Fantasies for Bassoon

“Geoghegan is probably the best advocate the instrument could have: even though parts of the 'Arpeggione' Sonata (usually heard on cello or viola) don't quite work on the bassoon, as the ear adjusts her exemplary musicianship comes through and triumphs...There's a wonderfully natural quality to Geoghegan's phrasing and expression - especially in the Schumann - and she is partnered adeptly at all times by Philip Edward Fish** er.” --Classic FM Magazine, December 2011 **

“the most substantial music comes in the transcription of Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata...It would be foolish to expect the bassoon to offer the emotional depth and richness of tone that can be accommodated on a string instrument, but Karen Geoghegan certainly convinces with the melancholic hue of the first movement.” --BBC Music Magazine, February 2012 ****

“There is no clowning here. If anything, the bassoon lends a pleasant dolefulness to the music played on this CD...Even the cello...is not as consistently mellow as a bassoon, when it is played by a musician on Geoghegan's level.” --International Record Review, January 2012

Miloš Mediterráneo

“Karadaglic can articulate rapidly with the best of them, but what stands out even in busy textures is an unshakably serene breadth of phrasing, fluent rhythm and unforced rubato...Nor does he need to draw attention to his own virtuosity, and his music-making is all the more absorbing for it.” --BBC Music Magazine *****

“Karadaglić demonstrates exemplary technical skill and command of the instrument, musical flair and some really arresting and unusual tone colours in the style of his hero Julian Bream...He's at his most impressive and exciting in the transcriptions of piano works by Albeniz - Asturias and Granada - where his brilliant technique is evident.” --Classic FM

MP3 320 · 146 MB

Reverie

“…the chemistry between Wang and Söllscher producing performances that are extremely polished but spontaneous in this intimately recorded programme.” --BBC Music Magazine ****

“The works are well chosen, sensitively arranged and tastefully ordered. More importantly, though, the playing is exquisite. Rarely have I heard Wang so beautifully restrained; rarely have I heard Söllscher so naturally expressive.” --Gramophone

"Reverie" is indeed a collection of fragrant petals, albeit far from dry. The works are well chosen, sensitively arranged and tastefully ordered. More importantly, though, the playing is exquisite. Rarely have I heard Wang so beautifully restrained; rarely have I heard Söllscher so naturally expressive . . . their individual timbres and modes of tone production provide a wealth of variety. Falla's "Danza espanola" No. 1 and "Nana" (from his "Siete canciones populares espanolas") combine to form the ideal exordium, immediately grabbing the listener's attention while providing a perfect summary of the whole disc.

The vibrant colours and exciting rhythms of the "Danza" become muted and yet more emotionally dense in the song, Wang matching the weight of his tone to Söllscher's feathery harmonics while sacrificing nothing in terms of intensity. The effect is mesmerising . . . Many examples of each artist's sensitivity to the other follow, Piazzolla's "Milonga del ángel" and the famous "Sicilienne" among the best. But really there are no disappointments. Even the base metal of "Memory" from "Cats", with which the disc ends, is transformed into pure gold. --Record Review /William Yeoman, Gramophone

MP3 320 · 142 MB