Reviews

Barnard is a careful craftsman yet has the ability to retain the musicality and sensitivity required to demonstrate the disparate styles. Overall this is a varied microcosm of piano writing…interpreted and performed by a master. Highly recommended

This collection is one of the most rewarding compilations I have encountered in a long time… consistently attractive and often hauntingly tuneful,… resourcefully inventive, elegantly crafted and richly scored. These sparkling performances from Brain Schembri and the excellent Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra could not be more stylish or persuasively spontaneous, and the vividly atmospheric recording is first rate. Not to be missed.

The Malta Suite is a remarkable work from someone so young. The disc is well programmed. The recording captures the sultry but restrained warmth of the strings to perfection. This is thoroughly enjoyable music, undemanding yet often exquisitely crafted.

A lovely disc with unpretentious, colourful, well-crafted works in very fine performances. Light music, maybe, but of the highest order. Do not expect any earthshaking masterpieces here, but a bunch of attractive and enjoyable miniatures.

A symphony [orchestra] in tow that has a real feel for the works.  Quite a dandy diversion that almost bops along like a pop record.

This [CD] is nothing short of sensational… superlative. I have never heard [the Berg Sonata] played better, It is a flawless work played flawlessly. [In the Ravel] the pianism remains staggering. This is a must have disc. It is the best piano playing I have heard for years.

One of the most enterprising and talented musicians around and these interpretations vouch for her considerable ability and sense of natural expressiveness. This is a well balanced programme sensitively presented and superbly executed.

Butcaru steps up with a stellar solo work-out…Her feel for Ravel and Schumann are right in the pocket… a first class impression. These are clearly ten new fingers to keep a close watch on.

A richly comprehensive programme… all these readings are quite without the superficial gloss or knowingness of many alternative performances. Berg’s Sonata… suits this pianist’s serious and reflective style admirably.

Jeffreys deserves to be considered on a par with much better known composers… areal gift for lyrical writing. Partridge has one of the most instantly recognizable tenor voices of the 20th Century, limpid and sweet, with consummate control and impeccable diction. His sister is a distinguished accompanist and teacher. Together they present an engaging and rewarding program. Good notes and texts

There is no doubt that John Jeffreys is a natural songwriter. Without exception these songs display a strong melodic impulse. His response to texts is distinctive and very much his own. There’s great pleasure to be had in listening to these songs. And what a delight it is to have another example of the artistry of Ian Partridge! His timbre is utterly distinctive and I’ve always appreciated his singing. Here the clarity of his diction, the easy, unforced delivery, the vocal control and the evident empathy with both words and music are all consistently evident. His sister and regular recital accompanist, Jennifer Partridge, is no less fine an advocate for these songs. It’s hard to imagine that John Jeffreys’ songs could have been better served. Though the recordings were made over fifteen years ago the sound is fully satisfactory. I’ve greatly enjoyed making the acquaintance of these songs and I know I’ll return to this disc with pleasure in the future. I urge all lovers of English songs to seek out this very fine disc.

Tenor Ian Partridge and his pianist sister Jennifer have done much for British music down the years. The present disc showcases the composer John Jeffreys with 24 song-writing gems… always the musical setting responds to the text sensitively and tellingly.

Smart interpretations of Chopin … this is a dignified and tuneful take on later works by Chopin.  The album is well played and up front in its simplicity being a nice find for the classical piano fancier.

Peter Katin’s disc of Schubert Impromptus is generously and fairly discussed in two reviews on Music Web (set out below). The point is well made that evaluation might have been assisted if at least one of the pieces had been recorded also on a modern piano for comparison (at TT 64:21 there would have been […]

quiet playing that is often carefully nuanced…Katin seems to have command of the works’ structure… tempos are well judged and some of the more personal interpretive decisions… seem convincing. Katin provides some fresh perspective on familiar repertoire

highly articulate, intelligent, observant… and musical playing…[The B flat Impromptu] is a performance I will gladly hear again, not because it’s played on an 1832 Clementi square piano but because it’s played very beautifully

In this era of “authentic” performance the description fortepiano is used both widely and loosely. It is a well-intentioned term indicating that it is an early post-harpsichord but pre-modern instrument. Perhaps somewhere between Haydn and Chopin would be a good rule of thumb. The instrument used here however is a six-octave Square Piano of 1832 […]

Clementi has suffered more than his fair share of detractors down the years, including Mozart who claimed: “[Clementi] has not the slightest expression or taste, still less feeling.”. Be that as it may, Beethoven’s early sonatinas and Op.49 sonatas show clearly the influence of Clementi (and Dussek). This seems to be Peter Katin’s starting point. […]

This disc is a delight. I will not discuss the square piano as the notes with the CD do this admirably. What I want to do is recommend Clementi as a composer and give further indication, although this is unnecessary, of the unequalled stature of Peter Katin both as a pianist and musician. Muzio Clementi […]

There are some whose enjoyment of performances centres on the sonorities chosen by the composer: how things sounded with even temperament, how certain things took on “dark” tones while others — the eternally sunny key of C — have a far brighter tone. Some far prefer performances on modern instruments with stronger, more vivid timbres […]