Here is an unusual variety of light concert entertainment offered by Afredo Antonini, one of the most versatile masters of the baton. Composers of different lands are represented in this program which spans nearly three centuries of musical history, its mood ranging through humor, romance and ceremonial splendor. From beginning to end this is a colorful, melodious and blissfully unhackneyed sequence of concert music. The incidental music to the play ‘Dioclesian’ was composed in 1690 by the astonishingly prolific Henry Purcell (1659-1695), held by many as the greatest English composer of all time. Alfredo Antonini And His Orchestra play the short Ritornello and the rhythmical Canaries from the ‘Dioclesian Suite’, the latter being a dance of Spanish origin in vogue in Purcell’s time. Purcell’s French contemporary, Francois Couperin (1668-1733) was the music master in the court of Louis XIV. As such, he taught princes and princesses and composed entertainment music for court functions. His historical significance, however, lies in his serious compositions for the keyboard, which have influenced the composing styles of succeeding generations. Alfredo Antonini presents orchestral arrangements of three Couperin miniatures, the brief but emphatic Trophy, full of pomp and flourish, the descriptive The Little Windmill and the charming Sister Monique. In striking contrast to these baroque compositions are two excerpts from 20th century concertos highlighting instrumental virtuosity. The Allegro movement from Muller’s ‘Concerto For Flute And Chamber Orchestra’ features one of the world’s outstanding flutists, Jules Baker. And the Finale from Josef Holbrooke’s ‘Saxophone Concerto,’ a lively and jazz-influenced piece of music composed in 1928, presents the unique talents of Jimmy Abato alternating on alto saxophone and clarinet. The remainder of Alfredo Antonini’s program is in a lighter vein. It contains Felix Gunther’s expressive arrangement of the slow and haunting Brazilian folk song The Little House, the well-known Neapolitan song Maria, Mari with its irrestistible, sundrenched melody, and the placid, pastoral Lullaby from Mroszcyk’s ‘Little Suite.’ As if to emphasize the fact that this is a program played by concert musicians with their long hair let down, the sequence gets off to an exhilarating start with The Happy Hobo, a devil-may-care pizzicato romp, in which Alfredo Antonini’s virtuoso string players pluck away crisply, merrily and in a display of unique precision.