"10 Notable Classical Music Recordings of 2012" by Alex Ross

[Richard Tarleton]

"Italian Virtuosi of the Chittarone" by Jakob Lindberg. One of the top few lutenists in the world, here Lindberg tackles its unwieldy cousin, aka the theorbo - the instrument originated in N Italy where it was originally known as the chittarone or tiorba.

I heard him play more or less this very programme in a recital in St Mary Mags in Oxford about 3 years ago, and here he's committed it to disc. It's a delightful repertoire, music by Kapsberger, Castaldi and Piccinini, and I just love those resonant diapasons underpinning the music. As Lindberg explained during the concert, when coming up with the chittarone and experimenting with longer string lengths, they tried having two bridges, which meant it was impossible to play, before settling for the extra neck length, which made it impossible to tune - BIS - CD - 1899

[Thropplenoggin]

Just played the Andsnes/MCO LvB 1st Concerto - it's a wonderful reading, and I think Andsnes' subtlety in the solo part is all of a piece with his conception of the work, serving Beethoven, not showing off his own virtuosity and thereby dominating or subduing the role of the brilliant, vibrant orchestra. It's less volatile or as exciting than their live Symphony Hall relay on R3 2 weeks ago, but richer-sounding, more maturely beautiful. And there's less acoustic presence on the disc than Radio 3 conveyed so vividly in their magnificent webcast. No wonder I go on listening to their concerts!

Surprised at the emphasis on reissues on this thread, it's been a great year for new releases of all kinds (see msg 7). After this Beethoven, about to dive into La Mer with Immerseel... (holding my breath...)
...then it's Mozart Concertos 17 & 22 with Freiburg Baroque, Mullejans and Bezuidenhout (see December IRR). So, armfuls of goodies!

Forgot to mention in my earlier list - Gardiner's superb new Brahms German Requiem with ORR/Monteverdi.

2012 - wow!

Interestingly, PrestoClassical include this critical review from the Sunday Times on its site:

“Bezuidenhout plays with his usual brilliance and subtlety and with inventive ornamentation. But the instrument’s meagre tone, in comparison with the orchestra, is all too apparent...the Freiburg players’ splendidly forceful, incisive tuttis only underline the disparity.” Sunday Times, 4th November 2012

It strikes me that this could be from someone with a bias against HIP (sadly, such people still exist ). Is this in anyway fair criticism of the recording?

[jayne lee wilson]

Give us a chance, it only arrived yesterday! I'll try to fit some in this evening and comment later (prob. very much later...)

I would take Piers Burton-Page in the IRR over anyone from the Sunday Times, so two comments from him: "you quickly become aware of the keyboard presence even in the tuttis".. "Once the full interplay gets going, Bezuidenhout remains a vivid presence..."

I'll see what my own ears make of it later...

[jayne lee wilson]

OK - just played Bezuidenhout/Mullejans/FBO in Mozart Concerto No.17... you won't be surprised to hear that IRR's Burton-Page is spot-on, and the ST critic sounds like they were listening too casually - even carelessly. The lighter-toned reconstruction fortepiano is an is an ideal match for the character of the ensemble, with its finely-articulated, precise and individualised strings, very colourful and dynamic winds and brass. The dynamics are indeed extreme, with a great impact in my room(!), but in no way drown out or dominate the piano. The slow variations are lovely too - quite delicate and tender in places. Bezuidenhout's note refers to ETA Hoffman's description of a "symphony with piano obbligato" and says - "the piano, playing both solo and continuo, darts in and out of the texture; at times incredibly prominent, at other moments, purely accompanimental" - and that's exactly what I heard, and delighted in!

Don't forget that it's easy to listen to excerpts on Presto Classical's website.

[Thropplenoggin]

The Guardian's Andrew Clements picks his 5 best albums of 2012: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012...albums-of-2012