"FUGUE AROUND THE CLOCK"
The Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet (Daniel Bruggen, Bertho Driever, Daniel
Koschitzki, Karel van Steenhven, recorders)
CHANNEL CLASSICS CCS SA 19403 (F) (DDD) TT: 69:37 (5 channel)
BUY NOW FROM ARKIVMUSIC
Channel Classics here offers two top-price discs ($25 list)
of repertory that doesn't seem particularly appropriate for "surround sound." The
Amsterdam Loecki Stardust Quartet
consists of four virtuoso artists of the recorder performing mostly their
own arrangements, primarily music of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, delving
into the 20th century with works by Stefan Pohlit (who wrote the only original
work for recorders on this disk) and
Dmitri
Shostakovich.
In the collection there are some original fugues and other works are
given the "fugue treatment". No question whatever about virtuosity of the
performers
who have
been recorded
in a resonant hall. They are right up front with lots of ambient sound from
the rear.The temptation to place one musician in each corner has been resisted—although
it surely would have been intriguing for the listener.
Florigium has been on the music scene for about a decade and is recognized
as one of the finest period instrument ensembles of our time. The group is
headed by Ashley Solomon who plays a four-keyed flute. She made these arrangements
for Florigium of three of Haydn's "London" symphonies; there will be three
more disks that will contain the remaining nine. Early-music specialists
may wish to have these splendid, spirited performances of three of Haydn's
best-known symphonies in small-scale treatment, but I imagine most listeners
would prefer the original orchestral versions. Haydn's "surprise" in the
slow movement of Symphony No. 94 doesn't amount to much here. As with the
Loeki Stardust Quartet above,
musical
values
are high. If this is the way you wish to hear Haydn symphonies, here it is.
R.E.B. (September 2003)
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