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2008 press/reviews | 2007 reviews | 2006 reviews | 2004-2005 reviews | miscellaneous quotes
Reviews from Banqueting House, London: 17 December 2002
La
cetra... et cetera
Director and soloist: Fabio Biondi
Concertmaster: Lorenzo Colitto
At
the Banqueting House, the European Union Baroque Orchestra reached
the penultimate performance of their tour with violin supremo Fabio Biondi;
one of three they will make with early music luminaries through the course
of their year's work. Drawn from ten countries, this orchestra of graduate
players is a uniquely successful
example of enlightened professional apprenticeship. Were anyone
to think that Vivaldi might sound more or less the same as Geminiani or
Sammartini, EUBO are the band to alter that perception; lending distinct
character to composers otherwise bracketed in one big Baroque lump. Scintillating
is the only word for them - so alert, responsive and imaginative
is their playing - and though each player could walk into a job with any
of Europe's top period instrument ensembles tomorrow, I'd hazard a bet
that EUBO boasts some future superstars in the form of Kathrin Sutor (cello), Christine Sticher (double bass),
Cvetanka Sozovska (harpsichord), and Carles Cristobal (bassoon). Remember
these names: they're the Biondis, Christies and Minkowskis of the next
generation.
The Independent on Sunday (Anna Picard) 22 December 2002
**********************************************************************************************
A
concert that always lifts my spirits is the annual visit of the European
Union Baroque Orchestra to Banqueting House. Each year, around
30 young baroque musicians are chosen from a shortlist of 100 from across
Europe to spend about 6 months working together, normally preparing and
touring around four separate concert programmes led by a different director.
Sadly, only one of the programmes ever seems to get to the UK. This year
the UK got to hear how violinist Fabio Biondi had managed to mould the
group in a programme of Handel, Vivaldi and Haydn, with Porta and Geminiani
thrown in as encores. My admiration for these young musicians has never
faltered over the years. The future
of the early music instrumental world is absolutely assured as
long as there are sufficient opportunities for these superbly talented
youngsters to make a decent living. I wonder how many of them will make
that living in the UK? One aspect of their professionalism that was particularly
noticeable this year was the way that they managed to perform convincingly
in the quirky style of Biondi. I admired the way Biondi shed new light
on many of the Italian baroque composers that have suffered for years
from stale automaton performances. .…the
young musicians showed sufficient versatility to adapt and their sense
of unity was outstanding. I
wish them all well.
Early Music Review February 2003