| Sublime Mozart - Review Excerpts |
 SA-CD.NET (UK) (22 March 2009) "Sublime Mozart indeed!...as near perfection as one could ever expect to hear." "This new release deserves to be placed among the best" "Outstanding performances, recorded with Melba's usual rich sonics. The release lives up to its title: Sublime Mozart...Both of these are packaged luxuriously, with profuse program notes. Recommended!" Otago Daily Times (NZ) (25 July 2009) "... excellent playing and tonal control by Dean ... Recording quality is outstanding, as is top-notch packaging' "... superbly played ... wonderfully recorded." "[Paul Dean] deploys his warm, flexible tone with great discernment throughout, breathing new life into these oft-recorded standards of the classical repertoire." "With the Grainger Quartet's recent disbandment this is perhaps their last recording as a featured ensemble and should be deemed a collector's item. A beautifully presented, artistically satisfying release. In a word: sublime." "Paul Dean shapes the lovely melodic arches in both works with a sure musical instinct, producing a rich, mellow tone and manifesting exceptional control - the softest notes always speak without a hint of breathiness...As is typical for this label, the packaging is lavish." "[Tourniaire] accompanies with supple precision the equally inspired, lofty clarinet of Paul Dean...this SACD is a little marvel of which one must also praise the quality presentation." "Paul Dean plays with all the virtuosic style that has won him honours as 'the most distinguished clarinettist of his generation." Res Musica (France) (18 May 2009) "Paul Dean is magnificently accompanied by The Queensland Orchestra." "Two classic clarinet works from the master feature in these all Australian performances, both of which reach the highest musical standards." "...the soloist's performance is of such quality that it is worth hearing on his account...The recording is excellent." New Classics (UK) (23 September 2009) "...outstanding..." "I have never heard of the Queensland Orchestra but they play elegantly and emotionally. The Grainger Quartet plus Paul Dean at the clarinet is charming and exquisite...and oh so delicate. This hybrid is one hour of pure listening pleasure. "From the opening bars of the concerto Paul Dean demonstrates not only his impressive technical skills but also his understanding of the way the instrument needs to integrate with the orchestra...The exquisite detailing of Dean's playing allows for the creation of superbly placed spaces and silences and he also manages to draw out the emotional qualities of the work providing elegant passages of chiaroscuro. "In both works Paul Dean demonstrates his exemplary fluency and a stylish, marvellously phrased affinity for Mozart's classical demands. Moreover conductor Tourniaire appears to have the measure of the enduringly superlative score. Still better, Dean and the Grainger Quartet turn in a sensitive, eminently competitive account of the Clarinet Quintet (1789)...I expect to enjoy some further R&R, reacquainting myself with Melba Recordings' excellent centenarian tribute disc." Sunday Herald Sun (Australia) (22 March 2009) "Internationally lauded Australian Paul Dean brings great warmth to his execution of the instrument's fulsome role in its partnerships with orchestra and chamber ensemble." |