Opus Klassiek, May 2022

It is in excellent hands with the violinist Tomás Cotik, also a teacher at the American Portland State University (where this recording was made), because a musician of great size is 'talking' here, as witnessed by his earlier recordings, which extend from Telemann, Bach and Schubert to Piazzolla. His vision of these 12 Fantasies also bears witness, through the tasteful accentuation of Telemann's harmonic speech, the caesuras worked out with equal care and the surprising turns in the vocals. Thanks to the idiomatic touch, Cotik really makes this music swing, but he also knows how to hit the lyricism in the slow parts. This is 'entertainment' on a high level, which reflects what I think the composer intended with these miniatures.

Aart van der Wal