Classical music reviews

If you love Hardbop,Straightahead,or Classic Jazz, buy this one,its an eternal winner. Beautiful, swinging music, the way Jazz was meant to be play'ed. The Brothers CD is Classic today and tomorrow. Don't just believe me, listen for yourself. Don't waste any more time, add this sensational CD to your personal Jazz collection...

I was recently introduced to the wonder that is Ken Watters through a jazz improvisation class that he recently gave at UAH. It was a wonderful course, and my playing has since improved immensely. As we were in the class, I became curious as to why Ken was not "famous"; he then told me that he had released two albums with his brother, which I quickly bought at a discounted price from him. Now I don't just praise things because I know the people involved; I'm a hardcore jazz listener, and I only truly have respect for Joshua Redman in the field of modern jazz, as opposed to John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Bill Evans and countless other classic artists that I love and respect. This CD, however, is different. This is a true JAZZ ALBUM, not "smooth" jazz (though it can be smooth when it wants to be.) This is IMPROVISATION. This is a ROCK SOLID rhythm section. This is a group headed by two of the greatest jazz musicians currently alive; you would be missing out on something great if you didn't check them out.

Another fine release from Summit Records. The Watters brothers have scored my "Rave of the Year" for the best jazz album of 1999. Trumpeter Ken's bebop sensibilities combined with trombonist Harry's more traditional leanings make for a warm, captivating brand of jazz that brings back fond memories and makes new ones. We need more groups and albums like this. Highly recommended!

My husband gave this CD to me in 1995. I fell in love with it then, and love it just as much today. I even listen to it in the middle of summer when I long for cold weather and the holiday spirit. It is music of ethereal transport.

This is a beautiful recording, very soothing and melodic. Windham Hill's music is needed in these troubled times.

This collection is certainly worth a listen. I hope you find Soillse Na Nollag (by Altan) as haunting and beautiful as I do.

It is one of the unfortunate limitations of this venue that reviews for any given item seem to presuppose a general audience, and it's not possible for reader or reviewer to state his or her frame(s) of reference. A CD review by a musician is not necessarily *better* than one by a non-musician, but it is likely to be relevant for different listeners. But even among musicians it's obvious that one musician will not necessarily agree with another just because they are both musicians.

Reviewing classical music is further complicated for the fact that the kind of review one might read in something like Grammophone is usually only useful for those already somehow initiated into the esoteric vocabulary and culture of the classical music industry (i.e., people for whom abbreviations like LSO and DG mean something or names like Kapustin and Takemitsu are as integral to the parlance as Beethoven and Bach). On the other hand, the kind of review that likes to use words and phrases like "awe-inspiring!" or "emotionally charged!" or "beautiful!" tend to be useful only to those whose ability to listen to music begins by pressing the 'play' button on a CD player.

On the one hand, Thibaudet is judicious in keeping a tight rein on the ever-present temptation in Chopin to pass into the kind of vulgar sentimentality that permits people to enjoy the pieces as wonderful elevator music and find him "just beautiful!"

Given Thibaudet's excellent showings in the French literature and the Rachmaninoff concerti, there was no question that his technial mastery was up to the challenge of playing the pieces on this disc in one respect.

In another, Chopin is like Mozart in the sense that many of his pieces are not technically difficult. The waltzes and nocturnes, for example, can be played reasonably well by reasonably talented young teenagers, just as a gifted pianist might play Mozart sonatas at ten.

This does not mean, however, that a ten-year-old will play a Mozart sonata well, even if the student's technical mastery is up to the task (or, for that matter, that certain young Chinese pianists who shall remain nameless with excellent technique have the maturity or intellect to play pieces well). Both Chopin and Mozart are deceptive in their simplicity and it is for this reason that so many interpretations abound.

Thibaudet is faithful to the standard Chopin tradition, so no innovations are to be found on this disc. While this per se is not a fault, Thibaudet's decision to remain loyal to that tradition then forces him to be responsible to the exemplars of that tradition, and the question becomes whether or not he is worthy to be its heir.

