It was a joy and an honor to record Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante – such a beautifully crafted masterpiece with those memorable, elegant, and distinctive themes in the first movement and both soloists weaving in and out of symphonic textures, the remarkable poignancy of the second movement with its dramatic dialogue which is then dispersed by sheer delight and comic playfulness in the Presto.
Delving into these moods was personally enriching and helped me gain a little bit more insight into Mozart’s genius and being. Pavlo and I had the extreme good fortune to play a Strad each! Generously loaned to us by the Royal Academy of Music for this project, we savored every minute of having these esteemed and valuable instruments in our hands!
‘Mine’ is a proud instrument which demands careful negotiation and warming before it will expose its beautiful colors. An amazing experience to play an instrument like this, it was even more of an event when the two Strads met and ‘spoke’ to each other with a feeling of being acquainted, not for the first time…
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 01:07:59
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | 29309 |
| Qualities | |
| Channels | 2ch Stereo, 5 Channel Surround Sound, 2ch Stereo & 5ch Surround |
| Artists | |
| Composers | |
| Genres | |
| Cables | van den Hul |
| Digital Converters | Meitner A/D DSD / Meitner DA |
| Mastering Engineer | Jared Sacks |
| Mastering Equipment | B&W 803 diamond series |
| Microphones | Bruel & Kjaer, Schoeps |
| Mixing Board | Rens Heijnis custom design |
| Awards | audiophile-audition-5, classic-fm-cd-of-the-week, clef-dor-resmusica, enjoy-the-music-award-2009, positive-feedback-best09, stereophile-record-to-dieFor, sunday-times-cd-ot-week |
| Instruments | |
| Original Recording Format | |
| Producer | Jonathan Attwood |
| Recording Engineer | Jared Sacks |
| Recording location | London England 2009 |
| Recording Software | Pyramix bij Merging |
| Recording Type & Bit Rate | DSD64 |
| Speakers | Audiolab, Holland |
| Release Date | January 28, 2014 |
Press reviews
HVT
Wat een schitterende opname! Rachel spelend op een ‘Strad’ speelt hier ook weer de sterren van de hemel. Voortreffelijke begeleiding van de 2 vioolconcerten van Haydn voor het Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Music Web
Let me say first of all that the engineering on this disc is really splendid. From top to bottom this is a quality act. Having just sat through an indifferent recording of the same work from a conventional, modern, non-HIP set up, in which the basses congealed and curdled like porridge in a vat, it was a real pleasure to hear the spruce clarity but warmth of this recording.
Back to the performances: Podger and Beznosiuk are fine players and estimable colleagues. I found their playing eloquent, technically accomplished, their sonorities blended finely, the unison passages were acutely judged, their interplay with the orchestra was similarly excellent (…)
BBC Music Magazine
If any performer could convince us of their virtues, it is Rachel Podger, whose silver-tones, subtly nuanced 1739 Pesarinius violin and intent direction of the strings of the Orchestra find a genuine eloquence in the Adagio of the otherwise unremarkable G Major concerto (…)
Enjoy the Music Company
Here is an artist whose musicality transcends technical difficulties and takes you straight to the heart of the music (…)
(…) This is the best period-instrument Mozart I have heard to date. (…)
5 *
American Record Guide
Podger astounds with her playing (…)
(…) Arpeggios are beautifully even, the adagios richly toned. The outer movements are brim full of Haydn’s good nature and the virtuoso aspects exquisitely played (…)
(…) The soloists’ years of experience playing together tell here, the ensemble between them faultless, and the timbres they achieve weave well together, too (…)
(…) The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment contribute a splendid sound, rich and full.
A release of the highest calibre!”
Audiophile Audition
(…) Everything about this is attractive. (…)
Clef de Musica
Rachel Podger est à son affaire dans ces partitions; l’orchestre lui apporte un soutient sans faille avec un rendu parfait de ces formes parfois rigides qui ont contribué à imposer ces pièces au répertoire.
La symphonie concertante de Mozart est un incontestable chef d’œuvre. Rachel Podger est rejointe par le vigoureux altiste Pavlo Beznosiuk. Pour l’anecdote, les deux musiciens jouent deux stradivarius prêtés par la Royal Academy of Music pour ce projet. Les deux musiciens imposent un Mozart énergique aux dialogues enchanteurs et endiablés. Heureux de jouer de tels instruments, violoniste et altiste rivalisent de tonus et de vitalité musicale et stylistique, le duo entraîne l’orchestre dans cette danse concertante. (…) Inédit dans ce couplage, ce programme offre des interprétations parfaites sur le fond et sur la forme avec, en prime, une lecture majeure de deux concertos pour violon de Haydn qui connaissent ici une réalisation presque définitive.
Opus Klassiek
de uitvoering is ‘authentiek’: met bescheiden vibrato. De solisten vormen een prachtig klinkend, uitstekend spelend duo. Mede door deze benadering laat de uitvoering een eigen geluid horen (…)
(…) Podger laat – als dirigent – de muziek de juiste sfeer ademen. (…)
Classics Today
Of their type, these are mostly very good performances. Rachel Podger draws a generally sweet tone from her instrument despite the gut strings and period bow; she permits herself sufficient vibrato where necessary to give her timbre some body, and she’s very ably accompanied by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. (…)
Sonically, as so often from this label, the engineering is absolutely state of the art, and a joy all by itself.
Luister
Ze worden mooi en toegewijd gespeeld, deze concerten en zijn vooral boeiend vanwege de muzikale timing en frasering die de violiste toepast en de fijnzinnige, gave en beheerste violistische trekjes die zo kenmerkend zijn voor haar spel (…)
Gramophone
The sound has a warm glow that enhances her standpoint that these works are not lightweight nonentities. She finds in them a largeness of scale within their modest proportions (…)
(…) Podger makes a strong case for Haydn’s concertos (…)
www.opus klassiek
De concerten zijn door Haydn virtuoos geschreven: dubbelgrepen en flitsend passagewerk geven de solist gelegenheid zijn kunnen te tonen.Rachel Podger, die wij kennen van de voortreffelijke opnamen van Mozarts vioolsonates met Gary Cooper, treedt hier op als soliste én dirigent van het Engelse ‘authentieke’ orkest. Deze uitvoeringen zijn pleitbezorgers voor deze concerten die niet onderdoen voor Haydns celloconcerten (die men veel vaker te horen krijgt).In Mozarts Sinfonia Concertante spelen Podger en Beznosiuk op speciaal voor deze gelegenheid aan hen in bruikleen gegeven Stradivarius instrumenten; Podger vertelt daar enthousiast over in het boekje bij de cd. De uitvoering is ‘authentiek’: met bescheiden vibrato en ¼ toon lager (bij Haydn ½ toon lager). De solisten vormen een prachtig klinkend, uitstekend spelend duo. Podger laat – als dirigent – de muziek ademen en treffen de solisten direct al vanaf de eerste ingehouden gespeelde maten de juiste sfeer.
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