Like the first two releases in The Mozartists’ ongoing ‘Sturm und Drang’ series, this recording comprises three highly dramatic and turbulent orchestral works interspersed with similarly highly-charged vocal items. The repertoire dates from between 1771 and 1788, and again includes one of Haydn’s great minor-key symphonies – this time arguably the greatest of them all, the ‘Trauer’. For the first time in the series Mozart is also represented, in the form of his extraordinarily visceral and darkly chromatic Adagio and Fugue in C minor, and the disc opens with an outstanding G minor symphony by the Czech composer Leopold Kozeluch, whose quality, sweep and lyricism will surprise many listeners. The two vocal works are genuine rarities. Schweitzer’s Alceste was one of the earliest attempts to create German tragic opera in the vernacular, and it launches with an aria of searing intensity. The scene from Paisiello’s Annibale in Torino – the twenty-third of his eighty-seven operas –features an exquisite but brief arioso before leading into a stormy G minor aria. The soloist is the exciting young American soprano Emily Pogorelc, and Ian Page again conducts his award-winning period-instrument ensemble.
“Overall…this makes for another exceptionally satisfying addition to a series that is special not just for the thought and scholarship that goes into it, but Page’s direction of his fine players. It is throughout beautifully balanced and paced, while at the same time musically highly insightful” – Early Music Review
“…exceptional disc from Signum Classics…Ian Page and his Mozartists deliver performances of the highest artistic standards mixed with a profound knowledge of a musical period that overflowed with emotional fervour and groundbreaking extremes. The vocal pieces sung by American soprano Emily Pogorel are despatched with scintillating virtuosity and sparkling elan. This is a disc that will give much pleasure to many in general, and especially to those interested in discovering more about this period of transition between the baroque and classical eras. I unreservedly recommend not only this issue, but the whole cycle” – Classical Music Daily
“With a stellar performance by American soprano Emily Pogorelc [she] fascinates the listener with exquisite but brief arios. [Leopold Koželuch’s Symphony in G minor is] performed with a superb quality by Mozartist musicians, who highlight its beautiful tonal modulations and expressive energy. In the joyous fourth movement [of “Mourning”], Page infuses a precise, tight sense of rhythm into his musicians and confers delightfully engaging emanations of tenderness” – Sonograma Magazine
“The bomb-proof technical standard of the [Mozartists’] playing would surely have delighted Mozart. And winsome justice is done to the beautiful slow movements of Kozeluch’s and Haydn’s symphonies. The stand-out feature here is the sensational contribution of American soprano Emily Pogorelc. Her singing here has superb technical sureness, state-of-the-art command of the music’s wild emotional switchbacks, and firework-display virtuosity to match.”
Performance ****
Recording ****
– BBC Music Magazine
“Ian Page and his orchestra are wonderful advocates for this powerful music” – Gramophone