<<  -- 2 --  Bill Newman    CELEBRATORY PARADE

Roberto Cominati performed Schumann's Carnival. He had a harsh tone and played too fast. The performance of Debussy's Violin and Piano Sonata with Jennifer Koh suffered from poor internal balance, some of the tempi were misjudged and I missed that wonderful floating line.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet was quite magnificent, showing commanding stature and versatility in solo performances of the Wagner-Liszt Liebestod and Rachmaninov Preludes. His intuitive powers provided ideal matchings in Poulenc's Babar the Elephant, Debussy's Prélude a l'après midi d'un faune, and Messiaen's Le Merle noir with Paula Robison, Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata with Gauthier Capucon, the delightful pastoral Trio Sonata by Menotti with Cerovsek and Dressler, and his 'signature card' -- Franck's Quintet with Fain, Cerovsek, Huang and Kim.

John Gibbons' harpsichord playing was quite perfect for CPE and JS Bach, Couperin, Leclair, and in the cadenza to Brandenburg Concerto 5 his colleagues sat there admiring his concentrated ease and musical dexterity.

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