Gottlieb Muffat: Componimenti musicali per il cembalo

For her first solo album on Linn – she has appeared with her Duo Pleyel partner Richard Egarr on three occasions, and more will come! – Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya has taken the bold route of recording the little-known Gottlieb Muffat. Son of Georg Muffat, who most Baroque aficionados will know, Gottlieb attained far greater success in his working life, ultimately being promoted to first organist of the Austrian Habsburg court. In this double album Alexandra has recorded the lavish Componimenti musicali per il cembalo, a collection of seven ‘suites’ that are rich in texture, emotional range and flamboyant decoration. Carefully notated in the magnificent score, the breathtaking ornamentation is there to add expressiveness to the performance. These works represent one of the pinnacles of keyboard music from the mid-eighteenth century, and deserve their place in the repertoire.

"Nepomnyashchaya's playing is smooth, lively and organic, with sparkling ornamentation. The artist finds convincing registers for the individual movements and with her unobtrusive virtuosity and clear phrasing, she brings out the restrained moments just as sonorously as she makes the dense concertante movements tingle, sparkle and dance time and again. Overall, she aligns the individual movements to a common centre and avoids extremes. The sound is present and natural."

- Musik An Sich (Feb 5, 2024)