067 CD / Antonio Rosetti: Symphonies, Piano Concertos
Description
"More and more music lovers are discovering Antonio Rosetti, Mozart’s contemporary from Wallerstein in Bavaria. After a number of horn concertos and a few delightful symphonies, these are the two first piano concertos to be released; one of them – also a rarity – was composed by Rosetti together with his pupil Nanette von Schaden. A Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra with delight in playing, a soloist (Nerine Barrett) who hits Rosetti’s timbre most perfectly, and a conductor who clearly cares about this music are the features of this recording. A must for every music collection." (customer review)
6 reviews for 067 CD / Antonio Rosetti: Symphonies, Piano Concertos
Füge deine Bewertung hinzu
You must be logged in to post a review.
Diapason –
At the beginning of the 2000s, Johannes Moesus recorded two Rosetti albums with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, titled "Orchestral Works Vol. I & II", as if they were the start of a grand anthology—or even a complete works edition (MDG, see no. 505). No Volume III has yet appeared, and while we await a possible continuation, we can bide our time with this 1998 recording, again by Moesus, but this time with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra—a more suitable ensemble for these works. The album introduces us to piano concertos that were quite popular in their day, where Rosetti adopts a tone, verve, and balance reminiscent of Mozart’s early concertos, albeit with more modest ambitions. Yet the joy that courses through the allegros, the amorous languor of the slow movements, and the subtle dialogues between keyboard and orchestra possess an immediate charm—typical of many works from the Classical era. Jamaican pianist Nerine Barrett performs them with conviction and delightful delicacy.
The symphonies (also previously unrecorded) reveal the same galant style infused with pre-Romantic ruptures, as previously highlighted by the Concerto Köln in two unmatched CDs (Teldec). The dominant seventh chord opening the first symphony, the hunting effects in its finale, and the chromatic fragrances of the second all attest to Rosetti’s craftsmanship. Moesus brings out these qualities with refinement, though without the brilliance or boldness of the Concerto Köln. This program helps us better acquaint ourselves with a composer who is increasingly well-served on record.
Jean-Luc Macia
KulturSPIEGEL –
The very beginning of the CD is already thrilling: it was not Beethoven who first opened a symphony (his first) with a dominant seventh chord, but Rosetti. After that, the symphonies present themselves as the epitome of Sturm und Drang in music: virtuosic, rapid, and brilliant. The piano concertos are also extremely attractive concert music—why they are almost never performed live remains a mystery...
Concerto –
To leave no doubt: a historically informed performance is still not to be heard here. Nevertheless—or perhaps precisely because Johannes Moesus and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra’s interpretation of the symphonies stands out so positively from the crowd—this young conductor inspires great hope. One can therefore look forward with anticipation to his future projects in the “early music crossover” realm.
MDR Kultur –
The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, precise, sensitive, and beautifully toned under Johannes Moesus, performs alongside the fabulous pianist Nerine Barrett in two symphonies and two piano concertos by Rosetti. As mentioned—highly recommended.
Fanfare-Magazin –
... The sound of the TACET recording is of demonstration quality ... The notes, by Sterling E. Murray, president of the International Rosetti society, are very thorough. The performances are first-class. As expected, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra is well polished. Johannes Moesus is a young German conductor of considerable quality. He is also president of the International Rosetti society. I have not previously encountered pianist Nerine Barrett. A Jamaican, she has studied and performed widely according the notes. Certainly her performances here indicate we should be hearing more from her...
Anyone interested in Rosetti is well advised to obtain both recordings.
John Bauman
International Record Review –
... this is no vanity disc, pandering to the obsessions of some misguided group of nerds. Rosetti is well worth promoting. ... The music on this disc has been carefully assembled, two symphonies and two piano concertos from c1780, and is informatively introduced in the disc notes by the American authority on the composer, Sterling E. Murray. ... While symphonies by minor composers from the Classical period are well represented in the CD catalogue, concertos, especially piano concertos, are less frequently encountered. The two on this disc date from about five to six years before Mozart′s masterworks. Of course they are not the equal of the Mozart works, but they do show where the greater composer was coming from. Particularly charming are the slow movements, not only in their lyricism but in their blending of piano and orchestral sonority. Nerine Barrett is a most persuasive advocat, with a subtly graded tone and a nice pointing of phrasing that, at the same time, avoids the mannered. ... The label, TACET, is an unusual one with an unusual name (′He′s silent′). It′s well worth pestering your dealer or struggling with the internet to get a copy of this CD...
David Wyn Jones