Mmmmust... rrresist... p-p-p-pun... arrrgh...

Richard Goode - Mozart
Well, if I continue this trend, I might just have to add a "Classical Album Reviews" category or something. Showing my other side here... I'll get to the other new releases out today... but for now...

I love Nonesuch Records. Of course, as you now know, I first fell in love with them when they started releasing the Górecki recordings. Not only were the recordings top-notch quality and top-notch performances, they also injected a proper amount of style to the packaging and marketing. So many classical recordings seriously lack in those areas therefore potentially losing any kind of mass appeal. The covers of the Górecki discs just about forced you to want to take a listen. Call me shallow or crazy, but I think that kind of stuff is important if your goal is to get as many people to listen to the albums as possible. And Nonesuch does it so well. Not like a porn movie where all the money is spent on the packaging and the movie inside is a low-budget disaster (I almost used the words "sucks" or "blows" but thought better of it...), Nonesuch's recordings match their gorgeous exterior.

This album, released today and available on Rhapsody, is no exception. It's packaging fits so well alongside the Górecki albums and the other greats in Nonesuch's catalog (including the impeccably dressed A Ghost Is Born by Wilco). And inside that package is yet another stellar album. The production on this one is as clean as I have heard for a piano-only album. Sure, you may think it's easy to achieve that when there's only one instrument involved, but I can assure you that recording the piano is not easy. With this recording we get to hear the crystal clear sounds of the piano filled with the expression of Mr. Goode without having to endure the miscellaneous sounds a piano can make, nor the sounds of the airspace between the mic(s) and the piano strings.

Richard Goode has had a lengthy successful career, considered to be a master interpreter of Beethoven. He has two releases of Bach Paritas, both of which are critically acclaimed and one of which appears on Rhapsody. This recording of Mozart takes us through lesser known pieces that are so well played that you will even forget to notice his playing... as natural as the pieces themselves. Mozart as it should be played. With emotion, but also with a keen sense of structure, melody, and timing. Mozart was the master of the "Classical" period, providing that incredibly sturdy bridge between the regimented counterpoint of Bach and the romantics, such as Beethoven and Brahms. Mr. Goode does sweet justice to these pieces.

Ok, need to get back to some good indie stuff before I become too refined here. Enjoy!