The recording of the famous A-flat polonaise is sloppy such that the sound is hollow in some places and muddy in others. Some seem to like Thibaudet's phrasing here, but in my opinion he tends to be dismissive and instead of the familiar majesty we get from someone like Horowitz or Lhevinne, we get something that feels artificially restrained.

The D-flat waltz ('Minute') is competent, but has nothing of the excitement of various and countless others or the astonishment of Hofmann's legendary playing of this piece (at tempo, no less) in thirds.

The E-flat waltz is played nicely, though the piece itself is rather facile. Similarly, the E-minor prelude is basically a student piece.

The B-flat scherzo lacks the impetuousness it deserves in the middle section (either that, or Thibaudet's score lacks the marking 'con fuoco'), and Thibaudet's Steinway is tinny in the upper registers and incapable of satisfying the dynamics in the score. (Even the young but surprisingly mature pianist Yundi Li has a better recording of this piece.)

The famous C-minor etude was unexciting and lacked the nuance of someone like Cortot; the D-minor etude was nicely played, however.

Instead of going on, I hope I've at least given some sense of my reasons for this rating. Unfortunately, another limitation of reviewing CDs with words is the fact that words fail at describing the experience of hearing music. I have tried, instead, to provide a basis for comparison for those who are interested. At the very least, the glut of recordings and performances of Chopin--most of which tend to be amateurish and mediocre--in itself provides reason to be judicious and even stringent in our evaluations. It is one thing to acknowledge the greatness of Chopin's music. It is another to dish out vapid praise just because it's Chopin. Even Chopin wrote some fairly insipid music, some of which is on this disc (which feels more like one of those "best of..." compilations that milk sentimentality out of piano music instead of having something interesting to say about Chopin). This rating is not an insult to Thibaudet's musicianship. In fact, it is out of respect for it that one must expect more from this disc than was given. Even if the playing was a bit heavy, at least Pletnev's Carnegie Hall debut took some chances to reveal some interesting things that no one had heard before in the scherzi. I fail to see that Thibaudet has anything interesting to say about Chopin (especially if the majority of the works on this disc are not particularly interesting in themselves). Chopin is such a familiar name that the criteria for evaluating his music have to be more than the fact that he's emotionally "moving" or "touching".

Finally, don't be fooled by the advertisement that there are tracks played "on Chopin's own piano". Read the cover carefully: "for the bonus tracks, [Thibaudet] plays the Broadwood piano that Chopin chose for his 1848 concerts in England". (Incidentally, two of the pieces chosen for these tracks--the F-major etude and D-minor prelude were interesting and well-chosen selections.)

Wow! surely the best 1 CD compilation of Chopin's music. Here familiar works are presented as if they were discovered yesterday. Such a freshness !!!! tempi, phrasing, articulation, are outstanding! Lucid, vivid, not grandiloquent or mannered. For instance take the eroic polonaise! At first not a great thing, seems weak but then remember polonaise was not a warrior dance but instead a stately, full of dignity. And that is what you hear! Listen to how the piece is growing with captivating power. I could go on citing examples of the mastery Thibaudet brings to all pieces. And then ... as if this were not enough ... change instrument!!! he chose for the last tracks a period piano, Chopin's piano! Simply wonderfull! And then ... wow! 2 of that pieces are also played previously on a modern Steinway, so you have here a little "comparative discography". Discover the different approaches to same music with different instruments!
With a hand in your heart tell me: what else can you ask for in 78 min of music??? This CD is a must

WHoa! This cd is amazing! If you want to start with Chopin start with this one. It includes Chopin's most known works like the Polonaise in A flat, Nocturne in E flat, among others. This cd gives you a good start with an orotund performance. Never start classical with a bad performance because it will ruin your ears!Otherwise, if you already have Chopin, listen to this cd because it includes some bonus tracks played in Chopin's piano(that's funny, I mean what for?? haha) so at least you will hear the piano Chopin played. :). A very good piano player as well.

I have worn out the original CD. Every song on this CD is well worth the price. The music is different than any of his previous CD's. This tops my list of all time favorites.

