Yvonne Minton
Posted by Terence on July 31, 2020, 2:01 pm
RE John Quinn's review of Barenboim/Garanca Elgar Sea Pictures. He defaults to the Baker version, as does almost every English person. However, there is no recording of Baker that I prefer over a Minton version. Minton's voice was disciplined; beautiful in quality; a wider range (notes, and repetoire). I listened to her Barenboim Sea Pictures again; it's wonderful. So is her Mahler Ruckert Lieder; her Gerontius (she sings notes that Baker can't reach); it's not as self-conscious as Baker. Don't get me wrong; Baker is a great singer, but Minton did have the bad luck to come along when Baker was taking up all the air in the room; and she was Australian. The British are generally too eager to promote its own singers over others; that's understandable usually, but not for critics.
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