This album by the Texas-based Olmos Ensemble opens with Theme and Variations for Solo Flute (2004) by Ruth Schonthal (1924–2006). She once fled to Mexico to escape the Nazis and then went to America to study with Paul Hindemith.

This is followed by the atmospheric Nocturne by Rudolf Tillmetz (1847–1915), a German flutist, educator, and composer who studied with Theobald Böhm, the inventor of the modern flute.

Next is the first recording of the tone poem Don Quixote, arranged by Laszlo Varga, a Hungarian cellist. Varga, who escaped from a Nazi labor camp, became principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic.

The arrangement of Don Quixote is highly demanding and distills the opulence of the symphonic sound into an intimate yet compositionally complex chamber music piece. This results in what is essential in such arrangements: added value.

In this version, Varga displays a rare combination of technical mastery, musicality, sensitivity, and authority. It is first-rate in terms of variety and quality, and often surprising in its ideas. It is astonishing how well the sextet captures the spirit of the tone poem.

The Olmos Ensemble shines in every piece on this album, but especially in the technically challenging Don Quixote, which is performed absolutely ravishingly.

For the Olmos musicians, it’s about more than just virtuosity; it’s about expressiveness, about bringing to life the soundscapes that Strauss composed and Varga has condensed.