The Whole Music Experience

Since 2012 was a light year as far as reviewing jazz and classical recordings and heavier on world music recordings, this year I'm only including 7 recordings in the top classical and top jazz CDs for the year.  The Top Jazz CDs will appear a week from today.  You will also find two surprises on my list if you were expecting only European classical CDs. 1. Arcanto Quartett with Olivier Marron, Franz Schubert String Quintet op. 163, Harmonia Mundi 2. Kristian Bezuidenhout & Freiburger Barockorchester, Mozart Piano Concertos K. 453 & 482, Harmonia Mundi 3. Javier Perianes, Beethoven Moto Perpetuo, Harmonia Mundi 4. Isabelle Faust, J. S. Bach Sonatas & Partitas, Harmonia Mundi 5. La Nueova Musica with David Bates, Handel's Il Pastor Fido, Harmonia Mundi (box-set) 6. Ravi Shankar, The Living Room Sessions Part 1, East Meets West Music 7. Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat, Twinklings of Hope (Persian/Iranian classical), Kirkelig Kulturverksted

Kristian Bezuidenhout Freiburger Barockorchester Mozart Piano Concertos, K. 453 & 482 Harmonia Mundi Within the past 48 hours, I learned that Mozart had a pet starling who he taught to sing and that the music he taught the bird to sing was Mozart’s Piano concerto K. 253 .   The bird, like most of us humans could not grasp the complexities of Mozart’s compositions, much less sing it perfectly.   However, the famous Austrian composer’s student Fräulein Babette had no trouble learning the delightful concerto and performed it at a private concert in Vienna.   According to the liner notes, Mozart decided to forge a career as a freelance musician, composing for aristocratic families, performing in private homes, and teaching piano.   While this might sound arduous to a modern pianist/composer, this allowed Mozart freedom to explore his virtuosity and innovative ideas without an archbishop or emperor breathing over his shoulder. We learn some...

Bezuidenhout (piano), Von der Goltz (violin) Freiburger Barockorchester Mendelssohn Double Concerto for Piano and Violin And Piano Concerto in A minor Harmonia Mundi Dubbed the Mozart of the 19 th century by Robert Schumann, imagine that Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847) composed his Concerto for Piano and Strings in A minor when he was 13 and his Double Concerto for piano and violin the following year, prior to composing his famous overture for Midsummer Night’s Dream .   Much of the Bezuidenhout, Von der Goltz and Freiburger Barockorchester’s performance of these compositions sounds like Liszt, Rachmaninoff and Paganini rolled into one and sprinkled with Bach and Mozart.   This recording, a rare treat by any standards, easily ends up on my top 10 classical recordings for 2011.   The passion on the disc alone can heat my home. The recording opens with the Concerto for Piano and Strings features the balanced architecture of Bach...

Petra Mullejans and Kristian Bezuidenhout Mozart Sonatas for fortepiano and violin Harmonia Mundi Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart needs little introduction to this blog or to anyone seeking the healing effects of music. "The Mozart Effect" both a book by Don Campbell and a concept from the late Doctor Alfred Tomatis, (the famous ear nose and throat specialist), caused Mozart's popularity to rise among young mothers, children with disabilities, and students on a quest to raise their IQ levels. And other medical miracles have also been accredited to the music of Mozart, a child prodigy and genius who died a pauper while still in his early thirties. While I tend to favor Mozart's concertos, Clarinet Concerto in B-flat major , Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major and Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major , along with Mozart's operas, I am delighted to review, Mozart Sonatas for fortepiano and violin performed by German violinist Petra Mullejans and South African pianis...