Jean-Pierre Rampal’s transcription for flute of Aram Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto works better on disc than in the concert hall, where the exotic – not to say rowdy – orchestration can overwhelm the soloist. Sharon Bezaly makes a wonderful case for it on this new disc, throwing herself into the exuberant Armenian rhythms with abandon. The first-movement cadenza, composed by Rampal, who was given carte blanche by the composer, is highly persuasive, although her tone isn’t as full and lush in the Andante sostenuto as on Emmanuel Pahud’s recording. Enrique Diemecke gives the São Paulo Symphony full rein in the boisterous finale, Bezaly softly lyrical in its more reflective moments.

BIS has a very special relationship with Rautavaara’s Flute Concerto Dances with the Winds. Robert von Bahr, founder of the label, and his wife co-commissioned it in 1974. Gunilla von Bahr gave the premiere in Stockholm. Originally it was written for four flutes (flute, piccolo, alto flute, bass flute) but the composer rewrote the bass flute section for alto to make it slightly more practical. Bezaly gives us both versions here, though possibly only keen students of the flute would wish to listen to both back to back.

In Rautavaara’s spare orchestral writing, I often find the influence of Sibelius, the weighty opening movement here being a good example. The switch to bass flute (tr 4, 4'05") creates a ghostly effect, over spectral string tremolos. Bezaly is lively in the piccolo-led second movement, with its hints of fairground dancing bears. The meditative alto flute dominates the hypnotic slow movement, before bass and normal flute joust with contrabassoon in the finale…before it’s all repeated. An enjoyable disc nonetheless.