Podger, Rachel

Brecon Baroque

Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041
Concerto in E major, BWV 1042
Concerto in G minor, after BWV 1056
Concerto in A major, after BWV 1055

Podger is an outstanding interpreter of Bach. (...) Podger and her group create magical music making. The dynamism and insight this artist and group create is simply breathtaking.(...)
Hi-Fi

(...) full of live and character in her shaping of phrases, vivid but always natural (...) The central Largo reveals Podger's exquisite melodic gifts.
The Strad

“No one will go wrong with this invigorating album.” (…) Podger has one of the sweetest tones of any period-instrument violinist – heard at its most beautiful in the singing Andante of BWV 1041, wonderfully sustained but never cloying. The finale has an infectiously spritely bounce and exhilarating dramatic tension; despite the energetic pace, it manages to stay firmly on the rails thanks to the players’ formidable technique and musicianship.
BBC Music Magazine

 (...) Podger heeft een vloeiende speelstijl, waarin de technische capriolen zonder veel vertoon met de stroom meeglijden. Prachtig.
Tijdschrift Oude Muziek

 “Small-scale concertos played with style and swing.”
(...) a splendid supporting group whose playing is extremely stylish and well balanced (...)
(…) Podgers’ own playing is elegant and spirited, with pure tuning and fine, clear tone. It’s to her credit that she encourages her colleagues to play so positively  (…)
Gramophone

 (…) Immensely enjoyable disc (…) The collective sense of style shown by Podger and her ensemble produces music making of inspiring vitality with light, transparent textures. This is an immensely enjoyable disc! The collective sense of styles shown by Podger and her ensemble produces music-making of inspiring vitality, with light, transparent textures and lively speeds (…)
International Record Review

 (…) It’s a pleasure from first note to last. (…) a true “chamber concerto” experience, an exquisite dialog that the players clearly relish while preserving the essential contrast between solo and tutti on which the concerto form depends. Highest recommendation.
Classics Today 10/10

 (...) Jamais l’influence de la musique italienne ne nous fut rendue si sensible que dans le largo du ‘Concerto en sol mineur’: la texture allégée des Brecon offre un écrin tout an pizzicato sur lequel évolue un violon arachnéen.
Classica

(...) Een opwindende confrontatie, zo omschrijft Rachel de kennisaking tussen haar oude vrienden en de nieuwe releaties. De wederzijdse betrokkenheid tussen Podger en haar ensemble spat van deze opname af.
Luister

(...) Podger biedt ons haar persoonlijke Bach-stijl zoals we die van haar eerdere opnamen kennen: uitstekend gearticuleerd, de frases mooi afgewogen, de dynamische contouren scherp neergezet en dit alles met een spiritueel elan dat zonder meer aanstekelijk werkt. Dankzij de klein gehouden bezetting mogen we genieten van de daaruit resulterende helderheid en definitie, waar overigens ook de opname stevig aan bijdraagt: we kijken als het ware dwars door het ensemble heen, zonder daarbij het overzicht op het geheel te verliezen. (…)
(…) uitstekende vertolkingen die nog mooi zijn opgenomen ook. Zowel in stereo als in surround is het volop genieten geblazen: het soms sterk dansante karakter van de hoekdelen doet u misschien zelfs verleiden tot een rondedansje! Volgens mij is dit precies zoals Bach het bedoeld moet hebben.
www.Opusklassiek

(...) The violin tone-both of Podger and the rest of her Brecon Baroque - is rich and silky-smooth, and the spatial placement of the performers is quite well reproduced in the surround option. The four concertos are quite different from one another - no danger of confusing them as with many of the Vivaldi or Corelli concertos. The A minor is compact but dense and fully worked out, with much more going on than the typical Venetian concerto. The tempi seem just right, not languorously pointing up every little Bachian element but also not rushing forward at such a breathless pace that the music fails to flow rationally. Recommended!
Audiophile Audition

(...) Its beautiful larghetto is very close in spirit and style to the sublime corresponding movement in the famous concerto in D. In these lively, one-instrument-to-a-part performances, they work well in this adaption, and Podgers’ lean, sinewy sound rises out of the ensemble shiningly.
Sunday Times

(...) The performance of the four violin concertos here is quite elegant, pairing Podger with the select ensemble that has often come together at the Brecon Baroque festival Podger directs in Wales. (…) The playing is sensitive but dynamic, the pulse percolating and varied in weight, and Podger is generally up to her extraordinary best (…) Podger captures more of the dance-like character of the music. (…)
IonArts

(...) The winner and still champion of period music is Podger, her violin and her baroque ensemble associates. Making the most of modern recording techniques, this presentation is right in front of you providing the grandest virtual chamber music you can imagine. Up market and classy while still being accessible and classy, Podger is a wondrous player and focal point showing how she earned her stripes one bow swipe at a time. A winning work throughout, this is more than the real deal. Classical tourists as well as classical fans ought to take this to heart.
Mid West Records

  (…) emotionally-charged playing, which carries with is nonetheless the authority of authenticity (…)
Early Music News

 (…) It features the light, focused sound of Podger’s baroque violin against the background of a period-instrument group consisting of two violins, viola, cello, bass, and harpsichord. Such a small-scale ensemble is nothing new in early-music circles, but the fluid, dynamic playing makes these very familiar pieces work well, especially the bracing outer movements.
Boston Globe

(...) ein echter musikalischer Ohrenschmaus, der auch die heitere, menschliche, im besten Sinne unterhaltende Seiten des größten Mystikers der Musik in schönsten Farben ausleuchtet (...)
Attlila Csampai

(...) Mit ihrem hier nur Sextettstarke aufweisenden Ensemble bietet Podger eine lustvolle, runde Interpretation. So souverän und selbstverständlich spiele nur die Großen, Rachel ist eine von ihnen. (...)
Rondo

(...) Rachel gehört seit vielen Jahren zu den profiliertesten Vertretrinnen der historischen Aufführungspraxis. Die Bach-Violinkonzerte präsentiert die in natürlichem Fluss und mit pulsierendem Atem. Eine ruhige, sympathische Originalklang-Interpretation.
Bayerischer Rundfunk

No.1
Bestsellers Chart  BBC Musicmagazine

Rachel Podger hatte Spaß. (…) Die getragene Sätze bleiben immer spannend. Und die schnellen Sätze perlen leicht und flüssig daher, werden mit großem Melodiebogen wunderschön vorgetragen, sie atmen, sie pulsieren. Das ist eine ausgesprochen schöne Bachinterpretation geworden!
CD-Tipp Toccata, March/April 2011