Orchestra Mozart/ Claudio Abbado, Deutsche Grammophon, 477 8908 ****

Claudio Abbado’s recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos was made in concert at the Teatro Municipale Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia in April 2007. The soloists with Abbado’s young Orchestra Mozart are drawn from the world of early music and beyond: violinist and leader Giuliano Carmignola; harpsichordist Ottavio Dantone; recorder player Michala Petri; flautist Jacques Zoon; and horn player Jonathan Williams. The style is more relaxed than self-consciously brilliant, and Abbado, seeing himself as first among equals, functioned more as guiding light than as any kind of conductorial enforcer. In other words, these performances are delivered with something of the atmosphere of genuine chamber music-making about them.

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