Finally, not only something you'll want to own, but the perfect gift for Kwanza, Christmas, Eid or Channukah. Ever try to find the perfect gift for the friend who's finding his/her African roots? Well this is it.
The performances are stunning, the English, Afrikaans and Ki Swahili are perfect {I assume that the Zulu is also perfect}.
The performance of Nkosi Sikelele Africa, or Shosholoza are worth the price of the album.
Do your self a favour and buy this one. Give it to friends.
This is African music like you've never heard it . . . and it is beautiful . . . you don't need a PhD in Anthropology to love this one.

This CD is my favorite of Helmut Lotti's. I have all of his CDs and a video of his. This is my favorite because I enjoy African music and his renditions are superb. His voice range is like noone else's. He has become my favorite singer even over and above Elvis who was my favorite for so many years. This CD even has a couple of songs that I remember from my younger days as a Girl Scout. I hope more of his CDs and videos come out soon.

Copland met a sad end as the result of Alzheimer's, which set in fairly early (when he was about 70, I believe) but was carefully hidden from the public. Bernstein had been his lifelong champion, of course, and here he gives an elegaic, almost melancholy reading of the Third Symphony that is about a minute slower in each movement than his earlier, excellent version from 1966 with the same NY Phil.

There's no comparison betwen the two, given how much more detailed and expressive the 1985 DG version is, and how much better it is recorded. The Third just misses being a great work. It is in Copland's most populist idiom, the same as one hears in Appalachian Spring, but the material is thinner, less organized, ultimately not all that compelling despite many beautiful moments. Bernstein makes the very best of what's there, and his reading of Quiet City is incomparable--it brings tears to one's eyes. This recording stands as a wonderful, if somewhat sad, memorial to a great musical partnership.

This recording dates of Dec 1985 . It is a live recording from Avery Fisher Hall and it constitutes a true musical document . Bernstein , conducting the N.Y.P made a penetrating version of this fundamental symphony of this notable composer. The wonderful and expansive presence of the strings , metals and woods are demanded requisites if you want to win with this work.

Solemnity ; grace and fevered passion characterize this idiomatic performance .

The last movement, the well know Fanfare for a common man is played with such dignity level that it will let you amazed .

In spite of his fervent wisdom and noblesse , though it lacks the ardour of the version of the sixties but you can not always what you want . This performing is by far unbeatable if you dare to compare with anyone you choice .

Memorable portrait and distinguished recording.

This was one of Leonard Bernstein's last recordings, and turns out to be one of his most memorable ones as well. Copland's Third Symphony uses his "Fanfare for the Common Man" as its climax, and Bernstein mines every bit of emotion you might expect. I'm not completely convinced that the symphony is necessarily one of the composer's tightest works, but Bernstein makes every minute sound essential, and the New York Philharmonic plays with terrific nobility and panache.

"Quiet City" is also beautifully done, with Bernstein capturing its plaintive, idyllic qualities perfectly. The orchestra has an excellent brass section, and some gorgeous work here just confirms it. The sound quality is excellent, not the least in the gleaming, closing pages of the Third Symphony that may have you cheering. A great document of Bernstein's electricity, a quality that was still present right up until the very end.

I heard one of DanChadburn's songs on internet radio, "Companion" and knew I had to buy the CD ! Love his keyboard style, and the oboe and French horn weave beautifully into several of the songs. Recommend this CD!!!

I own both Refletions and Solo Piano, and never tire of listening to either one. When I play either album in my office, I am immediately asked who the artist is and where can they get the album. As soon as you hear the music, you are trasported to a beautiful and peaceful place. Dan is a very talented artist. I can't wait for he and Tom to put out another album.

You have a dedicated fan in Indiana! - Mb

My name is Jaared Arosemena and I am the saxophonist that performed on "Stay With Me" on this album. I am very honored and fortunate that Dan asked me to perform on this album. His music realy reaches my soul. Do yourself a favor....buy this album for YOU! Kick back, relax, and enjoy!

Simply Great!

Emma Shapplin's voice is a pleasure to my ears.
I love the ODJI remix of Cuerpo Sin Alma. Every time I play this song, it grows on me more and more. I can imagine Emma floating upside down when hearing her singing it. It's like a free-falling song.

