Reviews

Micheli bears a torch for the Liszt tradition…a tour de force…a potent demonstration of keyboard proficiency.

[Schliessmann] has reached the pinnacle sought and coveted by all players, which is to surmount all technical obstacles to the point where conscious awareness of them ceases to exist and all that is left is to dwell in the higher realm of pure music-making. Burkard Schliessmann is in that class of musicians. His latest album is most assuredly a must-have for pianists and lovers of solo piano music, but also, I’d say for the general music lover as an example of what musicianship at its finest is all about.

[Jonathan] Phillips’ beautiful interpretation…handles Chopin…so expertly…Phillips’ sensitive artistry brings out the best in all…

an engaging collection of attractive new works – all receiving first recordings – in splendidly mellifluous performances by the Czech Philharmonic Wind Ensemble conducted by Shea Lolin…Lolin and the players…show off their virtuosity, flawless intonation and ensemble. Recommended.

There is, therefore, a spiritual and an environmental aspect to this music…considerable beauty in the interaction of the soloists. The recording is ideal. I found the performances illuminating and…inspiring.

Alexander and Crockford’s selection of songs is eclectic…I’ve been listening to this disc with a tear in my eye, and that’s a good thing.

This selection of English songs is [Trevor Alexander’s] debut recording as a soloist, and is worth the wait. Alexander has a silky, tenor-like upper register…impressive control of dynamics. Peter Crockford provides empathetic accompaniments consistently enhancing mood and atmosphere.

The performances are well wrought. Both performers are clearly enamoured of their chosen repertoire.

David Appleton gives a superb interpretation…and performed…with brilliant drama. Coulthard again plays with drama and excitement…This new album is…a fascinating cross-section of the entirety of Buckley’s writing for piano and especially flute….on display is the remarkable consistency of Buckley’s voice down the years. It is a speaking musical voice, unshowy but meaningful.

Hughes also states he takes these pieces as seriously as any other; one presumes there is something of a challenge involved here that Hughes relishes. There is real care lavished on these often highly appealing morsels…this is a stunning album and a fine introduction to the music of Bernard Hughes. More, please.

We are immediately drawn to the performers’ high level of technical proficiency…the resulting musical sounds are riveting…In all this is an extraordinary debut recording by a highly creative performer. Highly recommended.

It is impossible to find words to give this recording a higher recommendation. It has already earned a spot on my want list for the current year and I’ll continue to listen to it regularly. 

At the keyboard…is Duncan Honeybourne, a musician with an innate understanding of the melodic and structural strengths of Baines’ music. William Baines is an important voice in early twentieth-century British music and he has been well served by this impressive release. The ardent and noble rendering of Robin Walker’s heartfelt homage is a considerable bonus. Highly recommended.

This most recent release by German classical Burkard Schliessmann…offer[s] moments of poetic transport, brief islands of relief between fateful urgings of the grandly sweeping landscape that feels conversant… Expressively nuanced, the music accelerates and retreats in coy, salon gestures, both bemused and subtle in their tragic lilt.

Micheli really goes to town with this material, attacking the keyboard with abandon that is nevertheless carefully controlled – and handling the considerable technical challenges of the variations with tremendous skill and a certain panache. As a whole, this is a disc, characterized throughout by excellence of playing…

Phillips’ impeccable musicality is everywhere apparent throughout the recording, and his love for Chopin comes through clearly as he manages all this music almost caressingly, allowing the feelings it evokes to flow freely from the piano to the listener.

…if one hoped for some new and interesting sounds in listening to this, one gets them…the recording…is very vivid and displays the whole ensemble very well indeed…hopefully this disc will raise the profile of this kind of wind orchestra.

a…varied aural experience… intricate and insistently modern… attractively exploratory… particularly engaging

This disc is altogether successful in exposing listeners to new and interesting woodwind works that are played to excellent effect by the very fine musicians of the Czech Philharmonic Wind Ensemble under Shea Lolin.

Their [Huberman Piano Trio] Rachmaninoff Trio is top notch. The Huberman Trio plays this rarely heard piece with all the passion and attention to detail one could ever want…it is the trio pieces that set this release apart and make it worth getting.