Reviews
“Although this was familiar repertoire, conductor Christian Baldini, making his Scottish Chamber Orchestra debut, exercised a keen ear for detail”
(Susan Nickalls, The Scottsman)
BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month:
“Mozart packed with character - Elizabeth Watts hits new heights with this superb disc. Thanks to the fresh approach of its exceptional soprano, orchestra and conductor...you can play it all through at one sitting without ever tiring at Mozart's resourcefulness. That the overtures are as much of a pleasure to listen to as the arias is thanks to the qualities of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under conductor Christian Baldini - never rushing, usually finding the perfect tempo in common with his predecessor in perfect SCO Mozart, Sir Charles Mackerras.”
(David Nice, BBC Music Magazine)
"Christian Baldini makes an impressive recording debut with the SCO, bringing real drive and focus to overtures from Le nozze di Figaro, Idomeneo, Don Giovanni, La clemenza di Tito, La finta giardiniera and Così fan tutte. Thrilling stuff”
(Stephen Pritchard, The Guardian)
"a flexibility, evident here in the rhetorical risk-taking of the orchestral playing [...] this is an ensemble alive to every shifting mood and expressive possibility. The results are giddily exciting; I defy you not to rush immediately to the opera house after listening to this album."
(Alexandra Coghlan, Sinfini)
"the colourful playing of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in the overtures, their sinewy, period-influenced Mozartian style honed under Mackerras"
(Richard Wigmore, Gramophone)
"Christian Baldini elicits lively, but never hard driven, performances from the thirty six members of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra whose period influenced style (natural horns, timpani played with hard sticks etc.) is a delight. Elizabeth Watts' voice is set in perfect perspective with the orchestra ensuring that the characterful winds are always audible."
(Graham Williams, SA-CD.net)
"This sparkling recording features the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Christian Baldini conducting a personal selection of arias from six of Mozart's well-loved operas, alongside their respective overtures."
(Classic FM, Album of the Week)
“…this piece by Stravinsky demands and rewards the listener’s attention, especially when performed with the skill and attention to detail that conductor Christian Baldini gave to it…”
(Garaud MacTaggart, The Buffalo News)
“Baldini led a fine and clear orchestral accompaniment to Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a wayfarer), with its colors and dramatic strokes.”
(Robert Commanday, San Francisco Classical Voice)
"The young conductor Christian Baldini was particularly scrupulous, neat, clever and thorough, and that allowed him to convey the enjoyment of a score full of suggestions, which worked hand in glove with the scene. He also obtained from the orchestra a very high quality performance with remarkable transparency, with wonderful layers from the brass and the percussion sections."
(Jorge Aráoz Badí, La Nación, Buenos Aires)
“Under the direction of music director and conductor Christian Baldini, the UCDSO gave this alluring but cold music a fervent performance. […] In his first outing with a fully staged operatic production at UC Davis, Baldini coaxed a driving and powerful performance from the UCDSO musicians.”
(Edward Ortiz, Sacramento Bee)
"The orchestra sounded with fluidity and detail under the impeccable conducting of the Argentine (based in California) Christian Baldini"
(Federico Monjeau, Clarín, Buenos Aires)
"The orchestra was completely focused, rich in its palette of colors and dynamics, under the formidable work of the young Argentine conductor Christian Baldini"
(Diego Fischerman, Página 12, Buenos Aires)
"the very young conductor Christian Baldini is an extremely secure leader for the singers, chorus and the orchestra, from which he obtains an extraordinary performance"
(Margarita Pollini, Ámbito Financiero, Buenos Aires)
“…the charismatic young conductor Christian Baldini conducted by heart Brahms’ First Symphony, lavishing his musicality and leaving sighs all over the hall and the rows of the orchestra…”
(Arthur Nestrovski, Folha de Sao Paulo - Brazil)
“Baldini brings symphonic revival to Argentino… Young conductor proves his mettle with complex music at La Plata’s monumental theatre… the combination was surefire: a young Argentine conductor who is having a brilliant career in San Francisco and has the technical savvy and the affinity with extremely complex music; and a perfect choice of programmes lasting one hour but of colossal density. To boot, players willing to learn and put their best effort in a tough endeavour.”
(Pablo Bardin, Buenos Aires Herald)