I never heard of Opera Trance before purchasing "Discovering Yourself". Cool cover art, cool CD! When I heard Emma singing "Discovering Yourself", that was when I realized she could speak English. All tracks are excellent, by the Paris born artist. Obviously, just because of Emma's CD singles alone, she can make a big name for herself!

The tracklist on the single is:

Discovering yourself
Cuerpo sin alma ( remix by ODJI )
Fera ventura
Dolce veneno

I almost feel like it's a mini album, but it's NOT.

Hope this little review has helped you.

I used to be a rock fan, until I heard Emma Shapplin's voice. This single along with the songs she sang on the Red Planet soundtrack was enough to change my musical tastes forever. She is that good!

Like many my introduction to Emma Shapplin was through Opera Trance's Spente Le Stelle remixes. From there I knew I had to have more. So when I came across the single "Discovering Yourself" I immediately bought it to get a better understanding of what her normal singing was like, and boy was I ever pleased with the results! Obviously she doesn't have the power of Cecilia Bartoli or the warm vocals of Sarah Brightman, but who cares! Who wants a duplication of another anyways? I think she's got immense talent that can surpass the standards of opera and what's expected of it any day.

The dark ambient-like "Fera Ventura" has got to be one of the most compelling and arresting songs I've ever set ears on, and "Discovering Yourself" is an edgy rock/pop song that (thanks to audio samples) helped lure me to her. And though I prefer Chiara Zeffirelli singing it better, "Cuerpo Sin Alma remix is a good blend of opera and light trance; and "Dolce Veneno," being the more traditional song, is simply breathtaking and moving. This is a perfect introduction to Emma Shapplin's music. Can't wait to get Carmine Meo now!

Later.

I owned this as a tape and everytime I wanted to relax while driving, I put Enchantment on. It won't put you to sleep but it relaxes your soul...with some songs having a more uptempo beat, and others, just beautiful music. When I bought my new car, without a tape player, I immediately ordered the Enchantment CD. I could not imagine driving distances without the option of hearing this exquisite and melodic music.

I heard this CD playing in a metaphysical store & along with the smell of the incense in the shop I felt this huge wave of relaxation go over me. I asked the store owner what the music was & ordered my copy right away. This is a DELIGHTFUL CD and I play it over & over. You would never get tired of hearing this. I play it a lot in the car when I am driving and it just melts away the traffic frustrations. If you want something that will really make you "unwind" this will do it. I'm going to get more of this music.

My wife and I found this CD in Baltimore while dating. We fell in love with it in the store and have played it many, many times. It became such a part of lives that we used several tracks for our wedding. First Kiss really does take you back to that first kiss and takes you through all of the emotions.

One of the best CD's that we own. Nine years and we still listen to it regularly. It brings out the romantic in all of us. Give it a hundred stars.

This compilation of Ms. Price's career is almost as complete as anything I've ever come across!!
An American Icon....I will forever be a loyal fan and admirer!!

Along with the equally extensive "Prima Donna Collection" this is Leontyne Price's best album. Anyone who wants to become familiarized with her vocal technique and her art on record should own this album. It features her best work ever recorded. A lot of these arias and their respective soprano roles were not roles she sang on stage. Leontyne Price was not only a consummate artist, but a cautious one. The reason these arias, Lieder, Gospel and spirituals sound so beautiful and technically brilliant is because Leontyne was smart enough to sing them infrequently and in concert form. She did not take on new roles other than her repetitive Aidas, Leonoras, Butterfly, Toscas and Madame Lidoins, etc, because she was afraid of ruining her glorious voice too soon as many of her contemporary sopranos. Like soprano Zinka Milanov, Leontyne Price preserved the freshness and vitality of her voice through "operatic abstinence". Thus, the Norma, Salome, Manon, Lady Macbeth and even Traviata we hear on this album are well-rendered because she did NOT sing them on stage. She would have worn out her beautiful voice if she sung so many roles.

