Mozart in Havana: Piano Concertos Nos 21 & 23
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart in Havana: Piano Concertos Nos 21 & 23
Simone Dinnerstein (piano) / Havana Lyceum Orchestra, José Antonio Méndez Padrón
[ Sony Classical / CD ]
Release Date: Monday 7 August 2017
Enriched by her first collaboration in 2015 with this Cuban Youth Orchestra Simone Dinnerstein returned to Havana this year to record two of Mozart's most well-known and loved piano concertos with them.
One of the first recorded classical music collaborations between US and Cuban musicians since the thawing of political relations between the two countries.
The young Havana-based orchestra overcomes challenges rarely faced by western orchestras including lack of access to quality instruments and materials (the musicians often retune their instruments down to A336 to ensure longevity of their strings).
"She pays the C major, K467, with heartfelt directness, purity of line and a way of bringing out inner counterpoints without labouring the obvious or exaggerating feminine endings in the name of 'expression'....the orchestra's potential for greatness is obvious, and so is the seriousness and fervent dedication that their music director Jose Antonio Méndez Padrón brings to everything he conducts." Gramophone
"the orchestra plays with winning buoyancy, freshness and simple elegance. The sound is robust, blended rather than transparent, and may not appeal to period-performance devotees, yet it's never too heavy. It's a good match for the playing of US pianist Simone Dinnerstein, who was taught by a Cuban émigré. Her interpretations are graceful, lyrical and mostly unfussy." The Guardian
"Played by soloist Simone Dinnerstein and the Havana orchestra this is one of the most uplifting and thoroughly enjoyable releases I have heard this year. Undoubtedly these are accounts I will play often even if they don't displace my primary recommendations. ...Sheer delight from start to finish this Simone Dinnerstein/Havana partnership is a richly rewarding one and deserves to be heard in this much loved Mozart repertoire." (MusicWeb Aug 2017)
Tracks:
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K467 'Elvira Madigan' (1785) [29.25]
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, KV 488 (1786) [26.52]
