(5 out of 5 stars) This is a delightful cd that still sets the standard for these varied violin/guitar pieces even though they were recorded in November 92. Gil Shaham plays with an aristocratic charm that makes every piece sound so refreshing and witty; he has imbued into these Paganini works the purest violin tones and cleanest approach of everyone who has tackled the same works including Monica Huggett s recordings on Harmonia Mundi and the inexpensive Naxos recordings. Indeed while listening to both Huggett s and Shaham s interpretations of the Sonata Concertata , I prefer the latter simply because it is so much more refined; Huggett s playing seems more raw and less polished even though there may appear to be more energy. Huggett plays the piece as if it was a Baroque Miniature Masterpiece; Shaham plays it in the Classical Mold full of romance and feeling- imparting a greater degree of mystery and spirituality. Shaham makes every note sound just right and no quips with the
Gramophone Thursday, February 25, 2021
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5 things to do this week: Takacs Quartet, ‘Currents,’ and The Quick & Easy Boys
Updated Jan 06, 2021;
Winter tends to be a slow time in entertainment options, even during a “normal” year. But 2021 doesn’t want to leave you hanging. So we’ve come up with some streaming options for various types of music, and an in-person art show featuring a Portland favorite.
The Takacs Quartet, courtesy of the Friends of Chamber Music. (Amanda Tipton, photographer)
Takács Quartet
The Friends of Chamber Music present the first string quartet inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in 2012 and the first string quartet to win the Wigmore Hall Medal in 2014. The Takács Quartet is known for the vitality of its interpretations. BBC Music Magazine said the 2019 Christmas recording “gives a superbly committed reading” of Dohnányi’s First Piano Quintet in C minor, “which maximizes the music’s textural and dynamic variety.”
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Part three (and the finale!) of Artistic Director Monica Huggett and harpsichordist Byron Schenkman playing all six of Bach’s beloved sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord. The January 8th performance of Bach Sonatas: Part III is in memory of Roberta Cohen, who was the Co-Chair of the Board of PBO from 2004 to 2005. Roberta.