Live in Buenos Aires
MacGregor; Britten Sinfonia / Shave
Warner Classics 2564 684759

Release date February 2010

"All in all, an amazing concert" concluded Barrett Puig's review in the national newspaper, Busqueda. When I think of Joanna MacGregor, I immediately think of variety and the unexpected. Her latest release is no exception. Recorded live in Buenos Aires in 2007, the programme ranges from Bach to MacGregor's own arrangements of Piazzolla. Under the hands of MacGregor and the Britten Sinfonia, Bach's Keyboard Concerto in D minor has been given a fiery performance (no more so than in the outer movements). Following on from this, Stravinsky's Concerto in D for String Orchestra may not seem an obvious bedfellow between Bach and Dowland, yet the tonal and texturalcontrasts make each of the works all the more magical. There are three arrangements of Dowland songs that are extremely effective to my ears and only add to the enchantment of this disc (though may have purists throwing their hands up in horror - particularly at a jazzy take on Mr Dowland's Midnight). Egberto Gismonti (a Brazilian composer, b. 1947) was new to me and here we are treated to two premiere recordings. Both are mesmerising - just listen to Forrobodo where shimmering strings and a punchy piano part create an aural whirlwind. Piazzolla's Milonga del angel and Libertango have both been carefully arranged and are the perfect way to round off what can only have been an extraordinary concert.

Reviewed by Ruth Squire