The Classical Album 1 / Vanessa-Mae

The Third Bach Partita comes off best: though a bit stiff and stodgy, it has character and really dances. The program ends with her own pop-rock arrangement of the Fantasia's final Scottish song. The recording does not serve her well. Poor engineering makes her tone, though basically good, shrill and squeezed under stress; the piano sounds distant, but clangorous; the orchestra ragged and unbalanced. The booklet carries a skimpy biography and lots of hype, as well as a lengthy essay written by her that makes her sound arrogant, condescending, and defensive, though it is clear that she honestly aspires to be all things to all people. Also, it is printed in type so small as to be barely visible. --Edith Eisler