Review: Celtic HIP from Makaris
A best-of disc from 2022. The New York-based Makaris ensemble takes a refreshing, historically informed approach to 18th-c. Scottish tunes, (mis)attributed to David Rizzio.
CD Review: You’ve Got Mail—a Forgotten Violinist Gets Her Due
She’s remembered for a letter the great Tartini sent her, a key document on 18th c. violin technique. But Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen was herself an inventive composer, and this is the first historical performance CD of her engaging Violin Duets Op. 5.
CD Review: Cellist Elinor Frey Explores Early Italian Concertos
A champion of under-performed 18-century treasures for cello, Elinor Frey’s latest recording is high in virtuosity and appeal. As the cover suggests, she has two instruments at her disposal: one a standard Strad-model cello, the other a 3/4 size cello that allows several of the works to really sing.
CD Review: Mozart for Historical Bassoon
‘Mozart’s Bassoon’ features Peter Whelan as the soloist in the popular Bassoon Concerto while also directing his period-instrument group Ensemble Marsyas. The disc includes compelling performances of Mozart’s lesser-known Bassoon Sonata in B flat and one of his convention-defying wind serenades.
CD Review: Tafelmusik Reissue Salutes Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Amid a long-overdue reckoning on race in the United States, Tafelmusik has reissued its 2003 album of Saint-Georges’s music with the goal of “properly centering the composer’s achievements.”