Anthony Cooke & Armin Watkins - Homage to Chopin (2008)

06 Oct, 10:42
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Artist: Anthony Cooke, Armin Watkins
Title: Homage to Chopin
Year Of Release: 2008
Label: Centaur Records, Inc.
Genre: Classical
Quality: FLAC (tracks)
Total Time: 1:11:49
Total Size: 329 MB
WebSite: Album Preview

Tracklist:

1. Armin Watkins & Antony Cooke – Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65: I. Allegro moderato (11:04)
2. Armin Watkins & Antony Cooke – Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65: II. Scherzo: Allegro con brio (05:13)
3. Armin Watkins & Antony Cooke – Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65: III. Largo (03:47)
4. Armin Watkins & Antony Cooke – Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65: IV. Finale: Allegro (06:42)
5. Armin Watkins & Antony Cooke – Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3 (10:01)
6. Armin Watkins & Antony Cooke – Nocturne No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 (arr. for cello and piano) (04:29)
7. Armin Watkins & Antony Cooke – Nocturne No. 16 in E flat major, Op. 55, No. 2 (arr. for cello and piano) (04:34)
8. Armin Watkins & Antony Cooke – Grand Duo on themes from Meyerbeer's Robert le diable (13:15)
9. Armin Watkins & Antony Cooke – Etude No. 6 in E flat minor, Op. 10, No. 6 (arr. for cello and piano) (03:02)
10. Armin Watkins & Antony Cooke – Etude No. 19 in C sharp minor, Op. 25, No. 7 (arr. for cello and piano) (05:07)
11. Armin Watkins & Antony Cooke – Nocturne No. 19 in E minor, Op. 72, No. 1 (arr. for cello and piano) (04:30)

Homage to Chopin, a collaboration between cellist Antony Cooke and pianist Armon Watkins, is, quite simply, a mess. From the beginning of the first track, listeners will immediately notice the album's pervasively poor sound quality; both cello and piano are extremely flat, dull, and indistinct. As the complexity of the music increases, a listener's ability to distinguish individual notes all but vanishes. If this unacceptably poor recording quality were not enough, the notes and passages that are audible are anything but exceptional. Cooke's tone is unbearably nasal, unvaried, and weak. His highly over-Romanticized interpretation of Chopin is saturated with aggressive vibrato, endless glissandos, and constant, unnecessary liberties with tempo and rubato. Watkins, following Cooke's lead, has plenty of transgressions of his own, the biggest of which is his sloppy, over-pedaled, muddy passagework. The two performers do not always agree on tempo or the pace of the many ritardandos, nor on articulation. Put all of these things together and this particular "homage" is one that Chopin, were he alive to hear it, may wish to decline.

Anthony Cooke & Armin Watkins - Homage to Chopin.rar - 329.3 MB