Leoncavallo: Pagliacci: Intermezzo

“For those of us who woud love going to the opera if only it wasn't for the singing, this disc could be the ideal choice...Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic make alert guides in this repertoire...the playing is well detailed and the performances are convincing. Chandos's record is typically rich and the bass drum should give your speakers a good workout.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2011

“This disc is deftly chosen and programmed, from the very well known...to the unusual...The ballet interludes are full of sparkling charm and Puccini provides the most indelible melodic output...The BBC Phil and Noseda play with an effortless sense of style, making the most of the music's variety of colour and sweeping mood changes.” Classic FM Magazine, March 2011 ****

“The playing is idiomatic, infectiously con passione and brio.” Sunday Times, 13th February 2011 ****

“it is much more than an hour-and-a-quarter's wallow in slow motion. There are excerpts here from operas one can wait forever to hear on stage....and every one of these tracks is well worth recording in purely musical terms...The performances are suitably vivid and sensitive, always finely controlled and shaped with a masterly hand by Gianendrea Noseda” International Record Review, March 2011

“[Noseda] approaches each item with a relish and stylistic certainty that makes you sit up and listen. The playing, also, is the equivalent of what one might hear in a major opera house, and on a good night, too.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2011 ****

“The conductor shows his mastery of phrase and idiom immediately in the opening La Traviata Prelude which is beautifully done, and the same poise gives distinction to the famous Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo and indeed the Puccini items. Where high drama is called for, as in the music of the verismo school, Karajan rises to the occasion and one can hear the resin sizzle as those Berlin string bows bite.” Stereo Record Guide