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Originally Posted by DarkAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Time to update my Mozart violin concerto collection......
I have the old school Grumiaux/Phillips Duo
I have the HIP versions Standage/Lyre and Hugget/Virgin......waiting for Fabio Biondi to complete Virgin label set
Now I placed an order for these two:
Anne-Sophie Mutter has really spread her wings and taken flight since her days with HVK, these samples sound great.
Looks like she conducts as well as performs, I am hoping these will be a hybrid blend of HIP/Classic styles with rich sound.
Giuliano Carmignola has really impressed me with his recent Vivaldi CDs, hopefully Abbado can hold up his end and give us a fresh hybrid style performance, exciting time for 75yr old Abbado as he is now back on top of game game adapting his style and producing fresh vital work
Any comments on these............
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Avoid the Symphonies (pictured below)!
The only thing HIP about Mutter's Mozart are the tempos. She uses a modern violin, steel strings, and as much vibrato as she can manage. She is also front and center on these recordings, so while enjoyable, they are as far from HIP as you can get. This is really Mozart for the Masses: a lot of fun, but not that deep. Her concertos are a romp in a not quite accurate period costume, a soundtrack waiting for a movie. They would be a perfect backdrop for a Sofia Coppola style costume drama. Carmignola's recording on the other hand is very HIP -- gut strings, period violin and bows, and light, light, light on the vibrato.
If you want other HIP Mozart violin concertos, then you need at least 2 different recordings: the Andrew Manze (3-5) and the Fabio Biondi (1-3) recordings compliment each other very well, with little overlap. For the Sinfonia Concertante, you will need to look futher: L'Archibudelli recorded the Gran Sestetto (after the Sinfonia), but I can't recall another HIP recording of the Sinfonia aside from Carmignola's. Which brings us to the Carmignola/Abbado collaboration.
The Abbado/Carmignola, is aces and spades above Abbado's late Mozart Symphonies with the same orchestra. Clearly Carmignola must have had a lot of input into these because you couldn't find a greater contrast than these two Abbado recordings. The Carmignola collaboration is successful, whereas the pure Abbado recording is a mess. Mozart is almost bulletproof, but he's been severely wounded in this recording. As the Concertos with the same forces is so superior, I just have to believe that Abbado has gone out to make some HIP recordings for the money without really understanding what he needs to do; there's little to recommend with those symphonies. I was reluctant to take David Hurwitz's assessment at face value because he is very antipathetic to HIP instrument performance as well as being very negative about Abbado, however I came to the sad conclusion that perhaps his review may overrate (slightly) the quality of the recordings. The sound quality isn't the greatest either; not because it's poorly engineered, but because it cools down the drama of the symphonies which are also curiously lacking in any feeling of intimacy.
Edit: After going through the catalog of my cds, I found the Sinfonia Concertante done by Jurgen Kussmaul and the Amsterdam Baroque Players. It also features L'Archubelli members Vera Beths on violin and Anner Bijlsma on cello. I'm going to go through all the cds until I find it, so that I can compare it to the Carmignola. This will make for a very pleasant weekend.