingly full-bodied effect, Flury conjures up a delightful sequence of dances - a generous number of waltzes, with a czardas, a bolero and more - that skip past in good-humored succession. And behind it's innocent title, the Little Ballet Music of thirty years earlier hides a buoyant dance-suite, scored with a feeling for color that would have gone down well in Hollywood. This recording was made by the team - Paul Mann and the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra - responsible for a 'pulsating' recording of Richard Flury's one-act opera Eine florentinische Tragödie (TOCC 0427).