CLASSICAL CANDOR, John J. Puccio

The opening number, Kol Nidrei… has a beautifully lyrical character, and Boutellis-Taft invests it with much personality… The soloist creates a refreshing new look at an old favorite. And so it goes, with Boutellis-Taft endowing each work with much expressive distinction and beauty… Boutellis-Taft’s playing is fluid, effortless, and eloquent, and the Royal Philharmonic’s accompaniment sounds as rich as ever…My own favorite among the seven selections was the Poeme pour violin et orchestre by French composer Ernest Chausson (1855-1899). Boutellis-Taft brings out all the exotic color of the work without resorting to any hint of over sentimentalizing or romanticizing. It’s quite lovely. Incantation lives up to its name, manifesting much magic, mystery, beauty, enchantment, and angelic intensity thanks to Boutellis-Taft’s heartfelt execution. He is a performer to be reckoned with, and I expect we will be hearing more good things from him from here on out.