Word: bachs
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...latest from a young man who is without question Russia's most exciting pianist, this recital disc pairs two romantic masterpieces, the Bach-Busoni Chaconne and Schumann's Kreisleriana, plus a pair of shorter pieces by Beethoven (Rondo for Piano in G Major is one). These spectacular performances--big-boned and expansive, yet piercingly direct whenever they need to be--rank among the very best on record. Not since Vladimir Horowitz was in his absolute prime have we been privy to classical piano playing quite as bold, quite as ambitious as this...
...unique feature of Galway's concerts is the introduction he makes before each piece he performs. These are usually humorous bits giving a brief history of the work. Examples include the tale of the Emperor and flute addict Frederick the Great and his teacher Quantz, which introduced the Bach Sonata in E major for Flute and Basso Continuo, (BWV 1035) and the dangerous nature of dancing in the baroque period, which introduced Couperin's La Pie'montoise. According to Galway, one wrong movement of the finger could cause a person to literally lose his or her head. These comic lectures...
...first piece was a light and airy G Major Sonata by Bach (BWV 1039) for two flutes and basso continuo, including all the players except for Huggett and with Jeanne Galway on the golden flute that is a trademark of her husband. The playing was excellent all around, with the Galways flawlessly performing a passage that requires technical perfection if it is to be successful, creating an elegant echo effect. Cunningham and Moll were solid backup players, neither too loud and intrusive nor too quiet and listless. Except for a few fluffy notes on one of the flutes...
...last two pieces brought Galway back onto the stage, his brassy, clear sounds bringing the volume back up again after Marais' Suite. The Bach Sonata in E major was purely a Galway showcase, the other players fading in the background for once as he overwhelmed them with his flawless playing. The Telemann Quartet in D Minor, however, brought the whole group on stage for the finale, and all contributed to the success of the performance of that work. Huggett and Jeanne Galway, especially, shone in this work, Huggett's playing so clear and light that she almost sounded like...
Things began to look up after the Bach with the Boston premiere of composer-conductor Andre Previn's Sonata Vineyard, named so because it was composed just after Previn and his wife bought a home on Martha's Vineyard in 1994. The sonata is a turbulent, impassioned work that seems almost schizophrenic in its frenetic metric upheaval, alternation of fast and slow and its jagged leaping between notes, and thus the overly-vigorous attacks that seemed so out of place in Bach seem most appropriate here. The piece obviously requires the attentions of a virtuoso, and Shaham...