Mozart Piano Sonatas, Josep Colom. Eudora Records 2024 (Pure DSD256) HERE
"There are good pianists, and then there is Josep Colom." *
A living legend. A creative genius. A brilliantly and entrancingly insightful artist. Spanish pianist Josep Colom is all of that and more. And if you've not listened to his recordings, you have been missing some of the greatest musicianship of the last twenty years.
"So, tell me," says Ann, "do you like Josep Colom's performances?"
Oh, indeed, yes. Each time I listen to one of his albums I am simply lost in awe for an hour or more.
The delicacy with which he plays—the way he lingers over a phrase—how he stretches a note and the following rest. He simply sucks me into the music. Every single time.
For this album, I thought, "Oh, just more Mozart... I'm sure it will be pleasant." Hmmm... No. With Josep Colom nothing is simply "pleasant." He is going to wrap your brain around your ears and spin you into a different dimension of musical insight and pure delight.
His recordings are never ordinary. They are experiences to treasure. He has a way of taking music written 300 years ago and making it live and breathe afresh for today, whether Bach, or Beethoven, or Chopin, or Liszt, or Mozart (as in this album). Or go with him on an exploration of 20th century composer Frederic Mompou (1893-1987) and be ready for an other worldly experience.
In this album dedicated to the music of Mozart, as in some of his other recordings, Colom employs a device of Interludes, short segments of music of his own composing, that comment on or presage passages of the work in performance. As the writer of the liner notes says, "In this recital, he brings back a practice from a hundred years ago—inserting music of the artist's own creation in between the composer's movements. The practice of inserting interludes between movements...enables the performer to guide our listening as we move from one expressive world to another."
And the result is a musical experience superlative in every way.
The Interludes are typically very short, 20-40 seconds only. And they flow seamlessly. Not distracting, they enhance one's experience of the principal composition.
If you want a truly special musical experience, find this album and listen to it.
The sound quality of the recording is exceptional. It is another outstanding recording by Gonzalo Noqué, who seems to rise to more excellent sonic results with each album he has recorded and produced. He has a very special talent for recording solo piano.
In my experience, few recording engineers manage to successfully balance the direct and reflected sound of the piano. Gonzalo gets impressively detailed sound while allowing the piano sound fully like a real instrument in a natural acoustic space. This is a rare achievement. A part of his magic is his ability to capture the full decay of notes with all the delicate harmonics intact. He allows space for the notes to breathe, to expand, to fully develop in the air. This recording is a master's class in recording technique to achieve a completely realistic result.
And to top it off, the album is released in Pure DSD256—with no PCM processing. The resulting transparency, purity, and clarity of the sound is stunning.
Most highly recommended.
I've reviewed other recordings that Josep Colom has made for Eudora Records. Each is remarkable. Each is released in Pure DSD256. All are highly recommended. (Read HERE for reviews of the albums below.)
Postscript: For a deeper dive into what Gonzalo Noqué and Tom Caulfield (NativeDSD's mastering engineer) are doing to create these Pure DSD256 releases, you might enjoy reading Mixing in Pure DSD - No PCM Allowed, published in Positive Feedback back in February, 2023, with free sample download to compare.
Gonzalo Noqué, setting up for a recording circa 2021
* From an article by Valentina Rojo Squadrons.
All images courtesy of Eudora Records.
