When not at his day job as president and CEO of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia,
Roberto Diaz is a violist of international reputation. He has an international reputation because, as this recital shows,
Diaz is also a violist with impeccable taste and a prodigious technique. In 12 transcriptions by English viola virtuoso
William Primrose,
Diaz is never less than consummately refined and never less than essentially flawless. His tone is superbly molded, his phrasing is superbly sculpted, and his intonation is right on the sweet spot. In performance after performance on the 2004 recording,
Diaz is consistently impressive, from the polished sensuality of the Nocturne from Borodin's Second String Quartet through the incandescent pyrotechnics of the La Campanella from Paganini's Second Violin Concerto to the distilled longing of "None but the lonely heart" by Tchaikovsky. It often happens that a recital of transcriptions can be too much for straight-through listening, but
Diaz's not only can this recital stand a straight-through listening, it demands encores of favorite tracks. How about cuing that ethereal performance of the Adagietto from Bizet's L'Arlésienne Suite No. 1 again, Mr. DJ? Recorded in the CBC's Glenn Gould Studios in Toronto, Naxos' sound is warmer than usual with a real sense of air around the instruments.