Wesley baldwin

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reviews

"Shulman’s 1948 Concerto for Cello and Orchestra is…played by soloist Wesley Baldwin with epic idealism."

Benjamin Ivry, Forward.com


"From creating just the right sounds and moods in the Suite for the Young Cellist to setting the cello ablaze in the Concerto, you would be hard pressed to find a better advocate for the many musical facets of Alan Shulman. Everyone studying the cello should acquire this CD."

Jean-Yves Duperron, Classical Music Sentinel


"Baldwin plays with aplomb, entirely appropriate to the work throughout… we now have a recording of a worthy piece for cello and orchestra by a highly skilled artist, and that is always an occasion for rejoicing…Wesley Baldwin… has done a wonderful service for a departed colleague….This writer can heartily second Pablo Casals' postcard greeting to Shulman on his Concerto: "J'aime beaucoup votre oeuvre."

KUHF, the Houston Public Radio Station


"If I had to sum up Baldwin's playing in a single word, it would have to be phenomenal. His technique seemingly knows no bounds, for much of this music is very difficult, and a good deal of it lies very high in the cello's register. Yet there is no sense of stress or strain as Baldwin's tone pours forth from his instrument like liquid gold. It's as challenging to make the cello sound beautiful high up on its A string as it is to make the violin sound beautiful high up on its G string. But Baldwin manages to draw the purest and sweetest sounds with his bow, and hits every note with pitch-perfect intonation."

Fanfare Magazine


"Baldwin gave an excellent performance of the Haydn concerto. Haydn wrote the piece for one of the finest players of his time, and it still is a very difficult piece. The solo part ascends to stratospheric heights, often at top speed, and can descend no less quickly. A soloist has to have an extraordinarily secure technique to bring this concerto off, and along with all the pyrotechnics, the cello also has to sing. Baldwin managed all this without a hitch. His playing was secure and expressive, with technique always at the service of the music. It was a very impressive performance in every way."

The Register Guard (Eugene, OR)


"One may not think that there is an extensive repertoire available for viola and cello, but violist Sheila Browne and cellist Wesley Baldwin disprove that supposition. In fact, they not only give listeners an entire album scored for that instrumentation, but an album filled with amazingly satisfying compositions ranging from Beethoven to Piston. Both Browne and Baldwin have an impressive list of accolades to their credit, and their skills at their instruments are a clear reflection of their accomplishments.

Additionally, the two play together as if they have played nothing but duo music. Their musical visions match perfectly, everything from articulation to bow stroke and vibrato is well-considered and provides an exceptionally pleasant listening experience."

Mike D. Brownell for All Music.com


"Sheila Browne and Wesley Baldwin play with admirable polish, tonal luster, and sensitivity; and Centaur¹s recording is intimate, detailed, and present.This is a wonderful program from beginning to end, enriching the recorded repertoire on CD with ideal renderings of seldom-heard but very worthwhile music."

American Record Guide May/June 2007, p. 187


"Making sweet music with any of the orchestral instruments, played without accopaniment, can be a challengeŠBut a listening experience as captivating as cellist Wesley Baldwin¹s performance of three of J.S. Bach¹s unaccompanied suites for cello..can border on the sublimeŠ.Superbly played with the technique that in other context might come across as messy, the solo cello can be alternately orchestral, as it was in the G major suite, and chora, as it was in the D major. This very narrow path was exactly the course chosen by Baldwin, and all three of the pieces were as pleasing as a gentle fall breeze"

Knoxville, TN News Sentinel (9/26/06)


"Baldwin¹s performance of the Brahms Sonata was almost orchestrally rich in sound; bold but well controlled in phrasing and dynamics, particularly in the first movement; dark and moody in the second; sensitive to the sharp contrasts between brashness and sentimentality in the third; and joyfully attuned to the Hungarian dance rhythms in the finale."

The Washington Post


"Keith Robinson and Wesley Baldwin, cellist of the Plymouth String Quartet, were (well) matched temperamentally and dovetailed their parts with passionate conviction."

The Miami Herald


"Combine (inspiration) with skill, enthusiasm and charm, and y ou¹ve arrived at some good starting superlatives for guest cellist Wesley Baldwin. Every once in a while a performer gives more than correct notes, correct rhythm, and virtuoso technique. When that happens, as it did with Baldwin, good vibrations are set up between audience and performer. By the time Baldiwn finished the three-movement concerto, we were in love with him and the concerto. Why? Because we could hear( and see) every expressive phrase, every bold attack, and every rhyhticaly charged double-stop. The intent of the composer was always known and appreciate. In essence, Baldwin knew this score backwards and forwards and he, equipped with his rich big tone, wanted to sell it to us. We bought!"

The (TN) Oak Ridger


"Baldwin showed his virtuosity wth dexterity and a strong, warm toneŠBaldwin¹s cello was big when called for and amazingly soft, but still projected for balance."

Herald Argus (IN)