Reviews

Nevertheless, at its best The Devil’s Dream contains music that places Doherty at the forefront of the most exciting new developments in composition that explore traditional music. The quality of the performances from the Sonoro Quartet, uilleann piper Mark Redmond, soprano Sylvia O’Brien and others is first class and many listeners will surely be impressed…

The recording…is superb. A remarkable disc of high beauty and profound emotional depth performed and recorded to the very highest standards. Pure Want List material.

She has considerable technical fluency, avoids muddiness even in the most rapid passagework, is rhythmically alert, and has a good sense of the dramatic. All in all, this is a worthwhile disc…

Alexandrov’s piano sonatas…comprise a significant body of work in Russian history deserving of greater exposure. This first integral recording is an achievement that any listener with an attraction to Russian and Eastern European piano music will find of interest.

Honma’s interpretive choices…are clearly delineated and stylishly played…This is very distinguished musicianship and very beautiful Beethoven playing…an emotionally and intellectually satisfying Beethoven cycle. Urgently recommended.

After many hours of listening to this set, I must say that it is one to savor. The playing is crisp and the voices well delineated. Each time, even in the best-known sonatas, I hear a new detail. This box set will take a place in my CD library…as a more complete reference with insightful, solid interpretations.

Honma’s Beethoven cycle, from beginning to end, gives equal justice to all. If there is one word to sum up Tamami Honma’s Beethoven piano sonata cycle, it would be “transcendental.”

Nonken plays virtuosically and makes the piano resonate…the challenge is worth it.

This is a stunning album. Doherty is a fabulous composer and he’s found an excellent group in the Sonoro Quartet to realize his vision. If challenging, exquisitely rendered music with one foot in the Irish tradition is your cup of tea, this album is a must-hear – just exquisite. 

…the arrangements…work well…the Invencia Piano Duo…is deliciously suave and wonderfully grand…marvellous

I cannot imagine any other performances of these masterpieces that captures their essence any better than Hicks. This recording now occupies the top position of my list for the complete Nocturnes.

Hicks’s playing…touched something in my being I wasn’t expecting and am unable to express. This is a Chopin disc for all to covet and have.

This rewarding disc makes a strong case for his [Robert Saxton] deeply lyrical, sometimes Tippettesque music…captivating, lovingly crafted music delivered in demonstrative, thoroughly persuasive performances

This is a thoroughly entertaining release, including a really excellent mix of Willaimson’s chamber music. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the music…

Here are 14 wonderful works…All are given vibrant, thoughtful performances by these first-rate artists.

a joyful outburst of invention in a brilliantly scored piece of chamber music… You can’t pin him down in this album. Like his personality, his music was often unpredictable. But also, delightfully imaginative, quirky and uncompromising. Excellent performances from pianist Antony Gray and friends.

Spontaneous, impulsive yet calculated, jaunty and spirited yet deeply reflective. A 20th century composer well worth discovering or at least reacquainting yourself with if he’s already part of your musical vernacular.

..superb album

This recording is a significant attempt to make amends for…neglect and is masterminded…by Antony Gray, who…takes a leading role as pianist on the disc together with a considerable gathering of friends and colleagues who…do Williamson proud.

…his [Lance Hulme] music is full of life and organic. It’s fun…an interesting album, with lots going on.