Recital 2000 - Respighi, Prokofiev, Crumb, Etc

Right at the outset of this recital, as the violin floats softly into the opening measures of the Prokofiev D Major Sonata and soon thereafter darts away with butterfly-like skittishness, one can sense that this is Anne-Sophie Mutter in top form, playing with her particular combination of expressive intimacy and nervous flight while conveying, obviously in collusion with partner Lambert Orkis, at least the appearance of spontaneity.

The program, recorded at two live concerts in Stuttgart during her 2000 world tour, reaches a peak of intensity in the Four Pieces of Anton Webern, music of exquisite, epigrammatic stillness, performed here with such dynamic extremes that one must surrender one's complete attention to it, and after which the big ultra-romantic Sonata of Ottorino Respighi enters like a drenching spring torrent.

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Respighi: The Birds

One of Respighi’s masterpieces, Gli uccelli (The Birds) includes transcriptions of birdsong and music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in writing of evocative, captivating lyricism. Trittico botticelliano, an illustration of three paintings by Botticelli, employs dance rhythms, modal melodies and a variant of the medieval hymn Veni, Veni Emmanuel in deft, often sublime fashion. The Suite in G major, cast for strings and organ in the form of a concerto grosso, is heard on this première recording in its original edition.

"This recording of the Three Botticelli Pictures has got to be the most texturally detailed, luminous, substantial performance yet captured on disc. Conductor Salvatore Di Vittorio makes sure that every strand of Respighi’s remarkable orchestration stands out in high relief, from the shockingly vivid violin trills at the start of “Spring” to the gently pulsating but constantly shifting motion of the waves in “The Birth of Venus”. It’s an amazing achievement, one that elevates a work all too easily dismissed as a sugary-sweet musical bon-bon. You can’t help but be impressed.

The Birds is equally well played and lovingly shaped by Di Vittorio and his band." --ClassicsToday.com, May 2014

"The Organ Suite in G might not be one of Respighi’s best works, but this CD has a lot more to offer. Both ‘Gli Uccelli’ and ‘Trittico Botticelliano’ are performed in the most refined and transparent versions one can imagine.

Di Vittorio pays attention to every detail and refreshes the music by a deep penetrating cleaning."--Pizzicato, July 2014

http://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.573168&languageid=EN

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Poème

“probably the finest [Lark] on record...Fischer's detailing of the avian solo line is so filled with little wonders and fresh insights that it is almost like discovering the music for the first time...Kreizberg and his Monte Carlo orchestra follow every fluctuation in Fischer's free-flowing solo line so that the orchestra and the soloist really do appear as one...This exceptional recording is a fitting tribute to a great musical partnership.” --Classic FM Magazine, July 2011 *****

“The intelligently constructed programme is the most intriguing the pair have produced...Aside from the occasional woolly texture, support from Kreizberg's Monte Carlo Philharmonic is superlative...This beautiful disc is one of Fischer's best, and also stands as a fitting testament to Kreizberg's art.” --BBC Music Magazine, June 2011 *****

“Chausson's Poeme thrives on the sort of fluent dialogue that Fischer and Kreizberg achieved as a matter of course and, although Fischer's playing is charged with emotion, she's placed in a sensible relation to the orchestra...Kreizberg's witty handling of the variations section [of the Suk] really made me smile...Fischer's tonally alluring, full-blooded performance sits perfectly within the context of an imaginatively chosen prgramme” --Gramophone Magazine, August 2011

“Fischer's Chausson Poeme is lovely, with a finely spun solo line and impeccably judged double-stopping: it's passionately projected without the sound ever being forced. The orchestral support here has real fervour...Fischer is characteristically subtle [in The Lark] and she pays careful attention to detail...[She] is an engaging, sensitive soloist, possessing a fabulous technique, and the programme is very enjoyable.” --International Record Review, July/August 2011

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Respighi: Pines & Fountains Of Rome, Etc

Respighi is chiefly known for his vivid symphonic poems, in particular Fontane di Roma (‘Fountains of Rome’), Pini di Roma (‘Pines of Rome’) and Feste romane (‘Roman Festivals’), the last even more a celebration of the revived spirit of nationalism in the Italy of his time. 

"In the symphonic poems Karajan is in his element, and the playing of the Berlin Philharmonic is wonderfully refined as well as exciting." --The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music

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