CD REVIEWS

CLASSICAL. Wynton Marsalis - The London Concert (Sony Classical):. I've never heard a good working definition of the word soul as it applies to music. You just sort of know it when you hear it. And when Marsalis plays classical music, it's not there. Marsalis's tone and execution, along with the technical perfection of this recording, are commendable. But his modern approach to these classical pieces reflects a highly impersonal, rather distant style. The Haydn Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra in E Flat calls for a much softer and more understated treatment. But Marsalis cooly celebrates himself. The other pieces - two trumpet concertos, both in D major, by Leopold Mozart and Johann Friedrich Fasch, and a Concerto for Trumpet in E Major by Johann Nepomuk Hummel - suffer from the same treatment, clearly the fault of the producer. The English Chamber Orchestra can be heard apologetically in the background.