Reviews

Majestic and dramatic at times, reflective and interior at others… a composer with a unique vision. The release of these recordings of two of his finest symphonies, along with the additional works that are included and the excellence of the conductors and musicians, surely will be welcome. For those new to Artyomov’s works, they are an excellent introduction to a composer of genius (joint review of dda 25143 and 25144)

This suite has 11 movements and is a reflection of moods, external stimuli and events as felt by the composer one night after recording sessions. Demopoulos is one of those over-achievers: an established composer and pianist in contemporary classical music, he is an accomplished composer and performer of modern jazz. Pleasing, and technically (and imaginatively) impressive.

A true polyrhythmic sound festival. Roche clearly has a feeling for the rich world of Fox’s music for clarinet and plays the compositions one by one in a very convincing way.

[A] generous 2CD collection. The songs are well crafted and… they are pleasant to listen to.

It’s truly beautiful in places and leaves your mind relaxed and in the present. All in all, a thought-provoking album.

The music is often technically demanding. Its content is highly varied, and Mattheson had an unusual ability to incorporate really fine melodies into the format of the baroque suite. His style is personal, and his keyboard virtuosity clear. Both are equally true of the player in this recording. Every fresh performance is not just to be warmly welcomed, but is really valuable. This is a very attractive set, which will help to give greater exposure to an unfamiliar composer of great character.

This disc is fully loaded. Everyone associated with this disc brings both high skill and poignant feeling to this musical treasury. This is a CD that appeals to several constituencies. The liner essay is well worth the read. It’s packed with useful information that enhances the experience.

I enjoyed both electronic works. Mulvey’s attractive and satisfying exploration of this unique sound world… is music to sit back to, close one’s eyes and simply enjoy. ) I enjoyed the sheer simplicity of [Fox’s] highly meditative work: I did not want it to end.

There is a wide variety of musical styles presented here, including jazz, avant-garde classical and simple musings. I was impressed by the playing of these pieces, which typically sounds extremely complex and technically demanding. The result is impressive and enjoyable.

Fox responds to a number of intriguing stimuli from art to mathematical equations [and] explores every aspect of the instrument’s capabilities in terms of pitch, rhythm, and timbre, consistently stretching limits in the pursuit of engaging musical soundscapes. Heather Roche responds to the challenge admirably with tour de force commitment and skill, giving all of these works performances for which any composer would be grateful. The standard of musicianship is exemplary. The disc is a valuable and welcome addition to the Fox discography.

Lefanu’s Invisible Places (1986) is a remarkable and succinct clarinet quintet. The major work, however, is Mandala 3. The musical treatment ranges far and wide, but [Lumsdaine’s] style is unified and the effect haunting. This is a work that stays long in the memory. Fine performances throughout by the marvellous group Gemini and the various soloists.

Blunt is a refined and approachable composer working in a tonal idiom not a little influenced by the harmonic ambiguities of Scriabin. The substantial, three-movement concerto is reminiscent of Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and quite a lot of late Scriabin. The four-movement symphony may be relatively brief, but it belongs firmly in the British symphonic tradition.

Madeleine Mitchell has assembled works by her roughly contemporary British composers. She inspired many of them, and all receive on this disc their recorded premieres. There’s so much here that something’s almost bound to reach a receptive audience. Recommended.

A splendid compilation on two very generously filled discs, complete with printed texts in the well-written and informative booklet that comes with them. In fact this is an extraordinarily varied and intelligently chosen program featuring a wide range of musical styles. Everything is written very well for the voice, and each song is an apt setting of its chosen poem. This is a set I shall return to often. It is recommended enthusiastically.

Rose’s musical aesthetic is tonally based, but is far afield from anything resembling traditional functional harmony. The composer has developed his own harmonic language, and I find his musical idiom both innovative and pleasing. Skaerved and Mathews play together with impeccable precision and skill. Both Skaerved and Mathews are masters of their instruments, and apart from the inspired music heard herein, are well worth hearing in their own right.

Metier’s work to search out interesting, vibrant new music continues with this coupling of music by two composers. There are two individual voices here. Hearing them together enables us to appreciate the strengths of each of them. Fascinating and stimulating.

[Blunt’s] music is both approachable and rewarding on a deeper level. Wonderfully imaginative from concept through to realization, and presented here in miraculous beauty by the Manchester Camerata. Glorious. The recording is superb. This is a tremendous success from all viewpoints.

The 19 works collected here form a wonderfully balanced sequence of pieces large and small. Although the prevailing mood is elegiac-to-wistful, there are plenty which remember John’s engaging, pithy sense of humour. The musical styles are many and varied, from the formally dramatic, the abstract, and straightforwardly tonal. Beautifully performed by all four players and recorded to match.

Roe’s songs are almost defiantly, aggressively tonal and folk-like, like paintings by Grandma Moses popping up at an exhibition of dour minimalist artists. Stephen Varcoe lavishes crisp diction… Varcoe and the soprano Anne Marie Sheridan are ideally characterful. Robin Tritschler… is convincingly romantic.

This is music with gravitas, but melodic and made easy on the ear by the skill of the composer. It’s (mostly) a long way from the jazz/easy listening music of Henry Mancini. Serious music (it’s not lightweight classical film fare) but listenable and with a spring in its step.