Reviews

impressive musicianship and refined sensibility

Raymond Clarke illumines even the most dense Szymanowskian textures … Clarke is a splendidly articulate advocate, lending especial clarity to the massive opening allegro and fraughter variations of No.2; and the concert hall acoustic is strikingly true to life.

Raymond Clarke is a staggering pianist of exceptional gifts … Raymond Clarke’s performances are almost breathtaking … irresistible.

Andreas Boyde’s performance is both very exciting and gloriously effective. So good is [the Schoenfield] that it makes George Gershwin sound like an amateur. What joyful, witty and totally absorbing music this is. As for the piano playing, one can only exclaim astonishment and admiration. It is a sensational success. The recording is exemplary.

Charles Burney wrote of Haydn, ‘There are painted on his countenance all the genius, goodness, propriety, benevolence and rectitude which constantly characterise his writings’. I believe that Joanna Leach has displayed all these qualities in her interpretations.

Joanna Leach is an excellent artist… the instruments presented here are very interesting and not easily available on disc. They shed light on a virtually ignored aspect of music-making in the 18th and 19th centuries.

There is no denying the pleasure of experiencing the music of Mozart, Handel and Schubert in a domestic setting and as it would have been heard in the instruments of the day. Joanna Leach’s playing is intimate, stylish and pleasantly unassuming.

Joanna Leach adds to her well-respected output of recordings of square pianos with an eclectic programme of pieces on three pianos and a spinet. Joanna Leach articulates clearly, although there is a lack of contrasting over-holding and thus warmth of sound. However, at the 21st track… her playing transports us into another realm as soon as the third instrument, the Stodart square piano of 1823, is touched at the opening of the Soler sonata.

A thoroughly enjoyable album finds Leach playing for the clear joy of it…A tasty work with a nice concept.

Period instrument specialist Joanna Leach takes us on a journey through the development of keyboard instruments. This unique recital of elegantly played music vividly brings to life the sounds of another age.

The recording is beautifully judged throughout, very close and capturing the finest of nuances. Leach’s performances are first-rate, stylish and alert, with impeccably pointed ornaments. The booklet notes by Andrew Lancaster are very informative, complemented by colour photographs of each instrument. Highly recommended: domestic instruments they may be, but they are of a quality and character which is remarkable to hear.

The Scherzos have what it is necessary of heroic spirit and expressive frisson, the Impromptus of smoothness and lyricism, the Nocturnes of melancholy grace. A very beautiful pianistic work

The Frenchman Bernard d’Ascoli has perfect command of [rubato] and I’ve enjoyed his new 2-CD set of the Nocturnes… playing of authority and definition of character. And Bach as well as Chopin would have approved of the exemplary part-playing. There is drama and declamation here, as well as lyricism and sensitivity to the fundamental alliance of vocal music with Chopin’s writing

Murray McLachlan’s playing throughout these discs is as masterly as one would expect and he is superbly recorded. The pianists also contributes extensive booklet notes which explore every facet of the music. A superlative collection of some superlative arrangements and realisations by one of the great masters of the keyboard. A big thank you to everyone concerned with this marvellous release.

The obscurity which envelopes [Stevenson’s] art is a cause for enormous regret. I guarantee that as you work your way through these recordings, you will shake your head in dumbfounded disbelief that music of such remarkable quality should have gone unheard for so long. Murray McLachlan deserves enormous praise for these recordings. Some of these pieces erect some formidable barriers .. but McLachlan negotiates their difficulties with chamois surefootedness. One’s predominant emotion is gratitude to the musician, recording company and composer who made [the set] possible. Its importance can hardly be overstated.

What a collection of treasures… McLachlan proves the ideal guide through this unendingly fascinating array of works. McLachlan’s technique is equal to the most challenging of the composer’s virtuosic demands, his musical sensibilities attuned to shaping the torrents of notes into real works of art and his lightness of touch able to draw out the subtle tones and colours that are the lifeblood of the music. The recording is very clear, no mean achievement given the music’s wide dynamic and textural range. Very strongly recommended.

For me the outright best release of the past year [2013], bar none … That a composer of this stature should have to wait so long for record­ings of his music (and he’s still waiting for the vast bulk of his huge output to get anywhere near the microphones) is shameful; this set will let you hear why.

South Korea’s Lee Sinae proves to be, with English Raymond Clarke, the ideal interpreter of the piano music of Szymanowski. What is striking about this pianist is the meticulous attention with which she faces every piece (not for nothing that the thesis for her master’s degree in musicology has been dedicated to the work of this Polish composer). An album really ideal for those who like the great pianists of the twentieth century. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sinae Lee certainly has the technical ability to master this repertory… she projects the music with a real sense of forward momentum and intensity… managing to bring welcome transparency of texture to the involved contrapuntal layering. Performance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sound ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There is no excuse for hesitation… a truly rewarding experience. Jaw-droppingly good with a delivery that is staggering in its ability to bring out the nuances within the music. Wonderful and seemingly effortless control, immaculate phrasing and beautiful coloration, resulting in performances I’ve never heard equalled.