YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH ENESCU:

Carolyn Widmann, sister of the eminent German composer Jörg Widmann, frames her solo recital around meditations by J S Bach and the mediaeval nun, Hildegard of Bingen. In between, she plays substantial pieces by two of the 20th  century's  foremost virtuosos, the Romanian George Enescu and the Belgian Eugène Ysaye. At the heart of the album lie three two-minute miniatures by the living English composer George Benjamin.

By doing so she draws the ear into every era of western music -- monastic, classical, romantic and modern -- transacting connections that are not normally accessible. Widmann is a serious thinker and a fabulous player in her 50s. Her instrument is a 1782 Guadagnini.

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