✯✯✯✯✯
Nicholas Daniel/Julius Drake
(Chandos)
This eight-work record, some pieces arranged by Daniel, is a dream – despite most of the pieces not being originally written for the performers’ instruments
But it’s a measure of the care and sensitivity that Daniel and Drake bring to everything they play that there is never any sense of awkwardness or falseness. Schumann’s lyricism flows beautifully from Daniel’s oboe in every phrase – and even in works such as the Adagio and Allegro Op 70, originally written for horn but also frequently played, like the Pieces in Folk Character Op 102, as a cello piece – and the changes of register never jar. This duo are by no means the first to assemble a disc of Schumann’s music for oboe – most famously there’s a collection on Philips from the great Heinz Holliger, partnered by Alfred Brendel, no less – but this one is pure delight from first note to last.
To read the full review please click the follow link: Guardian Album Review