COMPOSERS: Spohr
LABELS: Philips
WORKS: Nonet in F; Octet in E; Waltz in A (Erinnerung an Marienbad)
PERFORMER: ASMF Chamber Ensemble
CATALOGUE NO: 438 017-2 DDD
This disc is a winner. The Nonet is full of punch, never overdone. the Scherzo has an effortless salon feel, the Adagio is boudoir Beethoven and the springy, Hummel-style finale has all the wit of Offenbach. Gorgeous paired horns, a Viennese minuet and yodelling finale all enhance the Octet. And the variations on Handel’s ‘Harmonious Blacksmith’ that form its slow movement, ranging easily from the aerated to the funereal, will delight. The acoustic is intimate. Roderic Dunnett
Spohr: Nonet in F; Octet in E; Waltz in A (Erinnerung an Marienbad)
This disc is a winner. The Nonet is full of punch, never overdone. the Scherzo has an effortless salon feel, the Adagio is boudoir Beethoven and the springy, Hummel-style finale has all the wit of Offenbach. Gorgeous paired horns, a Viennese minuet and yodelling finale all enhance the Octet. And the variations on Handel’s ‘Harmonious Blacksmith’ that form its slow movement, ranging easily from the aerated to the funereal, will delight. The acoustic is intimate. Roderic Dunnett
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:12 pm