Consumer Critique: Simone Dinnerstein Something Almost Being Said

My husband is a music major and I am also a musician, so I loved the chance to review Something Almost Being Said: Music of Bach and Schubert. The CD combines J.S. Bach s Partitas Nos. 1 and 2, with Schubert's Four Impromptus, Op. 90. Classically trained musicians will certainly recognize much of the CD, and even if you aren't classically trained, you may hear some familiar strains.

So why is a classical piano CD called "Something Almost Being Said?" She explains it this way: "Bach and Schubert, to my ears, share a distinctive quality. Their non-vocal music has a powerful narrative, a vocal element. The effect is that of wordless voices singing textless melodies. Bach and Schubert s melodic lines are so fluent, so expressive, and so minutely inflected that they sound as though they might at any moment burst suddenly into speech."

The music that she has chosen is certainly written to include very expressive melodies, and she plays them beautifully. Like many classical music CDs, this is an excellent choice for mothers looking for something to play in kids' rooms as they're going to sleep that doesn't have annoying melodies to get stuck in your head. And if you appreciate good piano solo music, you'll definitely enjoy this CD.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the CD to facilitate this review.