Sturm und Drang, Volume 1 (UK release May 2020)
“Ian Page and The Mozartists always combine fascinating programming with thrilling music-making, and this first excursion into the dramatic heart of Sturm und Drang is no exception.”
“Ian Page’s projects with The Mozartists are distinguished not only by exemplary standards of performance but also by the ambition and imagination that underpin them. ‘Mozart in London’ (7/18) was a vital, ear-opening exploration of music in the English capital in the 1760s and now Page and his musicians turn their attention to developments in operatic and orchestral music at around the same time in Central Europe… The playing throughout is excellent and the programme is as deeply satisfying as the project’s entire conception.”
“This music from the turbulent 1760s – the first part of a seven-disc project, performed with great brilliance – is a startling ear-opener.”
“The Sturm und Drang (storm and stress) movement is all about high drama, something Ian Page and the Mozartists, playing with scintillating edginess, offer in abundance here.”
“Here we have the first in a projected cycle of seven volumes, confirming the expressive excellence of the ensemble directed by British conductor Ian Page, ideally suited to the chosen repertoire; then there is the intelligence of a sumptuous, original and perfectly arranged programme, which appropriately merges several gems of opera with two remarkable symphonic pearls… Prayer, exultation, supplication and incantation: this recording has it all… A superb journey. Here is a new achievement which confirms our enthusiasm for The Mozartists, a group whose programmes are always original, committed, and exhilarating. It is high time they were heard in France.”
CLASSIQUE NEWS – RECORDING OF THE MONTH (TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL FRENCH)
“[Ian Page’s] ability to lead and coordinate with drive, makes him the right person to undertake this new project… [Chiara Skerath) imprints character and elegance on the arias of sentimental abysses. Without a doubt, she is a unique and influential soprano… The Mozartists, with a great fluidity of interpretative resources, stand out for their musicality, cohesion and expression. Ian Page marks, as an excellent narrator, the coordinates that help to build the Sturm und Drang universe.”
SONOGRAMA MAGAZINE (TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL CATALAN)
“Page’s rarities make the disc an essential purchase… This performance is superb. Page’s notes are scholarly but accessible, the sound outstanding, the artwork excellent.”
“Skerath is again excellent… She in unerringly supported by Page, whose expected idiomatic empathy with all this music is complimented by playing that demonstrates his keen ear for orchestral balance. This is a splendid collection that whets the appetite for further exploration of this intriguing repertoire.”
OPERA
“The music of the greatest composers is both emblematic and atypical of its time, embracing different styles and straddling periods, evolving with the change in tastes and fashion. It’s a question of emphasis, of degree. That’s what makes this superb first volume in Ian Page and period instrument ensemble The Mozartists’ projected seven-volume series exploring the music of the Sturm und Drang movement so fascinating and surprising.”
LIMELIGHT
Sturm und Drang, Volume 2 (UK release October 2020)
“Ian Page’s performances of all three symphonies are exemplary. Outer movements have a tremendous driving force, with fierce chords, highlighted dynamic contrasts – listen to the splendidly judged opening paragraphs of the opening Allegro assai of the Haydn – and fierce tremolandos… Sturm und Drang is shaping up to be not only an eminently enjoyable series in its own right but an insightful collection of considerable value. Volume 3 can’t come soon enough!”
EARLY MUSIC REVIEW
“Ian Page’s work with The Mozartists and Classical Opera has centred on bringing lesser-known works to our attention in carefully themed concerts; but it has also brought singers to our attention, too… This is an invigorating disc that, let’s not forget, introduces a singer, Ida Ränzlöv, who is surely destined for great things.”
CLASSICAL EXPLORER
“A satisfying debut recording for Ränslöv and continues Page’s sterling work with The Mozartists and Classical Opera.”
OPERA TODAY
“Once again, high artistry conspires with scholarship and strength of concept to create a programme that scintillates from start to finish.”
GRAMOPHONE (EDITOR’S CHOICE)
“An intelligently constructed and beautifully coherent programme… The Mozartists give these works a beautiful sound world and convey the sense of urgency that emanates from them… Ian Page also knows how to create suspense by completing the recording with the Symphony in G minor by Johann Christian Bach, the finale of which ends abruptly and unresolved: a remarkable cliff hanger while we wait for volume 3 of the series.”
WANDERER (TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL FRENCH)
Mozart in Italy (Cadogan Hall, 10-12 March 2020)
The Audition – 10 March
“Performances of great polish, stylistic awareness and sheer beauty from Ian Page and The Mozartists… The joy of discovery throughout was only matched by the joy the musicians exuded in performing this music with the utmost freshness. This, surely, is a crowning point of musicology – to bring these works to our attention in performances of great polish, stylistic awareness and sheer beauty.”
The Road to Rome – 11 March
“The Mozartists’ immersion in a sliver of Mozart’s life continues to be remarkably satisfying… As always, Page had chosen his voices carefully, and the duet between the trouser role of Sifare and Aspasia, which includes what is basically a competition between the two sopranos, was simply stunning, both Howarth and Aristidou perfectly matched, the two-voice cadenza magical and awe-inspiring… It is the sheer scope and imagination of the day, and in particular the evening concert, that was simply majestic.”
The Commission – 12 March
“Joyous climax to The Mozartists’ Mozart in Italy Cadogan Hall weekend… How wonderful to have both Mozart’s and Quinto Gasparini’s settings of ‘Se du lauri’ from Mitridate, both from Stuart Jackson, giving us a chance to recognise the clear similarities between the two… A superb exercise, and musically much more than that, especially given Ian Page’s sensitive work with his players… This was a supremely successful weekend, as touching musically as it was stimulating intellectually. The invitation is to go out and explore – Mozart’s sublimity is only enhanced when one hears the music around it, and there are discoveries aplenty to be had in the process.”
SEEN AND HEARD