Reviews

A contemplative, often ethereal, mood dominates, no bad thing; if you enjoyed some or all of the earlier volumes, you will not be disappointed; otherwise, new listeners start here,

This is an astonishing display of vocal virtuosity. Of course, there is Berio here, and Cage, but also so much more… dispatched with consummate mastery by Sara Stowe. Stowe manages beautifully the registral demands placed upon her… dispatched with consummate mastery. Wholehearted recommendation.

A previous release of music by Lydia Kakabadse was very impressive; this present release offers further thoughtful, imaginative music. Clare McCaldin’s rich mezzo is perfect. The choir is well schooled, with pure-toned sopranos and fine tuning from all concerned, while the harpist Cecily Beer is simply superb. The music here is cleverly constructed without wearing its sophistication on its sleeve; the musical language is everywhere approachable.

A pleasant and diverting collection of music, stimulating.

Peter Sheppard Skærved gets to play on a great violin. The album contains 96 short tracks. Violinists may enjoy raptures at the sound… Sheppard Skærved obviously plays well and enjoys himself.

This has to be star disc for me – playing, instruments and music combine to provide a wonderful panoply of sound for the listener… such a vibrant recording. Exquisite – a wonderful pairing of instruments! The disc is complemented by extensive programme notes, including biographies and a note on the organ used.

An excellent recital of organ music… an exciting and welcome addition, an interesting collection of pieces, exhilaratingly played. I particularly enjoyed his performance of the Jongen, and the Dove is wonderful. The organ is captured at its best by the recording, and the notes are also very good.

The Kreutzer Quartet play well; its members include violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved, always a safe pair of hands. Modern in that it’s not big on melody but not so fragmented or jarring to render it un-approachable.

The perfect way to hear Froberger’s outstanding keyboard music in new and refreshing ways. A deliciously intimate experience. Such a beautifully made and decorated keyboard instrument

These works are fantastic additions to the modern woodwind repertoire and display Peter Hope’s skill as a composer in writing such finely crafted music. The four sonatas are well written for the instruments, and the interaction between the solo instruments and piano is interesting and varied.

Argentieri demonstrates a true command of this daunting repertoire, meeting the challenges with apparent ease. [Prokofiev’s] continual quest for freedom from typical 19th-century styles resulted in a particular eclecticism, clearly evident in this attractive program.

A record of a quite remarkable personal journey of discovery… an absolute mine of information for anyone interested in the violin music of the period.

Significant research has gone into this recording of Schubert’s two most songful quartets. The grainier and (counter-intuitively) heavier sound sets off the counterpoint in D804. The same qualities give ‘Death and the Maiden’ the all-important feeling of an inevitable slide into despair despite a full-on fight. Real emotional tension sets in. A close but clear in-the-round recording puts listeners right in the middle.

Hughes’ writing is very seductive, and he is adept at creating striking and rather lovely textures. The performances from the Orchestra of Sound and Light, and from the New Music Players are uniformly excellent. This disc forms an approachable introduction to the composer’s music, providing the new listener with a variety of ways into Hughes’ complex, seductive and fascinating sound world.

This is a very fine disc. Alfonso Soldano is clearly a master; there are generally broad tempi, but always in service of Soldano’s conception. Soldano has a refined touch and makes his tempo sound right and inevitable. Terrific performance. The booklet notes are helpful, and the recorded sound is realistic, rich and full, quite close but with sufficient ambience, and captures the pianist’s often dramatic dynamic range.: RECOMMENDED

The Kreutzer Quartet worked closely with the composer, making this a definitive performance of his music. Powerfully atmospheric… although the music is firmly on the atonal spectrum it has strong thematic development. Peter Sheppard Skærved gives a stunning virtuoso performance of the piece for solo violin entitled GAD… it displays a host of violin technical fireworks and holds together particularly impressively in this performance.

The CD takes us on a fascinating ride across this composer’s life and musical development. All three works are remarkably different but there are certain elements that unify them. Performed with energy and clarity… incisive and precise performance from the players.

Overall, the music [of ‘Cuckmere’] is firmly tonal and is expressively colourful.In the Sinfonia and in ‘Media Vita’ Hughes deconstructs originals and reassembles them in his own individual modernist style. All this is performed with considerable clarity.

That [Burgess] had a good inner ear is undeniable from the sound of his works.. tuneful, pleasant but inconsequential. Beautiful constructions, beautiful playing, beautiful recordings.

It soon turns out that Argentieri has a lot of affinity with [Prokofiev’s] idiom. She has the necessary muscle strength and good vision and the fact that she sometimes uses some rubato enhances the melodic character of her playing.