Elvis Costello - Il Sogno (CD 2004)

For many years Costello has failed to find a limit to his musical abilities. It was obvious after the Juliet Letters that his classical capabilites were (a) different and (b) raw but interesting. I'd heard of Il Sogno on Classics FM but never actually heard any of it so............I bought it! The most surprising thing is that this does not seem like an early piece by an up and coming composer. It ceertainly does not sound like any earlier 'pop' musician's attempts to imitate classical music. There is nothing to indicate that Costello is not already an established composer as 'professional' is the most accurate adjective to apply to the whole work. It is a dance piece: listening away from the dance is always slightly problematic as one is supposed to be seeing movement as well as hearing music and the two arts support and explain each other. However it does work, each listening adds more understanding and I'm looking forward to more classically orientated work from this genius.