SA-CD.net - Julevariasjoner

Review by SnaggS March 1, 2007 (4 of 4 found this review helpful)	Performance: Sonics:
Wow.. this is currently my favorite SA-CD.. I still find myself playing it every couple of days. Now some background, it was hard to get for me in Australia, I had to order it through HMV Japan, and then it took about 3 months for them to get hold of the title, I'm glad I didn't cancel the order!! These are piano variations on traditional Christmas hymns/songs, similiar to the kind of treatment Bach (or John Coltrane) would give.. they feel oh so familiar and it does take you a while before it clicks what the actual tune is.. then click, ahhh.. Now this is a very good thing, because otherwise I wouldn't be listening to "Christmas music" in March! Every single tune on the disc is completely renewed by the soft and minimalist variations he has created. Now onto sound, it is a gorgeous piano sound. I had a friend come over.. with a puzzled look on his face wondering where the piano was, until he realised I was just playing a CD. Very gentle and smooth, with the ethereal timbre you get from a good SACD. So if you like "December" by George Winston, Brian Eno "Music for Airports", Eric Satie or just beautiful music.. this one is for you. Daniel.
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Review by threerandot November 2, 2006 (4 of 5 found this review helpful)	Performance: Sonics:
The sound is certainly beautifully balanced and I have never heard a piano more realistically caught than on this disc. It is a very intimate approach to these works. There is just the right reverberance without losing that sense of closeness to the performer. I have only listened to the MCH portion of this disc. Plagge is an intelligent and sensitive performer and the colors of the piano come through clearly from top to bottom. This is a very relaxing recording and it was only a few minutes after putting it in my player that I became quite enthralled with this disc and listened to it from beginning to end. Throughout, it was easy to hear how much this recording does sound like a real piano! And yes, it is very much like jazz recordings I have heard in the past, but with the classical approach to improvising. I think many people who have differing tastes could easily enjoy a disc like this and that certainly reflects the 2L motto "free from the strains of genre". A highly successful experiment. I would like to hear what Gramophone or the Penguin Guide would say about a disc like this. Easily recommended to classical lovers or just about anybody I'd say! After listening to this, I am wondering when 2L might release a disc of Plagge playing Debussy's piano music?
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