BACH: Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052. Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D, BWV 1050. Concerto No. 7 in G minor, BWV 1058. Triple Concerto in A minor, BWV 1044.
Angela Hewitt, piano; Alison Mitchell, flute; Australian Chamber Orch/Richard Tognetti, violinist-cond.
HYPERION SACD SACDA 67307 TT:76:58
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BACH: Concerto No. 4 in A, BWV 1055. Concerto No. 3 in D, BWV 1054. Concerto No. 2 in E, BWV 1053. Concerto No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056. Concerto No. 6 in F, BWV 1057.
Angela Hewitt, pianist; Australian Chamber Orch/Richard Tognetti, violinist-cond.
HYPERION SACD SACDA 67308 TT: 75:29
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ROSSINI: Arias from Il barbiere di Siviglia, Otello, and La cenerentola. MOZART: Arias from Le nozze di Figaro, La clemenza di Tito and Don Giovanni.
Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano; Rotterdam Philharmonic Orch/Edo de Waart, cond.
PENTATONE SACD PTC 5186 158 TT: 52:36
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Both Hyperion SACDs are superlative in every way. Bach specialist Angela Hewitt plays all of the composer's keyboard concertos magnificently assisted by the Australian Chamber Orchestra and conductor/violinist Richard Tognetti. They played these works many times before these recordings were made February 2005 in Verbrugghen Hall of Australia's Sydney Conservatory of Music. Ludger Böckenhoff was the producer and he achieved an incredibly warm, natural sound that well captures the hall's resonant acoustics but with no loss of detail. In these performances the solo parts are played on a piano but a harpsichord also can be heard as continuo; CD notes state a baroque orchestra would not be complete without it, and it is used to play "purely continuo passages that sound 'wrong' played on the piano." Both disks are filled to near-capacity. Highly recommended!

Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade was at the beginning of her lustrous career in 1975 when this recital album was recorded. She already had appeared at the Met, the Paris Opera and Covent Garden, and in the course of her still-continuing career would make more than 70 recordings and receive numerous prestigious awards. In this recital State focuses on two composers close to her—Rossini and Mozart in these arias from six operas, all performed with technical expertise, taste and intrepretive insight. As with all Pentatone RQR recording, the original four-tracks produce an uncommonly natural sonic picture. Complete texts and translations are included. It's unfortunate the program is so short (52:36) but obviously content was based on what an LP could handle.

R.E.B. (August 2005)

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