Enter a zip code
CD
| More Formats | |
|---|---|
| Super Audio CD - SACD Hybrid | $23.99 |
Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik may be one of those too-often-played pieces of classical music that many listeners dismiss with a weary shrug. But no one seems to have told Andrew Manze. Here, in this excellent recording, his first as director of The English Concert, Manze brings a remarkable sense of freshness and a renewing spirit to this old chestnut. The ensemble plays gracefully and energetically for him, adding a wealth of interpretive subtleties while bringing out the inner voices with an airy clarity. The shorter Adagio and Fugue in C Minor and the little-known Menuet and Trio in C Major follow in like fashion; then it's back to the after-hours theme with a superb, beautifully paced performance of the youthful and charming Serenatta notturna, with Manze pulling double duty as a polished violin soloist. From the sublime to the ridiculous, Ein musikalischer Spass (A Musical Joke) -- a fun-filled parody of the music of Mozart's lesser contemporaries -- caps the program. While such intentionally banal and off-sounding music may seem a curious closer to such an elegant recording, it certainly drives home the pervading sense of cheerful good spirits. Manze's directorial debut with his brilliant new band is an auspicious beginning indeed. EJ Johnson, Barnes & Noble