Chris Frith, Eve C. Johnstonec Schizofrenia

A most solid release by a player of distinct gift and musicality… his performances are entertaining and colorful. All in all, this is tasteful, skilled piano playing at a very high level, and I was pleased to make Frith's artistic acquaintance. Good sound.

A most solid release by a player of distinct gift and musicality… his performances are entertaining and colorful. All in all, this is tasteful, skilled piano playing at a very high level, and I was pleased to make Frith's artistic acquaintance. Good sound.

Scarlatti's sonatas were originally entitled 'Essercizi' ('Exercises'), and their purpose was to provide musical études for the development of keyboard technique, primarily for his patroness, Queen Maria Barbara of Spain, who must have been a talented harpsichordist. In one of his published collections, he indicated that the Essercizi offer 'no profound Learning, but rather an ingenious Jesting with Art, to accomodate you to the Mastery of the Harpsichord.'

The multiplicity of notes in Mendelssohn's piano music sometimes lays him open to the charge of 'note-spinning'. So what higher praise for Benjamin Frith than to say that thanks to his fluency, not a single work outstays its welcome here. The unchallengeable masterpiece is the Variations sérieuses, so enthusiastically taken up by Clara Schumann, and still a repertory work today. Frith characterises each variation with telling contrasts of tempo and touch without sacrificing the continuity and unity of the whole.

The multiplicity of notes in Mendelssohn's piano music sometimes lays him open to the charge of 'note-spinning'. So what higher praise for Benjamin Frith than to say that thanks to his fluency, not a single work outstays its welcome here. The unchallengeable masterpiece is the Variations sérieuses, so enthusiastically taken up by Clara Schumann, and still a repertory work today. Frith characterises each variation with telling contrasts of tempo and touch without sacrificing the continuity and unity of the whole.

Frith continues to lend his art to what is shaping up to be a survey of historical importance, with handsome tone and masterful technical command. Another remarkable project for Naxos.

Frith plays the Sonata, and the balance of the program, with clarity and strength, and follows the dramatic contours with vaulting confidence.

Frith continues to lend his art to what is shaping up to be a survey of historical importance, with handsome tone and masterful technical command. Another remarkable project for Naxos.