This collection is overwhelming. Leontyne Price proves herself to be a masterful artist of diverse repertoire. Pity she didn't really sing these on stage because she would have put Maria Callas and all the reigning divas before and after her to shame. Listen to her remarkable, unsurpassed Mozart repertoire. This she did sing in opera houses, probably because Mozart does not require a true lyrico-spinto heavyness and smaller opera houses can accomodate Mozartian voices that do not often rise above the staff/orchestra. She sang exquisite Fiordiligis at the Met. The arias from Cosi Fan Tutte here - Soave sia il vento, O Guarda Sorelle and the fiendishly difficult vocal showcase "Come Scoglio" with its vertiginious scales are all fine samples of Miss Price's artistry. She sang Susanna and Donna Anna with beauty and bravura. The Salome excerpt is quite thrilling. She would have made a terrific Salome but the role is quite difficult and it would have surely killed her voice. Leontyne Price was the number one Verdi soprano. Every opera cognoscente will tell you that. When you hear the excerpts from Verdi operas here - Lady Macbeth's Sleepwalking Scene, Aida's arias, Leonora's arias from Trovatore and Leonora's arias from Forza Del Destino, particularly La Virgine Del Angeli and the ravishing Pace Pace Mio Dio- are the best renditions of Verdi soprano singing. Anyone who wants to study how to sing in the letter-to-letter Verdi lyrico spinto style should hear these arias. A voice like Leontyne cannot be easily imitated. Maria Callas's own voice can be imitated as Romanian diva Angela Gheorghiu has proven. Leontyne was in a class of her own, a voice that is both dramatic and beautiful to hear. However, most people find fault in her lack of dramatic interpretation. I say they're not hearing hard enough. Yes, there is excessive beauty in her singing but she understood that the opera heroines should sound beautiful because they are beautiful and though I never saw her on stage, from the recordings I hear she sounds dramatic and character-driven enough for me to be satisfied. For a devoted fan of Leontyne Price, this album is the Holy Grail. She sings the most beautiful Norma, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Aida, Violetta, Madame Lidoin, Suor Angelica, Susanna, Dona Ana, Gilda, Fiordiligi, Desdemona and countless other heroines. The last cd is a collection of Gospel, spirituals and patriotic songs. These "American", non-opera selections find her in beautiful voice and she is actually paying tribute to her roots. She was not only African-American, but a Southerner from Mississippi. Her voice must have been heavenly to hear in Church! This is the album that made me love Leontyne.

Originally a Gospel singer, Leontyne Price rose to the heights of operatic superstardom in the 60's and 70's. She enjoyed the same success Maria Callas did in the 50's. Although Callas will forever be most people's idea of the greatest soprano of the 20th century, Leontyne Price was not a force to be reckoned with. In my opinion, and this is just me, she outshone Callas and was the greater singer as far as techinicality and musicianship. Leontyne Price's best work is recorded in this album. It is her best album, together with the Prima Donna Collection. The price is expensive but it's worth every penny. Prepare to be riveted and blown away by the dynamic strength and passion of her voice as it blasts through yours stereo. While many often point out that Leontyne Price was not much of an actress, from a purely operatic/vocal level, her voice was faultless and virtuosic, powerful, passionate, beautiful, lyrical, soulful. Never have I heard a soprano so richly endowed with strong chest register- she could sing the low octaves that are found in the roles of mezzo-soprano voices or contralto voices. But she was a dramatic soprano and that's dramatic with a capital D- all the high C's were there, perfectly in place, and she was a thrilling singer when reaching for the stratosphere with her voice.

This album contains arias from operas that I didn't even know she performed- La Traviata (yes, Leontyne Price as Violetta is a moving and powerful interpretation, executed with sublime beauty. She finds herself the equal to Callas in the role- for Callas had a big voice for a role that calls for the "dying" effect. Thus, Price, like Callas, could sing roles that call for beauty and not just dramatic vigor. It's unfortunate that unlike the stars that were rising in her time- Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills and Montserrat Caballe- Price never mastered the bel canto repertoire - Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini (although she sang a sensational Norma, excerpts are found in this recording). But her strongest suit was Verdi. She had the voice Verdi was looking for in a soprano- rich, dramatic, beautiful, able to fill up the lines with smoky and velvety hues and a gleaming high top. Check out her Amelia in Un Ballo In Maschera, her Leonora in Trovatore, her Leonora in La Forza Del Destino. Of course, her greatest role, her signature role, and one which she connected with on a personal/ancestral level was that of Aida. The first selections in this recording are from that masterpiece. As Aida, she was at her best. It was easy for her somehow, when most other sopranos tackle the role with difficulty. She conveys grace, nobility, passion and spirituality in the role of the tragic Ethiopian princess.

