La Passione

Experiencing the lithe, highly articulate, fleet-footed playing of the period ensemble Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin in Haydn’s “La passione” Symphony No. 49, the emotional core of a largely vocal program, it seems almost unimaginable to hear this glorious music played on modern instruments. Similarly, the five operatic scenas or concert arias featured here (two each by Haydn and Beethoven, one by Mozart) were once performed by post-Romantic singers in emotional overdrive. Thanks, however, to Christina Landshamer’s silvery soprano purity, they have their youthful ardency and athleticism restored. Most striking is the anguished “Ah crudel!” finale of Beethoven’s Ah! Perfido, which comes searing off the page with a victimized sense of cruel injustice.