Ottavio Dantone

“thrilling, robustly profiled accounts” The Observer, 5th May 2013

“Conducting J. S. Bach isn’t Abbado’s usual activity. But he buckles to it with joy, humanity and an Italianate slant that turns these cornerstone suites into outpourings of instrumental song. The players are the all-star Orchestra Mozart, with Giuliano Carmignola the demon lead fiddler, caught live in 2007.” The Times, 12th March 2011 ****

“The excitement is palpable, reflected in smiling glances between the players, bodies swaying through musical suspensions, a sense of uninhibited joy… The playing is stylish throughout: ornaments are apt, all the more telling for their restraint; trills are paced to match mood, languid in slow movements, sparkling in allegros.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2009

“Here Claudio Abbado is gambolling among the Brandenburg Concertos in this straightforward TV-style concert film, recorded in the classic 19th-century opera house at Reggio Emilia during an Italian tour in spring 2007. The orchestra is at first glance a curious gathering, mixing 'Baroque' players such as violinist Giuliano Carmignola and harpsichordist Ottavio Dantone with 'modern' names such as trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich and 'un-Baroque' recorder-player Michala Petri. Furthermore, a look round the instruments reveals mostly modern models, some hybrids (for instance Jacques Zoon's wooden, multi-keyed flute) and a sprinkling of Baroque bows. Mind you, most younger players these days are well versed in Baroque style whatever they play on, and the tenor of these performances is firmly consistent with current ideas of what Baroque music ought to sound like.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Does the world need another set of Brandenburgs? Yes, when they are as freshly minted and as adventurously sonorous as this marvellous set...Abbado leads supple, imaginative readings; a great deal of the strong character is provided by his leader, violinist Giuliano Carmignola, and there is a brilliant harpsichord solo from Ottavio Dantone in the fifth concerto.” The Observer, 13th March 2011

“This new recording of the Brandenburg Concertos exhibits all the virtues that one associates with Claudio Abbado: clarity, lucidity, balance, a sense of proportion, and, above all, an indefinable yet audible 'oneness' with the music. Dionysus is present in these performances, but he subsumed within their underlying Apollonian quality.” International Record Review, April 2011

“the audio-only experience draws out a super-contented gestural world which had only intermittently communicated itself before...The hallmark of this set is the ambition to create lithe, beautiful and elegant statements in which witty, sophisticated dialogues are carried off within a heady textural landscape...The Fifth spins like a happy top...These are life-affirming live performances...which glide effortlessly on to the high table.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2011

“Past Haydn’s anniversary year, the world still needs his intelligence and wit — much in evidence in these bubbly performances from Dantone’s Accademia Bizantina. Stefano Montanari’s agile and subtle playing steals the show in the G major Violin Concerto...A CD that makes you feel good to be alive.” The Times, 15th May 2010 ****

“[Montanari's] tone is rich, warm and seductive but with impeccable Classical poise...Throughout the programme, both Montanari and Dantone also add some really delightful touches of ornamentation. The recording was made in the Sala Dantesca in Ravenna and it's astonishingly vivid.” International Record Review, July/August 2010

“Saving a conspicuously spirited account of the F major No. 4 until last, Dantone… embodies the 'uncommon brilliancy and command of fingers' laid at Handel's door by Mainwaring. …recorded in the Halle church which witnessed many a Handel family wedding, Dantone and his band tie the concerto knot with dashing immediacy.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2009 ****

“…Handel's organ concertos… benefit from strong gestures and an overall brightness of approach that reaches out to the listener. Ottavio Dantone and Accademia Bizantina achieved these with ease, first of all by using a six-stop chamber organ with more bite and colour to it...and secondly by making sure that details of rhetoric, contrast and articulation are always sharply etched. ...these are certainly distinguished performances in their own right, rich with intelligence and flair.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2009

“Dantone's deft improvisation and ornamentation recapture Handel's own practice when playing these pieces, adding a further touch of freshness to performances that already bristle with vitality.” The Telegraph, 21st April 2009 ****

“Compared to Mortensen's blend of eloquent virtuosity and tasteful discretion, the playing of Accademia Bizantina seems hard and unyielding, though there are nevertheless moments of great beauty.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2008 ***

“…Ottavio Dantone and his Italian colleagues provide beautifully transparent and balanced renderings. Most successful… are the slow movements where Dantone lets the music breathe with a degree of genuine lyricism.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2008

“...here is a triumphant vindication of the authentic approach from the Milanese harpsichordist Ottavio Dantone and his Accademia Bizantina. His performances are free-flowing within the confines of the language, and he is not afraid to indulge in expressive fantasy, notably in the cool, pizzicato-dominated largo of the F minor Concerto BWV 1056. He is accompanied by just five energetic string players - one to a part - but the effect never sounds insubstantial, and the recording neatly integrates soloist and "orchestra".” The Telegraph, 16th August 2008

“Directing from the keyboard, Dantone avoids obtruding mannerisms and keeps the music dancing. Any novelty lies instead with the Accademia’s abbreviated forces – five string players, one to a part.” The Times, 18th July 2008 ****

“To hear Mullova play Bach is, simply, one of the greatest things you can experience” The Guardian

“Mullova's warm tone and lightly articulated playing - the Allegro of the A major Sonata affords a particularly rewarding instance - are substantial rewards in themselves, but over and above these she and her keyboard partner prove a stylish and sympathetically matched duo.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2007 *****

“Opus 111 has carved out a distinctive niche by producing first-class recordings of unusual Italian Baroque gems” Gramophone Magazine