Typically for the music of Joseph Joachim Raff, this Sinfonietta has aspects that look both forward and backward in musical history. The handling of the ensemble and aspects of the harmony are modern for the time, yet it is reminiscent of earlier music in form and style. Raff especially realized the advance made possible by new key systems for wind instruments, and by the new valved and horns. His scoring for wind in orchestral works is unfailingly clear and colourful. The flute duet texture that is often associated with Tchaikovsky (for instance, in The Nutcracker) was a feature of Raff's music much earlier. This is a true Sinfonietta for the typical wind section of a classical symphony orchestra: two each of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and French horns. This is most decidedly not