This is a splendid release presents extremely well
known baroque violin sonatas. The Tartini ‘Devil’s Trill’, Corelli’s
‘La Folia’ and the J.S. Bach ‘Air on a G string’ are all well known.
As a lover of period performances on original instruments
I would have preferred the use of basso continuo as opposed to
a piano as the accompaniment. My disappointment over the lack of authentic
accompaniment was more than compensated for as Chinese-born soloist
Bin Huang gives an inspirational performance in this often difficult
baroque repertoire. The superb soloist plays with such immediacy and
spontaneity that her performance has the feel of a live recital rather
than the studio recording that it is. The same evening after first listening
to this release I heard a recital on the radio from the Wigmore Hall
featuring the world famous violinist Joshua Bell and when comparing
their respective performances. Bin Huang wins hands down.
The recorded sound is acceptable with the violin being
slightly set back and the sound fitting into a narrow range. I would
have preferred a warmer sound with more bloom but maybe that lack of
opulence assists the ‘live’ feel of the performance. The pianist Hyun-Sun
Kim plays sympathetically and one soon gets used to the sound of the
modern piano.
Award-winning soloist Bin Huang is a hidden gem of
a player giving a wonderful performance. She undoubtedly deserves wider
public acclaim.
Michael Cookson
Bin Huang (violin)