Joshua Smith, flute
Jory Vinikour, harpsichord
Ann Marie Morgan, baroque cello
Allison Guest Edberg, baroque violin
Delos (October, 2010)
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PRESS
“… the performances are doubly persuasive, elegant and academically informed, revealing both the music’s surface beauty and its textural intricacy. Smith’s consummate talent is on continual display, yet it’s never about him. Whether partnering with Vinikour or collaborating with Morgan and Edberg, Smith is a team player, a virtuoso servant of the music.”
— Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 26, 2010
“The second disc, a splendid extension of the first … is obviously the result of musicians bonding — clearly revealed in the music making, but photographically represented by the collage of fingers that forms the background for the CD label and the inside of its jewel case. … The playing is uniformly and predictably flawless. Joshua Smith, a player with the strength and endurance of a marathon runner, makes easy work out of Bach’s long spun lines — and creates fine, overarching phrases out of impossibly short motives …”
— ClevelandClassical.com, October 2010
“It goes without saying that a player in an orchestral seat as hot as Smith’s has technique to burn, but it is the musical line delivered with such flair that continues to impress from Smith. The Bach Sonatas are tremendously taxing for the player — in breath control, stamina, and absolute accuracy of pitch. Again, no fears for this player. As such, the listener can hear the music played with apparent ease.”
“… grace and charm imbues the entire disc”
– Audiophilia, November 2010
“Joshua Smith … and his colleagues correctly perform these works as chamber music rather than as flute solos with accompaniment. There is no preciousness about these performances: the players treat these works as music to be enjoyed, not revered.”
— Pan, The Flute Magazine
“[Joshua Smith’s] playing is delightfully devoid of extreme vibrato and heavy-handed articulation, and displays a consistently thoughtful understanding of the music’s underlying harmonic structure. … He is also brilliantly accompanied by colleagues Jory Vinikour, harpsichord, and Ann Marie Morgan, baroque cello, and the trio’s teamwork is pretty close to flawless. An extra treat included on this recording is the C minor trio sonata from the Musical Offering (BWV 1079), in which Smith, Vinikour and Morgan are joined by baroque violinist Allison Guest Edberg. Theirs is a first-rate recording of this magnificent piece, in which the bigger arcs of structure and harmony happily coincide with deftly outlined musical nuance.”
– The Whole Note, April 2011
“Flautist Joshua Smith and the other performers in a new recording of Bach’s flute music are representative of the skill of modern players on old instruments: they imbue the works with warmth and color entirely suitable for the time in which Bach wrote the music, without unnecessary Romantic-era flourishes and without turning the pieces into display vehicles for Smith or anyone else. This is cooperative music-making at its finest …”
– Infodad.com, December 2010
“Smith does not fail to deliver here, creating a performance that is both intimate and dazzling.”
— Flutist Quarterly, Fall 2011