In the modern age of studio recordings, with the technological ability to tweak almost any aspect of a performance from intonation to balance to reverb, it takes some serious courage and professional integrity to put out a CD of live performances with no edits. Such is the case with this album by violinist Timothy Schwarz. Daring aside, the sound quality yielded by Schwarz's recording venue is not ideal. He and his musical companions sound consistently far away, and the piano in particular is fairly muddy. For the most part ...
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In the modern age of studio recordings, with the technological ability to tweak almost any aspect of a performance from intonation to balance to reverb, it takes some serious courage and professional integrity to put out a CD of live performances with no edits. Such is the case with this album by violinist Timothy Schwarz. Daring aside, the sound quality yielded by Schwarz's recording venue is not ideal. He and his musical companions sound consistently far away, and the piano in particular is fairly muddy. For the most part, the pieces Schwarz put on this program rely predominantly on rhythm. While there's nothing inaccurate about his rhythm, there's not much exciting about it, either, and most of the tracks come across as sounding quite safe and uninteresting. The dull recorded sound makes even de Falla's vibrant Suite Popular Espanola seem quite soft around the edges, lacking in sufficient Spanish flair. Bach's Chaconne from the D minor Partita offers Schwarz at least a few moments of lyrical...
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