Reviews

…full-bodied and elegant…extraordinary.

Parakhinas…Beethoven is very impressive. This is a worthwhile Diabelli even without the extras; but they add a good deal of enjoyment…excellent performances.

Gráinne Mulvey is a major composer; these works only confirm that impression. Performances are superb, as is the recording. Recommended.

Pitfield possessed a pronounced gift for melody as well as for harmonic and contrapuntal development…The result is music that is immediately appealing but that also rewards repeated listening…it is difficult to imagine Pitfield’s chamber music not appealing to you.

I have seldom heard a piano recorded with so huge a dynamic range. Is Honma a Classical Romantic, or is it the other way around? It hardly matters when Beethoven playing of this stature and invention graces my speakers…hers is a set not only rife with the kinds of detail that brings the listener back for more but brimming with the vitality that brings each sonata to life…it’s remarkably complete and endlessly rewarding.

Reminiscence impresses as a thoughtfully curated collection by pianist Tomono Kawamura….the quality of all of its performances is so consistently high.

Anyone already familiar with Östlund’s earlier Divine Art releases will know what to expect from this sixth chapter and be wholly satisfied. The listener coming to the composer’s material for the first time, on the other hand, will be well-pleased by its wealth of compositional material and variety of performances, not to mention enticed by the mystical worlds the music conjures.

Nearly 30 songs by a composer whose life almost spanned the 20th century. Full of lyrical impulse and often setting his own words, these are songs that sometimes are light and sometimes have remarkable emotional power, in masterly performances from James Gilchrist and Nathan Williamson.

Johnson displays great stylistic diversity…[and] a beautiful compositional path…well worth listening to.

Magical storytelling for any time of year…Param Vir’s music encompasses east and west in vividly spiky and shimmering sounds, and the performances…are as compelling as the soundscapes that frame them and the stories themselves. (5 Stars)

Performances and sound are…exceptional

…a thoughtful programme of contemporary piano music…enthralling…and undoubted sincerity

Lydia Kakadbase writes in an instantly appealing style…This extremely enjoyable disc of chamber and vocal music is most welcome and ought to make many new friends for her music…superbly executed.

This is a very varied selection…Yet all share a curious sense of yearning and a fractured beauty that turns this 10-track compilation into something of a unified song suite.

Showcasing Liz Dilnot Johnson’s diverse choral music, the disc celebrates her relationship with Ex Cathedral who are powerful advocates for her highly effective music

I would go as far as to say this is one of the great piano cycles, and is certainly one of the most significant piano statements of the 21st century so far.

suitably majestic…haunting and beautiful. A…listenable album…one I will continue to play.

James Cook’s compositions… [are] cloaked in mystical, dark, shimmering timbres. Kevin Bowyer orchestrates… with great sensitivity, constantly striving to build tension and break through the twilight with brilliant clarity… [using] bright colors that fade like a fine shadow toward the end.

This new disc is most welcome and is comprehensively recommended…a splendid portrait of an excellent and admirable composer…some quite outstanding music.

Frederick Paul Naftel’s new album showcases his eclectic compositional style through a diverse collection of works. This is a completely fascinating CD; the music is entertaining and skilfully composed in varied styles. I am really pleased that I have had the opportunity to get to know it better.