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Title: Surprised by joy
Review: The listener from NY gets it half right -- this music is marvelous. Anyone who goes to Zelenka expecting to encounter the generic baroque trio sonata is in for a bracing shock. On the other hand, NY's assessment of the performances is less pleasantly shocking. To describe Holliger et. al. as "dull as dishwater" is like complaining that Toscanini's pacing of Beethoven's symphonies is "inert as molasses." To take one example, just listen to the two oboes squealing like puppies above a deadpan harpsichord continuo! No mistake about it -- Zelenkas's trio sonatas are both wonderful music and wonderfully performed on this desert island disc.
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