Best Mozart

After her studies at the « Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique », passing with a unanimous First Prize in Vlado Perlemuter’sclass, Danielle Laval fell under Arthur Rubinstein’s notice. He was dazzled by her virtuosity and her deep sensitivity.

One of the finest and most charismatic tenors on the international classical music scene, Rolando Villazon’s many best-selling recordings have covered an extraordinary range of musical styles from his great opera roles to the Baroque, Mexican favourites and popular song. For his new solo album, Rolando brings his lustrous Latin timbre to the rarely recorded concert arias of Mozart. He is joined by ‘Britain’s Finest Orchestra’ [The Arts Desk], the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the Music Director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sir Antonio Pappano.

Considering that Mozart's Divertimento in E-flat is far and away the greatest string trio ever written, and one of the unquestionable monuments of chamber music generally, it doesn't get the attention that it surely deserves from either record labels or collectors. Perhaps the dearth of regularly constituted string trios (as opposed to quartets) has something to do with it, but the fact remains that there is no greater testament to Mozart's genius than this epic, nearly 50-minute-long masterpiece in six movements that contains not a second that fails to rise to the highest level of textural gorgeousness and supreme melodic inspiration. Happily, most performances understand how special the music is, and give it their best effort. This one is no exception. The Zimmerman Trio plays with remarkably accurate intonation and a ravishing tone that's also mindful of the Classical style. Schubert's single-movement trio makes the perfect coupling. It seems to grow right out of the Mozart until the end of the exposition, when Schubert suddenly sails in with some typically arresting harmony.

Thomas Quasthoff - The Best Of Thomas Quasthoff
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 306 MB | Full Artwork: 57 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: RCA Red Seal # 88697 57143 2 | Country/Year: Germany 2009
Genre: Classical | Style: Vocal, Lieder, Opera, Oratory

…There are five fabulous Schubert recordings, including an edge-of-your-seat performance of Erlkönig; five marvelous Schumann recordings, including a catch-in-your-throat performance of Mondnacht; three arias from Bach's Johannes-Passion, featuring a heartbreaking "Mein teuer Heiland"; and seven excepts from several Mozart operas, ending with a delightfully charming performance of the duet from Die Zauberflöte with Quasthoff as Papageno and Montserrat Caballé as Papagena. Listeners already familiar with the German singer's lustrous voice, robust tone, agile delivery, and warm-hearted interpretations will need no more encouragement, unless they already have the original RCA recordings.