The main interest of this recording is in that it avoids the usual programmatic cliches, bringing together some of the double and triple concertos in which Bach had a hand, in an unusual mix. The D minor Concerto for violin and oboe is a scholastically justified reconstruction from the two harpsichord Concerto in C minor, BWV1060, and the three-violin Concerto, BWV1064, is likewise derived from one for three harpsichords, the provenance of which is in doubt; the pedigrees of the other two works (BWV1043 and 1044) are not in question. I was unable to raise even a glimmer of enthusiasm for the previous all-Bach recording on Cirrus by the Moscow Virtuosi and Vladimir Spivakov (12/87—nla), and I can muster precious little for this new one.
The Double Concerto, BWV1043 reappears, rerecorded, and though the Largo is less tanto, the whole remains turgid; an adjective that applies in varying degrees to the other performances in this recording. Just how many Muscovite virtuosi there are is undisclosed, but they sound too many. The plodding, heavy and unimaginative opening is typical: phrases have little light and shade—notes wear their hair to the right length (or a bit longer) but hairpins are rarely used to give it shape, and even when the metronome registers a brisk pace the flesh is not inhabited by the spirit. One detail illustrates the stylistic unawareness: in bar 26 of the Adagio of BWV1060 three quavers are marked to be played short, which is what Alexei Utkin, the excellent oboist, does; Spivakov's response is legato.
A word of praise is due also to Elena Duran and, when he is not reduced to a distant buzz, Sergei Bezrodny, their conjunction in BWV1044 brings the closest approach to good style and spirit on offer in this recording. The others are not lacking in technical wherewithal; what they need is time spent in listening to others who know how baroque music should sound and feel.'