Bassoon & Viola French Bassoon Works Bitsch: Concertino Chandos CHAN 10521 Karen switched from violin to bassoon at twelve and she presents her less popular and, maybe, less competitive instrument as musician first, instrumentalist second. She has an innate sense of phrasing which makes every track of this recital disc a real joy; we've played it all through twice, and are captivated by the repertoire (some joint discoveries) as well as by the performances, in partnership with a pianist whom she should hang on to tight, and to the Chandos recording team who excelled at Potton Hall. I am eager to hear her playing live, and hope she will soon tackle (for PLG maybe?) some of the major 20th C works, possibly the Berio Sequenza and Skalkottas's (the BIS recording previously welcomed and listened to again after Geoghegan was unexpectedly inadequate; dullish playing and muddy recording from a Paris church). Recommended with the greatest enthusiasm. The Art of the Viola Sonata for Viola and Piano op.11 No.4 (Hindemith). Heinrich Koll Madoka Inui Peter Schmidl Alexandra Koll Naxos 8.557606 This at bargain price is a useful selection of music with viola, soundly played but hampered by a too dry studio recording (Vienna ORF) which certainly takes some atmosphere away from the popular and much recorded Dowland/Britten work, whch is now a staple in the repertoire. Good to have the Hindemith sonata, not that often played nowadays, but violists may welcome most the Handel/Halvorsen duet, which will go down well in recitals. The documentation includes a section of viola jokes... Peter Grahame Woolf
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