‘A fairly recent recording of keyboard music of J. P. Sweelinck played on the harpsichord by Alina Rotaru should be of interest to fans of Sweelinck or great harpsichord playing... great, period-sensitive playing with a recording offering a good perspective of the (beautiful) instrument... Needless to say, highly recommended.' F. Decolvenaere
'Sweelinck's keyboard oeuvre is well represented here in a program that includes contrapuntal pieces, variations on secular songs, and religious music. Rotaru is a nimble and expressive player.' American Record Guide
'Her keyboard work in the Fantasia chromatica is amazing. She starts out slowly and deliberately and then builds to a spectacular finish; the sweeping 32nd-note runs in the concluding section will take your breath away. The Ballet del granduca, often heard on organ recitals, is likewise given the grand treatment. Every tune is gauged perfectly...Rotaru succeeds in this repertoire where others fail thanks to a rock-steady rhythmic pulse and honest, self-effacing musicianship. Although it's often difficult to put a finger on it, her style is exactly right.' Fanfare
‘Rotaru has an accomplished, rather active, even flashy style of playing, heard in the crisp repeated notes, dotted groupings, and divisions of Mein junges Leben hat ein End', for example.' Ionarts
Alina Rotaru's debut solo recording with the keyboard music of J. P. Sweelinck (1562 - 1626), presents both a virtuosic and a personal approach to the music of this great Flemish composer. This album is a brilliant debut from a highly talented young artist.
This recording does not strive to present Sweelinck's harpsichord repertoire in its completeness but rather to mark an inner journey into the universe of the enlightened and cosmopolitan musician that Sweelinck was.