It is not a voice that burns or bites or dazzles, and although Ferruccio Furlanetto has rarely seemed technically ill at ease with the music he was singing, he seldom goes in for virtuoso display, coloristic alchemy or fastidious verbal underlining. It is, however, a wide-ranging, perfectly equalized instrument with an immediately identifiable, mellow timbre. Few basses have succeeded in bringing such an ample range of psychologically challenging characters to life over a thirty-year career span. |
Tchetuev brought a genuine thrill – a sound that Neuhaus, Sofronitsky and Richter would have recognised. That indefinable ‘Russian’ quality in the mid-range, the crystalline treble and the defined bass, all combined with a very strong interpretative personality. In a word – glorious!
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