Reviews

English recorderist John Turner continues to impress. The work [of Veale and Crawford] stand richly in the tradtiion of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Turner plays with grace and expressive, yet restrained, taste that fit the music well. OF special interest is Crawford’s Inventions… playful, tuneful, enjoyable for the listener.. the instrumental timbres work very well together.

[this] new CD of three of [Veale’s] chamber works is most welcome. Impromptu for solo recorder, with its impression of a skylark singing at full throttle, is an amazing demonstration of the recorder’s versatility. Expertly recorded, the Adderbury Ensemble plays with great commitment throughout.

[Rochberg’s] sonata of 1988… conveying intense feeling. The Variations… intricate solo violin work.. always with purpose and impact. EDITOR’S CHOICE CD JULY 2011

Metier continues its faithful dedication to contemporary music by adding this remarkable release to its already abundant collection. An outstanding recording that provides wonderful listening experiences.

Rochberg is never one to be penned down, as these current offerings demonstrate. [The Variations] is a remarkable series of 50 variations and an overture, quite long but endlessly fascinating. I find[the Sonata] engrossing and highly expressive, a would-be repertory piece if only more violinists had the courage. The sound on these two discs is very fine… the playing by Rochberg friend Peter Sheppard Skaerved must be considered definitive… warmly recommended.

Rochberg’s boundless imagination and application of sometimes outrageous technique might well have surprised even Paganini himself… the violinistic terrors that lurk within both the Sonata and the very capricious Variations are, with few exceptions, water off a duck’s back to Skaerved, who gives a very expressive, technically assured performance of enormous strength. Sound quality is high … the CD booklet is glossy and highly informative … in the final reckoning this is a quality release, and Metier must be forgiven for re-issuing the Caprice Variations. In fact they should keep on doing it every few years until the world starts taking more notice of George Rochberg’s unique contribution to music history.

When I was an undergraduate composition major at Eastman back in the 70s, I remember hearing these performed in Kilbourn Hall by, I believe, Zvi Zeitlin. I was completely blown away by this hour-and-a-half long postmodern virtuoso extravaganza. I ran down East Main St to the Music Lover’s Shoppe and bought the score, anxiously awaiting […]

My first reaction to this CD was the shock of recognition. This was the violin which I remember Ralph Holmes playing, the ‘Habeneck’, put together by Stradivari in 1734 when he was 90. Its wonderfully rich response makes a major sixth sound like a four-part chord. Peter Sheppard Skærved was a pupil of Holmes and […]

American composer George Rochberg was a pupil of Gian Carlo Menotti and though his early style was heavily influenced by Serialism, in the 60s and 70s he declared the methods too limiting and his language became more focused on tonal idioms with overlaid chromaticisms. Here the ever-resourceful Peter Sheppard Skærved plays Rochberg’s epic 51 Caprice […]

In the view of many, Rochberg’s Caprice Variations for solo violin is a masterpiece. From its introduction in 1970 by the violinist Zvi Zeitlin it has been hailed far and wide, even if, because of its ferocious difficulty, not played as often as one might have wished. Zeitlin recorded it brilliantly and aside from an […]

Peter Sheppard Skaerved has, somewhat belatedly, made the first complete recording of the Caprice Variations by George Rochberg (b.1918), in their original version for solo violin. Composed in 1970, they can be thought of as a ‘short history of music’, taking the most famous of Paganini’s Caprices through its paces in styles of composers through […]

“Rochberg and Skærved unleash an avalanche of questions: Did Rochberg write Caprice Variations for the solo violinist to study and play alone, to savor countless allusions from Bach to Ysaÿe, via Brahms, Beethoven, Webern, Kriesler, and Rochberg himself? Some quotations are explicit. Many are beyond the violin’s repertoire such as those concocted from Brahms’ Paganini […]

[Hurd]’s music is markedly more tuneful than that of his mentor Michael Berkeley. The immediate attractiveness of most of [Milford’s] works bear out their aptness for children. [Blackford’s] Concerto has a mysterious slow movement leading to a dazzling finale full of virtuosos fireworks. Performances are first-rate from the soloists, notably the recorder player John Turner.

The [Hurd] Violin Sonata is lyrical all right and gets a lovely reading with good, clean sound. John Turner gives a stunning virtuoso performance [of the works for recorder]. Delightful. Highly recommended.

Every work here is a charming listen, with Hurd’s Sonatina and Blackford’s Concerto being especially worth hearing. All performers are excellent: poised, colorful and responsive to each other, with special praise going to Richard Howarth. A fine, melodic way to spend 73 minutes. Take the plunge.

Michael Hurd’s chamber music is very approachable indeed. The [Milford works are] expressive, highly attractive. [Blackford’s] Concerto is a buoyant, uplifting experience. The recordings and performances are excellent. Those fond of the pastoral-dance-baroque patterns in British music will enjoy this selection.

The music is interesting … rather sunny 20th Century British music. [Dick Blackford’s] Recorder Concerto is a lovely and lively piece.

[Silentia Noctis] has a vocal line acutely sensitive to the texts and a hinting, alluding and prompting piano line, this is a fine and in many ways compelling setting. Caroline MacPhie and David Jones, both excellent. [Duologue is a] thoroughly convincing and appealing work. Lewis has been admirably served by his engineers and by committed and subtle performances

Barnard’s music is often explicitly linked with healing and colour rays, outlining influences that include Romantic era composers such as Chopin and Liszt, moving through the mysticism of Scriabin and Alan Hovhaness. Superbly performed by musical chameleon Jeffrey Grossman. If you like vast, exotic landscapes and the type of music that can transport you into realms that might have been hinted at in your more pleasant dreams then this is a fine place to take those journeys.

Inward has been in development for six years and the quality of Craig’s presentation and attention to detail shows this. Richard Craig is certainly [a champion] to be reckoned with. This is music to take slowly and with an open mind. It grows on you.