Although I’ve admired David Fray’s crisply articulated, neo-Glenn Gouldian solo Bach playing live and on disc, this release containing four of the composer’s keyboard concertos falls flat in the face of serious and superior competition. The self-conscious pianissimo dips become predictable affectations, while slow movements reveal the string section’s malnourished tone at its most emaciated. Moreover, Fray’s piano registers so far up-front in the mix that the very notion of soloist/ensemble interaction becomes meaningless. Even the pianist’s most delicate single-line playing (the F minor’s exquisite slow movement) overpowers his colleagues. At least we should acknowledge Fray’s energetic lilt in the A major and D minor finales, but overall this disc sorely disappoints. [4/16/2009]