Further roles she excelled in that are on this recording is Desdemona in Otello, which she sung opposite Placido Domingo. Their masterful voices blend together harmonically and gloriously in the Act 1 Love Duet. She's quite the ground-breaking artist. Most Violettas in Traviata or Desdemona in Otello are Caucasian lyric soprano (Desdemona was white, Otello was black, that was Shakespeare's intention) but in opera, race does not matter and Leontyne Price's voice made her a star in a time when it was incredibly difficult for a black woman to sing opera. From the start of the century, opera was always associated with white Europeans and later on Americans. But Leontyne Price followed the inspirational example of the gutsy contralto Marian Anderson, who suffered a lot of rejection in opera due to skin color in pre-Civil Rights Movement 30's, 40's and 50's. Finally in the late 50's, Anderson, after a lifetime of singing only in private concerts and recitals, debuted at the Met as Ulrica in Un Ballo. Leontyne Price immediately picked up where she left- singing all the soprano diva roles typically associated with white singers - especially Tosca. Her Tosca is second to her Aida. As Tosca, she encompasses the diva who dies for love in the most thrilling way.

Other than Tosca, Puccini heroines were just as magnificent vehicles for her voice. She sang Madame Butterfly to great acclaim. I dont know how she did it but she suddenly ceased to be herself and became the frail, naive, lovesick Japanese Geisha. Softness and fragility is also mixed with the maturity of a woman in love, with passion and dramatic vocal color. She sang La Rondine with equal success, though this role is more along the lines of Violetta/Traviata. She sang Suor Angelica, she sang in modern works such as Barber's Antony and Cleopatra- in that infamous Zefferelli production- she sang Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, she sang in Dialoge of the Carmelites. All these are on here, along with her Baroque specialties- Dido in Dido and Aeneas. Her Mozart voice is also the best I've heard, really, even with a more dramatic and beautiful charm than other singers I've heard. She sang the acrobatic role of Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte, both Dona Ana and Donva Elvira in Don Giovanni. I prefer her as Dona Ana, she is all fire, despair, intensity and repressed desire, but she sings a hysterical and lovesick Elvira with a passion as well. She even sang the Countess in Le Nozze Di Figaro. But the sky was the limit to Price. She even sang, in a Jessie Norman way, the Wagner role of Isolde. Her "Liebestod" is the greatest I've heard since Birgit Nilsson, with a passion that stemmed from her religious Gospel heart.
This is a great album and I recommend it to any fan of Price and any fan of opera in general. If you have never heard Price and want to start somewhere, start with this one. This one or the Prima Donna Collection.

Hardenberger is indeed an extraordinary. The playing is right up there with the best of them. One thing unique to hardnberger is his ability to lock in ever note of every passage reguardless of register, speed, etc. In addition he playes with great character. The only reason i give hims less than 5 stars is because his lyricism, the most important thing, is surpassed by Maurice Andre and Phil Smith without questiong. especially after seing all of them live and buying their CDs. He is definitely among the greatests ever.

