“Few readings have been more assiduously toured or generally acclaimed than Wand's Bruckner Eighth yet Wand himself struggled to better on record the exact and far-seeing account of the symphony he made with the Cologne RSO in 1979. In January 2001 he harnessed the Berlin Bruckner sound to his own particular ends, a potentially Sisyphean task for a man then nearing his 90th birthday. And the rewards are here. This Eighth is exceptionally fine. When in the Scherzo you sense that the mountains themselves are beginning to dance, you know you're onto a good thing; on this occasion, Olympus itself seems to have caught the terpsichorean bug. Not that anything is exaggerated or overblown. Wand knows where each peak is and how best to approach it. His reading is broader than it was 20 years ago, yet nowhere is there any sense of unwanted stasis. Wand draws from the orchestra, the brass and strings in particular, sound of great power and transparency which the engineers have translated in a record- ing of uncommon reach and splendour. This is a grand and worthy memento for the tens of thousands who heard Wand conduct the symphony in the concert hall.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010
“Enescu's 1920 First Quartet crams so much into 45-odd minutes that even two or three hearings barely scratch its surface. It's a veritable forest of invention, fairly Brahmsian in texture, organic in its thinking and frequently dramatic. The second movement incorporates sundry embellishments and effects (including the use of sulponticello), and the finale features variations on a march-like theme. It will make wonderful if challenging listening for anyone who values quality ideas above economical structuring. Although the two quartets share the single opus number, they're years apart chronologically, aeons if you consider their contrasting styles. The Second Quartet was Enescu's penultimate work, and breathes the heady aroma of Romanian folk music, especially in the slow movement and finale, which recall the world of the far better-known Third Violin Sonata. Shorter than the First Quartet by almost half, the Second feels tighter and more agile. The Ad Libitum Quartet do a fabulous job. They attend to Enescu's endless technical demands with a devotion that translates to apparent effortlessness. Naxos's superior production secures a top recommendation and unbeatable value too.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010
“ I'm sure it won't come amiss if I can persuade you to listen to a real sleeper, the disc of Enescu's string quartets.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2002
1. Allegro
Gramophone Awards 2002
