BBC Music Magazine: outstanding; Music Web International: outstanding.
In a series that has been called “very important” (Classics Today.com), “of an exceptional level” (Diapason), “always surprising, and certainly ideal” (Répertoire) and “deeply sympathetic” (International Record Review), Miklòs Spànyi has reached the 13th volume, featuring one concerto and two sonatinas for keyboard and orchestra – a genre which, according to the informative liner notes by C.P.E. Bach scholars Jane R. Stevens and Darrell M. Berg, arose as ”a direct effort to provide music for a growing concert-going musical public”. As might be expected, these are works of immediate appeal, with those trademarks of their composer: the unceasing spirit of innovation and the highly individual use of rhythm and keys. (The opener on this disc is the Sonatina in F major – which actually starts in d minor: a strategy that increases the major mode’s feeling of brightness when it belatedly appears.)
For those of you who haven’t yet discovered the wonderful world of C. P. E. Bach’s keyboard works, this is a good place to start; for those who have, prepare yourself for a generous hour of sheer enjoyment!
