Fugue Around the Clock

Schubert quartets on saxophones? Mozart on marimbas? Well, maybe not... But Schumann, Brahms, and Shostakovitch played by a quartet of recorders? Yes yes yes! Wunderbar!"Do I contradict myself," as Walt Whitman said, "Very well, I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes."When the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet burst upon the Early Music scene, with tours all over the universities of America and the concert venues of Europe, they essentially vindicated the recorder as an instrument, capable of virtuosity and expressiveness. For a while, they were unique. The only show in town. Now there are other recorder ensembles of equal proficiency, and soloists who out do any of the original Stardusters, but no ensemble has ever made a CD of greater elegance and polish that "Fugue around the Clock" ... and it's now available in SACD format.If you're am amateur recorderist, this CD will be an epiphany and perhaps a stimulus to practice an extra hour a day instead of treating your instrument indifferently. If you're a proud fool who has always scorned the recorder as a mere whistle, this CD will refute your intransigent bias forevermore. Superb tuning, superb phrasing, pyrotechnical fingerwork, gorgeous tone! The quartet sounds like Bach's own chamber organ, but on which every hand and foot has its own expressive independence.

This is Simple !! I have searched out and purchased every recording of the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet I could find and they are all terrific! I am a professional Symphony Violinist so playing Antique Recorders in Tune is mind boggling and having such good ensemble is necessary for me. It reminds me of a Baroque Organ. Possible because they have the whole range of recorder instruments from tinest to biggest. Their arrangements are all first class and their facility is undaunted!! A bundle of creativity !!

Amazing CD by an amazing group. The world needs more recorder quartets as fine as this one.

Anyone who might be interested in understanding fugues ought to listen to this album. The Amsterdam Stardust Quartet has compiled fugues from the High Renaissance to Shostakovich, and they perform them on recorders admirably.I have used this recording to teach kids of all ages about music, since it's a different sound than what most children hear. This is one of my favorite recorder recordings! I highly recommend this recording to everyone!

Anyone who loves recorder music as well as fugue as a form will enjoy this cd. I enjoy it particularly because Stardust doesn't just play Bach, but many different centuries of fugal music. It's pleasant hearing all of these on recorders. They also do some unusual sound effects on recorder. I give this cd an A+ for technique, range of instruments and variety in styles!

Also zuerst mal: keine Angst - diese SACD ist auch als CD SUPER!super gespielt - super aufgenommen - großes Kompliment!Amsterdam Loeki Stardust bei mir endlich wieder dort, wo sie nach ihrer CD "Extra Time" (meine auch heute noch bisher absolute Lieblings-Blockflöten-CD) hingehören - mit einem neuen Mitgliedund voller Schwung, und endlich über die unakzeptabel schlechte Aufnahmetechnik der "Kunst der Fuge" weg und über die etwas eintönige Artikulation und Phrasierung der "Fantazia".Obwohl alles diesmal "nur" klassische Fugen aus 4 Jahrhunderten sind, klingt die CD quirlig lebendig und mitreißend! Ganz grosses Kompliment!Für Blockflötenfans ein MUSS!(Schade nur, daß ich niemand kenne, bei dem ich sie "surround" hören könnte - aber wie gesagt, auch auf normalen CD-Playern hervorragend)