This album is an incredible showcase for the trumpet and the orchestra, in other words, the trumpet concerto. Hakan Hardenberger, the featured trumpet player, is highly talented and at the top of his game. Even the great jazz and classical trumpeter Winston Marsalis does'nt seem to reach the flights of fancy on the trumpet as does Hakan Hardenberger. Hardenberger masters the trumpet to perfection, capturing every nuance and every tone, from fortissimo fanfares to the softest pianissimo. On this compilation are the trumpet concerti of Baroque and Classical Era composers, among them Corelli and Albinoni and the Classical masters Franz Joseph Haydn and Leopold Mozart, Mozart's father. The sheer scale and magnetism of this music cannot be neglected. It is the greatest gathering of trumpet concerti ever made. The trumpet was perhaps the most fascinating instrument for Baroque composers. The trumpet produces grand, triumphant tones when played forte. It was an instrument that was displayed in ceremonial pomp- weddings, coronations and marches. The Baroque composers were sponsored by kings so they were expected to compose music for trumpet, which could be expressive not only as a fanfare for the king himself, but as an instrument of many dynamics. It can be played softly and slowly, which seems to create a nocturnal, reflective mood and staccato and fast-paced which made the music sound exciting and lively. In my opinion, it was the premier instrument of the Baroque Age.

The cd opens with the Trumpet Concerto In E Flat Major by Johann Hummel. This colorful piece is particularily impressive as it really explores the dynamic potential for the trumpet. It's third movement, the Rondo, is very exciting music, as it is played very fast and in a bouncy, dance-like manner. The Trumpet Concerto by Stamitz, Hertel and Richter are very stylish and must have been highly admired in the Baroque Era. The Trumpet concerto in E by Franz Joseph Haydn, who influenced Mozart, is beautiful, especially in its serenade-style andante second movement. In the last cd, Leopold Mozart's trumpet concerto is featured, and it's a good work. Perhaps his son Mozart greatly admired it, though Mozart did'nt really expand on trumpet concerti himself nor really ever showcased the instrument greatly. There are trumpet arrangements for the famous Albinoni Adagio in G, which on this version, sounds chilling, dark and dramatic. The cd concludes with trumpet versions of Bach's Organ Preludes and the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria.

It's a rare treat for a reviewer when he can throw caution to the winds and go out on a limb for a musician. This is such an occasion for me. Hakan Hardenberger is a phenomenon. I think he is the Babe Ruth, the Wayne Gretzky, the Michael Jordan, the Vladimir Horowitz, the Jascha Heifetz of trumpet players.

Hardenberger is a Swedish trumpeter who made his first recording (Haydn, Hummel, Hertel, and Stamitz trumpet concertos, with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Neville Marriner, on Philips) in 1986 when he was only 25 years old (in the cover photo of the original CD he looks like a boy). The first time I played this debut CD of his, my jaw dropped and I could hardly believe my ears. His playing was a revelation--absolutely stunning. I'd never heard trumpet playing to compare with it. In my opinion, with his first two CDs young Hardenberger not only moved into the top rank of trumpeters; he swept right past his competitors to the head of the class. I've compared a number of his baroque concerto performances, here and elsewhere, with those of other famous trumpeters, and he always comes out on top. I believe him to be in a league of his own. He has everything: virtuosity and technique to burn, dead-on intonation, clean trills, smooth legato, expressive shading, beauty of tone, brilliant high notes, enormous dynamic range. He is also a sound musician, with taste and a sense of style. His arsenal is complete and unassailable; there is no chink in his armor.

Everything that was on that debut CD is now in this Philips Duo set, which is a much better value, because it offers two generously filled CDs--72:55 and 78:27--for the price of one, adding most of the contents of two later Hardenberger CDs of baroque music for trumpet (the recordings here were made from 1986 through 1993). It's a good buy, and if you're going to own only one collection of baroque trumpet music, this is the one I'd recommend.

The trumpet has always been a difficult instrument to record and reproduce accurately. Here, although the consistently excellent digital recording presents Hardenberger very much front and center, it captures the timbre, "bite," and wide dynamic range of his trumpet with exemplary vividness and fidelity. On a top-quality playback system, he sounds like he's standing right between the speakers playing for you. And what playing it is! Not to be missed.

Hardenberger's second CD, of Telemann Trumpet Concertos, also accompanied by the ASMF, this time under Iona Brown, was recorded in 1987 (again on Philips). It too is marvelous, fully as impressive as his first CD, but unfortunately none of it is included in the Philips Duo reviewed here, so you have to acquire it separately. It's well worth it.

Long live the king!