Claudio Abbado

“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

“The fast speeds in these engaging Berlin performances have a light touch, yet no lack of tautness...Really first-rate recording makes this bargain triptych very recommendable.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“This disc, which has the luxury of Claudio Abbado's magisterial, refined conducting, shows that Kaufmann is at least as fine a Mozart singer as a Wagner one… His outburst from Act II of Parsifal… is a thrilling foretaste of things to come… In Florestan's great aria from Fidelio we have a perfectly controlled expression of agony and exaltation. Everything here makes you crave to listen to this major artist in complete recordings, preferably, given his acting, on DVD.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2009 *****

“…Fidelio, is the centrepiece of this disc: it receives a powerful performance from both tenor (his opening "Gott" is heart-piercing) and conductor. Kaufmann ends where he began, with Wagner. …his beautiful phrasing and controlled singing in the "Winterstürme" shows why he has become the most sought-after tenor of his generation, and is a highlight of this exciting new release.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2009

“No other compilation that has crossed my path comes within striking distance of this collection...The baritone-like richness to his singing in the Wagner extracts is especially compelling. That Kaufmann has Claudio Abbado and the superlative Mahler Chamber Orchestra to accompany him only makes the project even more special.” The Guardian, 27th November 2009 *****

“Aside from the smooth, warm masculinity...he has enormous versatility, helped by a voice that, whilst tenor, has the deep tone and resonance of a baritone...These qualities also make Kaufmann the perfect Wagnerian tenor, his voice soaring above Wagner’s lush orchestral textures, and dramatically upping the ante for the many heart-on-sleeve climaxes.” Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk, 24th September 2009

“Kaufmann is slowly but surely demonstrating that he may be the next hot tip. A calling card to be treasured.” Classic FM Magazine, November 2009 ****

“…the curiously ambivalent Stabat mater, part operatic, part austere. The dark and complex voices of Rachel Harnisch and Sara Mingardo emphasise its dramatic nature. Singing quietly they are profoundly impressive; their duet 'Sancta mater' is heavenly (with Mingardo plumbing extraordinary depths in a closing cadenza), as is the stillness of the final 'Quando corpus'. ...a most enjoyable and revealing disc.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2009 ****

“The Stabat Mater is the main work, in a striking ­performance that manages to be at once devotional and operatic. There's a fiery austerity in the conducting and string playing...The real treat here is the Violin Concerto, played with casual sensuality and great elegance by Giuliano Carmignola.” The Guardian, 11th September 2009 ****