Press

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© Daniel Maria Deuter

„En el Concierto en do menor para oboe y violín, BWV 1060R brilló una Xenia Löffler en estado de gracia, con su dulcísimo sonido y delicioso fraseo. Junto a Faust logró un precioso movimiento central, con un suave aunque ágil inicial (casi diría que mecían la música) y un enérgico allegro final. Lástima que la oboísta sólo interviniese en ese concierto, pues supo a poco, tratándose de un músico de tantos quilates.“

(Scherzo – Madrid)

„Xenia Löffler, whose performance as soloist in C.P.E. Bach’s B-flat Oboe Concerto was fluent and expressive, filled with the dynamic contrasts and quirky expressivity of the ‚Berlin Bach.’“

(San Francisco Classical Voice)

„With her mellow, rounded tone and subtle rhythmic sense, Xenia Löffler excels in the more gracious, ‘normal’ world of the oboe concertos, though as ever CPE cannot resist the odd disorientating hiatus or alien harmony. Löffler is all you could ask in this repertoire, phrasing and colouring with spontaneous flair, bringing a twinkling sense of fun (not a word readily associated with CPE) to the finales and a singing eloquence to the slow movements. The plaintive Largo e mesto of the B flat Concerto (Wq164) has a touching, fragile intimacy I’ve never heard equalled, with the strings matching Löffler all the way in sensitivity.“

(Gramophone Magazin (UK), editor`s choice in january 2020)

„Löffler, playing a modern copy of a period instrument, makes a creamy sound, laced with healthy vibrato, in her eloquent delivery of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s two oboe concertos of 1765.“

(The Sunday Times, London)

„It was a nice idea to focus on music for the oboe, which gives Xenia Löffler the possibility to shine, as she has done in so many previous recordings. She is one of the most brilliant and versatile players of the baroque oboe, an “incomparable oboist” indeed. Her tone is pure and her sense of style is second to none. She knows how to explore the features of a piece, and her choices regarding tempo and ornamentation always make sense. She has found congenial partners here, who all deliver excellent performances. This is a most enjoyable disc, especially for lovers of the oboe, but certainly not only for them.“

(The Sunday Times, London)

„A word should go, too, to Xenia Löffler, whose liquid-gold oboe-playing is a perfect foil for Faust’s busy violin in BWV1060 and a perfect match for its aching beauty of the Sinfonia from Cantata No 21. In short, without being tempted to eccentricity, these performances reveal keen musical minds constantly at work.“

(Music web international)

„A word should go, too, to Xenia Löffler, whose liquid-gold oboe-playing is a perfect foil for Faust’s busy violin in BWV1060 and a perfect match for its aching beauty of the Sinfonia from Cantata No 21. In short, without being tempted to eccentricity, these performances reveal keen musical minds constantly at work.“

(Gramophone Magazin)

„… the third ‘theme’ of the disc is undoubtedly the superb oboe-playing of Xenia Löffler, as smooth and swellingly expressive in slow movements as it is ripplingly agile in quicker ones. It is masterly playing and this disc is her triumph.“

(Gramophone Magazin UK)

„… the third ‘theme’ of the disc [Venice – The Golden Age] is undoubtedly the superb oboe-playing of Xenia Löffler, as smooth and swellingly expressive in slow movements as it is ripplingly agile in quicker ones. It is masterly playing and this disc is her triumph.“

(Gramophone Magazin UK)

„The oboist Xenia Löffler, the impressive soloist, played with elegance and flair.“

(New York Times)

„The Oboe Concerto in E flat major …played with agility and a melting lyricism by Xenia Loeffler.“

(Washington Post)

„Oboist Xenia Löffler played with vivacity, nuance, and taste in two different concerti by Vivaldi and Marcello.“

(Boston Globe)

„This was borne out by the Akamus performance,… which might have been billed as the Xenia Löffler Show. Löffler is the group’s principal oboist, and as in their 2005 tour, her consummate musicianship and excellent command of a sometimes unruly instrument were featured in a concerto, this time by C.P.E. Bach.“

(Ionarts Washington)

„Oboist Xenia Löffler moved downstage for two works, one on each half of the program. Both Alessandro Marcello’s Concerto in D minor and Vivaldi’s Concerto in C major showcased Löffler’s luscious, fluid tone, which was round and full and delightful. Her technique was clean and virtuosic, especially in the Vivaldi, where the solo oboe part is more like a solo violin part. Her gorgeous sound made it possible for her to use vibrato in a true Baroque style—as an embellishment, making each of those moments tantalizing for an audience that is used to hearing plenty of frequency change all of the time. The partnership between Löffler and the orchestra strengthened each moment of musical communication, and a pile-up of false cadences in the second movement of the Marcello made the eventual ending even more satisfying.“

(Kansas City’s Online Journal of the Arts)

„Xenia Löffler managed all of this with virtuosity and an impressive gamut of tone color, ranging from the lyrical to the throaty.“

(New York Arts)

„Le tout dessine un panorama séduisant de la musique appreciée à la cour du roi de Prusse, servi par une étincelante Xenia Löffler.“

(Diapason)

„De leerschool van soliste Xenia Löffler was de Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, dan weet je het wel: topniveau.“

(KlassiekeZaken)

„Stabilité et justesse dans le son, grain envoûtant et chaud, ornementation savamment dosée et d’une virtuosité exemplaire, elle incarne à merveille la nouvelle génération de hautboïstes baroqueux.“

(Agora Vox)