Reviews

I do not have a great enthusiasm for the sound of the recorder . So it came as an agreeable surprise to discover that I enjoyed and appreciated every bar of this latest CD of recorder and continuo music from Divine Art. Every detail and nuance of [the Fireworks music] is well-defined and consistently fresh and exploits the unique character of each instrument. I am equally enthusiastic about the four Sonatas for recorder and basso continuo presented on this disc. This is an excellent disc and will be in demand for all Handel enthusiasts. It is stunningly played and beautifully presented.

This is an interesting and original CD. The sound and balance on this recording is excellent. I recommend this CD, particularly for the performers’ audacious skill in demonstrating how the Musick for the Royal Fireworks, which was the 18th-century equivalent of a blockbuster, was brought into the living room and the small concert chamber.

[The ‘Fireworks Music arrangement] is an appealing take on the original, emphasizing the dance origins of the music … , the listener will find this to be a quite entertaining reading of the work, with nice lilt and unhurried pacing. The sonatas are a more mediocre commodity, though these fine performances would be welcome no matter how crowded the field. The performances excel in the projection of Handel’s energy and charm, and I thor­oughly enjoyed hearing this recording. The recording is fairly close, but warm and detailed, with sufficient air that it does not seem claustrophobic. This fine release is happily added to my collection.

The program is in and of itself rather intriguing, as the trio’s main work is nothing less than George Frédéric Handel’s monumental music celebrating the end of the War of the Austrian Succession in 1749. Although one does miss the boisterous trumpets, horns, and drums, this rendition is a lot of fun. Much of its reedy pomp depends upon the nicely nuanced performance of recorder player Ruth Wilkinson, who gives it just the right ornamentation and speed. All in all this is a nice disc, and well worth acquiring for the Fireworks arrangement alone, giving one a glimpse into the manner in which the average well-to-do household of Georgian England admired Handel’s music.

This album is pretty well what it implies: Handel, played on recorder. It’s not Christmassy per se, but early music creates an atmosphere that suits the festive season. It’s a pleasant album and the pieces convey mood well.

The strength and clarity of the performers is unmistakeable, they are among the most important musicians in Australia’s Early Music scene and teach at the university of Melbourne. Aesthetic ornamentation in the slow movements and expressive interpretation make this CD a fine listening experience.

Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow continue to add to their impressive catalogue of recordings for Divine Art. Their sense of poetry, contrasting Schubert’s many moods, brings so many rewards. Theirs is quite simply an intuitive partnership. This is great Schubert.  Phenomenal playing … the recorded sound is first rate.

If you love Schubert’s music, you ought to hear this. The Death and the Maiden, works wondrously on the piano, and Goldstone and his partner Caroline Clemmow deliver an impassioned, gripping perform­ance that may occasionally make you forget that you are in fact hearing a transcription. The sound is excellent, as are Goldstone’s informative notes. A most stimulating release that has my highest recommendation.

[Death and the Maiden is heard] in a version of excellence which I recommend warmly… engrossing listening…. impeccably handled. {The Symphony arrangement is] a delightful musical outcome, the players reaching for the stars. The second movement, too, is a model of good taste. Goldstone has transcribed the third movement from Schubert’s sketches. It’s beautifully done and fits the overall presentation like a glove.

Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow (Goldstone and Clemmow) give a hugely attractive and competent rendition of these two popular works by Franz Schubert. [The arrangements] can bring fresh life to what is often a hackneyed original … in the current piano duo version it is possible to hear nuances and details that have been submerged or blurred by repeated hearings. I think it is the ‘freshness’ of the present recordings of Schubert that have impressed me most of all. Based on the sheer delight that this present recording offers, [the first two volumes] will be essential listening.

Piano redactions (or transcriptions, if you will) of orchestral works … reveal the bone structure, so to speak, of the piece. Excellent examples of redactions are those played on many Divine Art CDs by Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow. I already have several such discs in my collection and I am delighted with their latest release, Franz Schubert, The Authorized Piano Duos, vol. 3. I always look forward to more from this excellent couple.

Goldstone and Clemmow are arguably the best piano duo active today. I have not yet heard a bad or mediocre performance by them. In this volume, two of Schubert’s greatest works are presented in attractive four-hand arrangements. Possibly the best volume of this series, Schubert’s Death and the Maiden quartet and Unfinished Symphony are masterpieces worth hearing on the piano. Goldstone and Clemmow are at the height of their powers.

There’s something strangely comforting about this CD … it’s tried and tested old music brought up to date by Anthony Goldstone, who, with Caroline Clemmow, is one of the world’s leading pianists. As might be expected, Goldstone and Clemmow play to the highest standard, and if you’re fans of them or Schubert, you’ll enjoy this. Given the superb sleeve notes, you’ll be able to listen with knowledgeable ears whatever your depth of comprehension.

Speculation about the sounds that might have resonated beyond Schubert’s double-bar line has never gone away, and Caroline Clemmow and Anthony Goldstone’s album provides an answer … of sorts. These glimpses inside Schubert’s working mind of course prove irresistible.

Enjoyable CD … Couperin’s melodies sound very modern. Karttunen is an accomplished player … she knows her stuff. It’s very more-ish and highly recommended.

Assi Karttunen plays everything with flying colours. Ultimately the idea of combining Lynch with Bach’s and Rameau’s contemporary shows that they are not so distant.

An unusual but well-though-out combination. Lynch gets the music to resonate fully with meanings and connotations, and the border between the heard and the unheard gets blurred, like Karttunen wishes. The playing is well-weighted, free and flexible. . As a whole the recording takes shape of an extraordinary and exciting harpsichord CD able to charm music lovers, the period music fans as well as the broad-minded modern music enthusiasts.

Although the period-instrument movement is commissioning new works, it is still only in isolated cases that new compositions are produced for the baroque instrument. British composer Graham Lynch (b.1957) has a fascinatingly rich harpsichord repertory, and a couple of years ago it grew by two harpsichord suites commissioned by Assi Karttunen. Now Karttunen has linked […]

Duncan Honeybourne is peerless in his handling of the [solo piano] music. The three [wind] players are assured and confident and show clear sympathy with the music. It was a real pleasure to make acquaintance with [Whitlock’s] music again and I would earnestly recommend listeners to hear music which is so immediately communicative as well as displaying the development of Whitlock’s style. Flowing waters and Evening prayer, if they are indicative of the manner in which his writing is moving, make one eager to hear more.

The music is lyrical, elegant and witty, at times mininalist and at others more richly textured in the manner of Chopin or Liszt. The music contained on this album is very accessible and will certainly appeal to those listeners who may initially shy away from new music. Recommended.