FRANÇOIS COUPERIN : Keyboard Music • 1 (Angela Hewitt) (2003) APE (tracks), lossless

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FRANÇOIS COUPERIN : Keyboard Music • 2 (Angela Hewitt) (2003) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Angela Hewitt once again presents an intelligent, yet eminently musical performance of Baroque keyboard works on the piano on the second of her three discs devoted to Couperin's Pieces de Clavecin. Her depth of knowledge, revealed in her liner notes, extends from the works to his life, his times, and Baroque music. This can be heard in her playing, adding to her own enjoyment of the pieces. She obviously enjoys the challenges of interpreting then presenting the pictures Couperin hints at with titles such as Les Ombres errantes (The Wandering Souls), La Sophie (either a Muslim mystic or the name of a young girl), and Saillie (either a leap or a quip), and of performing them on a modern version of an instrument that had only just been invented when these were written and, therefore, is not the instrument Couperin anticipated being used. On this particular disc, the works primarily use the upper part of the keyboard. Hewitt has a touch that is neither too heavy for this, which would make them sound dense or even muddy, nor too delicate, which would make them seem more ephemeral or trifling. Nor does she ever try to approximate the sounds of a harpsichord. She gives each piece beautifully clear tones and phrasing. Her presentation and her understanding make the disc a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Patsy Morita
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FRANÇOIS COUPERIN : Keyboard Music • 3 (Angela Hewitt) (2005) APE (image+.cue), lossless

With this disc, Angela Hewitt, the renowned Canadian pianist who heretofore specialized in the keyboard music of Bach, completes her survey of the keyboard music of François Couperin. While it is a highly selective survey -- Hewitt chose the works based on how well she thought the harpsichord works might sound on the modern concert grand and on her own personal interest -- it is also a highly significant survey. Because while Bach's harpsichord music is standard repertoire for most pianists, Couperin's harpsichord music has remained terra incognito for nearly all pianists and Hewitt's marvelously apt and wonderfully balanced performances go a long way toward providing the proof that the music can sound equally delightful on the piano. With all the Third Suite and much of the Fourth Suite from Couperin's Third Book of Pièces de Clavecin plus 10 movements chosen from the first and second books, Hewitt's selections are all highly effective and sound as natural on the piano as they do on the harpsichord. Purists may disparage the whole notion of playing harpsichord music on the piano, but even they will have to admit that Hewitt's warmly modulated tone and virtually flawless technique make for lovely listening. Hyperion's sound is perhaps just a bit too distant, but never less than clear and deep. James Leonard     Tracklist & Credits :

RAMEAU : Keyboard Suites (Angela Hewitt) (2007) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Rameau on the piano? It's not altogether unheard of -- there were a handful of classic recordings made by Robert Casadesus back in 1952 -- but, despite many recordings of Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti on the piano in the digital age, there's been precious little Rameau on the piano until this Angela Hewitt recording of three complete suites from 2006. By choosing the Suite in E minor from the Pièces de clavecin of 1731 plus the Suites in G minor and A minor from Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Hewitt has for the most part stayed away from the more evocatively titled works and stuck to the standard stylized Baroque dance forms of the allemande, courante, and gigue. Justly celebrated for her cool and clean Bach recordings, this strategy works well for Hewitt. Without seeming to resort to the sustain or the mute pedal, she floats Rameau's lines and melodies, and without seeming to exaggerate the accents or dynamics, she gives Rameau's rhythms a wonderful sense of lift. In the deliberately evocative movements from the G minor Suite -- "La poule," "Les sauvages," and especially "L'egiptienne" -- Hewitt seems to bring less to the music -- her interpretations are remarkably straight -- and to get less out of it -- her performances are remarkably bland. Still, as an alternative to Rameau on the harpsichord, Rameau on the piano works well enough to merit an occasional listening, and Hewitt's will more than likely remain the Rameau on the piano of choice for years to come. Hyperion's sound is warm, round, full, and deep. James Leonard

SCHUMANN : Humoresque; Sonata in F sharp minor (Angela Hewitt) (2007) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

One of the pleasant surprises of the first decade of the twenty first century was the way pianist Angela Hewitt developed from one of the most celebrated of Bach specialists into an all-around first-class performer in a much wider range of repertoire. Take her 2007 disc with Schumann's Humoreske with his Piano Sonata No.1 in F sharp minor. While one might have expected clarity and drive from Hewitt, who had long mastered those qualities in Bach, the evident passion and fantasy reveal new aspects of her playing, especially in her F sharp minor Sonata, which sounds like an ardent musical bildungsroman. Her Humoreske, similarly, has the poetic imagination and the lyrical fervor characteristic of great German romantic poetry. As on her Bach recordings, Hewitt's tone is pearly, her technique formidable, and her interpretations combine thoughtfulness with spontaneity. Recorded by Hyperion with winning warmth and an uncanny sense of immediacy, this disc will delight Hewitt's fans and enlarge Schumann's discography by one excellent disc. by James Leonard 

SCHUMANN : Davidsbündlertänze; Kinderszenen; Sonata in G minor (Angela Hewitt) (2009) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Angela Hewitt has earned a richly deserved reputation for her interpretations of Bach and the Baroque, and something of that characteristic clarity illuminates her Schumann performances. Her first disc of this repertoire was praised for its ‘seemingly effortless but always adventurous interpretations … her poise and amplitude lending it an unearthly beauty’ and this second volume, containing some of the composer’s most bewitchingly beautiful music, should be no less lauded. Hyperion

DOMENICO SCARLATTI : Sonatas (Angela Hewitt) (2016) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

As one of the world's foremost interpreters of Baroque keyboard music on the modern piano, Angela Hewitt has established a fine reputation for impeccable playing and fresh musical insights. Listeners who cherish her award-winning recordings on Hyperion of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach have already experienced her exquisite playing, and they will be delighted to hear this selection of sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, Bach's contemporary and an innovator whose compositions influenced the development of the Classical sonata. Some of these selections are well known, particularly the Sonata in C major, Kk159, the Sonata in D major, Kk96, and the Sonata in E major, Kk380, which are often anthologized, though Hewitt hasn't packed this disc with greatest hits (with 555 sonatas to choose from, there are many less familiar that deserve attention). Hewitt's performances are thoughtfully phrased, polished in tone, and rhythmically precise with a modicum of rubato, and she is alert to the subtleties that make this music so beguiling. Hewitt recorded these 16 sonatas in the Beethovensaal in Hannover, where she made her first Bach recordings for Hyperion 20 years previously, and the acoustics are nearly ideal for her style. Of course, purists may insist on only harpsichord performances of these pieces, but for compelling piano versions, this CD is highly recommended. by Blair Sanderson
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RAVEL : The Complete Solo Piano Music (Angela Hewitt) (2000) 2xCD / Mp3