Graceful Passages

Another very good record from this Asian musician. The music is a graceful, crystal clean and dynamic oriental New Age. Not really floating and not linear at all. The music is pure source of natural energy. The tracks are definitely more acoustic than electric. The songs are rather loaded: classical strings arrangements, Asian string instruments (exotic harp among others), woodwind instruments, modern keyboards and beat, exotic percussions. It has some elements from Andreas Vollenweider and Checkfield, put into an Asian style. The music is delightful and colorful.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Concertos for 2 & 3 Pianos
Haydn Sinfonietta Wien / Ronald Brautigam, Alexei Lubimov & Manfred Huss
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,13 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,04 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: BIS # BIS-SACD-1618 | Country/Year: Sweden 2007 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Viennese School

"…In short, this CD is a delight from begin to end. It will make you want to see and hear the two pieces performed live because only then can one fully enjoy the virtuosic playfulness and beauty of the musical interchange between the two pianos in the Concerto in E flat major; not to mention the pure divertimento of the Concerto in F major, which is a recreational, uplifting and entertaining." ~musicweb-international

Bohemian born Josef Fiala (1748-1816) was renowned as an oboist, receiving a letter of recommendation from none other than Leopold Mozart. So it is no surprise that his compositions often favor that wind instrument, including the two quartets on this recording. Both follow a four movement structure, each a minuet in a different sequence. In the opening ‘Allegro spirituoso’ of the F Major Quartet, the oboe immediately grabs the spotlight and never lets go. With a faint violin as an echo, the solo wind drives this relentlessly charming 1st movement through a brief minor keyed interlude and solo passages brimming with triplets.

Hilary Hahn - Paganini & Spohr: Violin Concertos
Hilary Hahn, violin - Eiji Oue / Swedish Radio Symphony Ochestra
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 261 MB | Full Artwork: 133 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Deutsche Grammophon # 00289 477 6232 GH | Country/Year: Germany 2006
Genre: Classical | Style: Classical Period, Violin

"The sound of her violin in both of these dramatic, operatic concertos is like an ultimate contralto voice, ranging from a rich, throbbing alto through a warm mezzo to a light, clear soprano . . . the Swedish Radio Symphony provides polished, robust accompaniment for Ms. Hahn as she sails gracefully through acrobatic passages and unfurls gleaming phrases with sumptuous tone." ~NY Times

As a drummer for a Dutch infantry regiment, German born Friedrich Hartmann Graf (1727-1795) was captured during the War of the Austrian Succession. Upon his release, he took up the flute and became a traveling virtuoso. After a stint in The Hague with his older brother Christian Ernst (1723-1805), he accepted a position in Augsburg where he composed most of his 46 flute concertos. All four on this disc follow the standard format of ‘fast-slow-fast’, and were probably composed in the 1770’s, the first 2 likely near the end of the decade. Written in C Major, the opening ‘Allegro’ of the first concerto is thoroughly engaging.