Winter & Winter sounds like a stock brokerage company but is a relatively
new record company based in Germany.  They do provide a distinctive
packaging to their cds which I like except that the cds can either easily
fall out of the packaging or be a real "bear" to dislodge.  With this new
recording of Bach's Violin & Harpsichord Sonatas, performed on period
instruments by Marianne Ronez (violin) and Ernst Kubitschek (harpsichord),
the cds fall out so easily that I have to make sure to hold the package
just right.

With most recordings of these six sonatas (BWV 1014-1019), additional
sonatas are included to fill up the two cd's.  Winter & Winter only
provides the six sonatas, so there's a total of less than 100 minutes of
music.  So far, we have physically unstable cds and a relatively small
amount of music.

Anything good to say? Plenty.  These are fully idiomatic readings which
I greatly enjoy.  I always start with the 1st movement of BWV 1019 which
is pure harpsichord playing infectious and joyous music with emotional
stretching and subsequent tumbling.  Kubitschek is perfect in this
movement.

My only reservation is that the violin sound in the fast movements was
sometimes more than pungent, it was grating/raspy.  Because of this, I
do still prefer the Holloway set on Virgin which also has 2 additional
sonatas.  But, other than that recording, I know of none better than the
Winter & Winter set.

I should point out that I've read one or two reviews, and they were not
complimentary.  I don't understand that unless the reviewers are somewhat
allergic to barqoue violin playing.

Don's Conclusion: Worthy of purchase, particularly if you want multiple
period instrument versions.  I think that folks who do not take kindly to
baroque violins would have a lot of trouble with the set.

Don Satz
[log in to unmask]