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Cellist Pauline Buet and viola player Léa Hennino find beauty in the collision between hard and soft articulation... I Giardini revels in the abrasive melodies, which bear the hallmarks of Shaw’s... —
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Sehnsucht: Berg - Mahler
Live in Rotterdam
Barbara Hannigan (soprano), Raoul Steffani (baritone), Camerata RCO, Rolf Verbeek
[Mahler] I couldn’t wait to hear Hannigan in the finale, and she is superb, conveying the childlike wonder of the vocal part with such musicality and dramatic conviction that it will be hard... —
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Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 83
Nelson Goerner (piano)
NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tadaaki Otaka
Goerner’s beauty of touch is manifest on the first page and, though he has the heft for the chunkier passages, the piano is never allowed to clang…There are, among listeners, otherwise dedicated... —
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Staier avoids the potential didactic pitfall that the concept might have laid for him. But the surprise comes in the form of music by Staier himself, a suite of six pieces (or ‘meditations’)... —
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Voix humaines. Marais: Pièces inédites pour flûte
Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien (early music ensemble), François Lazarevitch
a recording that dresses Marais in such variegated plumage deserves attention beyond that of his dedicated admirers or viol enthusiasts. —
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In the Préludes the result is broadly expansive, which suits the preparatory function of their opening gestures, but later undermines their sense of direction. The succeeding dances have more... —
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The way that Vinnitskaya takes her sweet time over the final two movements [of the Ravel] reminds me of Sviatoslav Richter’s spacious phrasing and hypnotic legato, and that’s a compliment! —
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Concept aside, the performance is mostly very well refined, with a bright, fervent choral sound. A finely balanced quartet of soloists brings poise and panache to the Dvořák, with some superb... —
