Mozart: Flute Concertos; Flute Sonatas

Advantages: Cheap, easy to listen to
Disadvantages: Won't rock your world

...This is an elegantly packaged and well presented CD which pretty much does just what it says on the box. It is a re-release from EMI's excellent and superbly engineered back catalogue, well at this price what would you expect? The English Chamber Orchestra is ably marshalled by Sir Yehudi Menuhin, who for all his genius as a solo violinist, never really achieved top-flight status as a conductor. And alongside him the flute playing from Samuel Coles is bright and suitably mellifluous. These are pieces you will know, even if you didn't know that you knew them. Their vintage puts them at the back end of the time before period instrument performances began to dominate the market in classical music. In that sense this is a refreshingly full-bodied listen, without the up-beat tempi, straight-edged strings and honking wind and brass... Read review

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Advantages: You could become a genius
Disadvantages: But then again you might not

...According to a website I visited recently, the illustrious President of the United States, George W. Bush (otherwise known as George W. Gump) has an I.Q. of 91. That may or may not be true – if it is, I didn’t realise it was that high. Mr Bush may be interested to learn (but probably isn’t) that he could increase his intelligence quotient by several points, according to researchers, by the simple expedient of – wait for it – listening to Mozart. There are many websites devoted to what is known as The Mozart Effect, notably http://www.mozarteffect.com and you can check them out for yourself. The basic premise is that anyone exposed regularly to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will benefit by increasing their brain-power. Actually, the music used for the research was his Sonata for Two Pianos, a delightful work that anyone can... Read review

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Advantages: Classic Brendel, good sound
Disadvantages: Classic Brendel

...After having spent quite some time, both in the studio and the concert hall, concentrating exclusively on the Beethoven Piano Sonatas and Piano Concertos, Brendel, whilst always being limited to some, (not inconsiderable, it seems) extent by physical problems in and around the areas of his back and arms, is now free to explore other music avenues. This is the second disk of Brendel's Mozart with which we have been presented over the recent past; the other being his account of two of the concertos. Here we have performances of 3 of the unaccompanied sonatas. Brendel has long been considered as being a Mozartian of zest and insight. But, for me at least, his interprtations of this Master can seem a little quirky. Its as if he doesn't, in some way, relate to the personality and musical language of Mozart with quite the same success as he... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful