Dance with me

"Recording of the week: My sole reservation about this album is that there isn't more of it - at 47 minutes, there's surely room for a couple more turns around the dance-floor, though the energy-levels are so high throughout that it seems a bit churlish to feel short-changed ... Hannigan completists will need no persuading on this one despite her relatively slight involvement, but I defy anyone not to be swept along by the sheer joie de vivre of the entire project - even those who instinctively recoil from the clichéd invitation to 'dance like no-one is watching' may find themselves doing exactly that after sampling a couple of tracks".

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"Das passiert gar nicht so selten - um sieben spielt das Ludwig Orchestra noch Stravinsky im Konzertsaal, um zehn spielt es zum Tanzen vor Swing-Fans auf ... Nun präsentiert es mit illustren Gästen wie der Sopranistin Barbara Hannigan und dem Berlage Saxophone Quartet zwölf Standart-Tänze von Walzer über Fox bis Rumba. Und das bei aller Präzision und Durchsichtigkeit überraschend hemdsärmelig! Ein intelligentes Album, leicht nostalgisch, ohne allzu devote Anbiederei an die Originale. Rundum geglückt".

"If you're familiar with the Ludwig Orchestra's two previous recordings ... you know to expect the unexspected. Thus Kurt Weill's sublime tango-habanera 'Youkali' bumps up against Barry Manilow's 1978 hit 'Copacabana' ... Hannigan is featured in four numbers ... which allow her to show her spectacular range in a wide stylistic spectrum of popular song ... The tautness of the Ludwig Orchestra's playing ... echoes that of the best bands of the big band era, and the arrangements are not only effective but cleverly detailed ... If you're in need of some serious fun - and who isn't these days - 'Dance with me' may just sweep you off your feet".

"Skivans verkliga höjdpunkt är Barbara Hannigans intelligenta och sofistikerade sångtolkningar ... Hannigan balanserar skickligt intensitet och flöde; hon forsöker varken härma ett mer populärt sångidiom eller tynga musiken med alltför klassiskt orienterade framföranden. Ludwig Orchestra har visat sig vara en mångsidig ensemble ... och deras framföranden här av Alban Bergs Lulu-suit och musik ur George Gershwins Girl Crazy är förstklassiga".