Reviews

Most of [this music] is for violin, viola, cello & double bass—an interesting combination. The two songs … are sung with beauty by Jess Dandy and accompanied by the quartet. It is distinctly influenced by styles of the Renaissance and seems almost totally modal. These musicians of the Sound Collective play it with beauty of tone and conviction.

If the seriousness of classical music puts you off, you’ll love this. Easy on the ear, plenty of melody and variation and with a definite lightness of step, this is something of a minor gem.

A fine perform¬ance of four 20th Century and contemporary quartets—some better known than others. Finnissy’s exceptional second quartet…I find fascinating and believe it repays repeated hearings.

Cooman is not only a composer but also an organist and a musical commentator. His vast output is obviously the result of someone with real musical felicity. It has been a pleasure to audition this disc multiple times. The performances here are stunning in their grasp of the musical material. The recording is superb… and it is difficult to imagine a more satisfying result. Wholeheartedly recommended.

From the brilliant musical mind of Russian composer Vyacheslav Artyomov comes another volume of orchestral works very stirringly performed. Artyomov is a major figure on the Russian new music scene, with an explosively modern pallet of mystical, mysterioso universes of sound, a basic sensibility that goes back to Scriabin and Messiaen but then carries it forward to today with true originality. Artyomov is a voice for today, ultra-modern, futuristic and vibrant in its consistent aural brilliance.

Lumsdaine and LeFanu clearly like the imagery and while they might be talking about the literal universe, the music circles a more central theme, whether it’s a clarinet linking up discrete pieces of music in the opening track or questioning the centre of the music in the title track. It doesn’t sound like the work of veterans, rather the work of rebellious youngsters. It is modern… but then again, it’s not harsh— and there are some gentle, even beautiful moments.

This disc showcases some significant music by two major contemporary composers. It also showcases a series of enduring relationships, that between Gemini and the composers, and the fact that Lumsdaine and LeFanu are married. The various players of Gemini along with their guests give powerful and committed performances. – Star rating: 4.0

Among the four works, the first and last are definitely those that strike most decidedly; it’s worth mentioning all the performers, starting with soprano Sarah Leonard. For lovers of contemporary music. Artistic Quality: Outstanding; Technical quality : Excellent

Listening to the disc is something like being party to an intimate, intelligent and far-ranging conversation among old friends. Nicola LeFanu is renowned for works of imaginative beauty… David Lumsdaine’s Mandala 3… proves a gloriously strange and moving piece.. affecting and mysterious. [An] intriguing and enlightening disc. Performance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Recording ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Andreeva is a gifted performer, researcher and teacher. Her program choices are deliberate, balanced and artful. Her approach is methodical, yet inspired… [she] builds her phrases with care and balance. Andreeva is a deeply thoughtful artist and definitely worth hearing.

Students, for instance, will find the clarity of her playing welcome. Andreeva illuminates voices and complex themes through careful pedalling and an academic approach.

I found the attractive works and the assured playing of Natalie Schwaabe to sustain my interest through an entire CD’s worth of piccolo music. Natalie Schwaabe proves herself herein to be a piccolo player of consummate skill, and pianist Jan Philip Schulze is a most sympathetic and gifted collaborator in the pieces that utilize him. I found the entire CD to be captivating and well-worth exploring, and containing works that will bear up well on repeated listening. Highly recommended to collectors, even to those who might not consider themselves particularly adventurous.

This fascinating CD includes not only 19th- century operatic extracts but some composed by Wright himself. They make intriguing listening. I think Meyerbeer would have been chuffed no end by Wright’s keyboard arrangement. It’s a winner.

In Rhona Clarke’s very first album dedicated solely to her own music, she proves to be one of Ireland’s most interesting and convincing living modern composers. A Different Game features the considerable dynamic expressive capabilities of The Fidelio Trio performing six chamber compositions that stand out for the articulate flow of modern musical ideas and the structural strengths of the overarching form each work takes. Clarke comes through as an original stylist and a brilliant musical conversationalist on this disk. There is always something there to pique your musical imagination, never a moment when inspiration flags. I find the entire program heartily stimulating and nearly endlessly rewarding. Strongly recommended.

Lydia Kakabadse’s Russian/Georgian as well as Greek/Austrian descent, enriched by Arabian and medieval ideas, give birth to a an inspiring music mix. The Ensemble ‘sound collective’ as well as singer Jess Dandy prove committed and high-class performers.

Praise goes to Natalie Schwaabe, an authentic virtuoso of the piccolo, and the pianist Jan Philip Schulze, who manage to make [the programme] stimulating and engaging, with their performances lasting nearly an hour on this recording. Artistic Quality: Excellent. Technical quality; Good-Excellent

Natalia Andreeva shows inspiration and spontaneity in the works of Franck, Liszt and Shostakovich.

Andreeva’s textbook playing marks her compendium of preludes from different composers. Her sound is spacious and atmospheric, which does work well for these works, especially the Franck.

The second disc – under the title Maché, in which seventeen short pieces are turned into multi-composer remixed ‘concertos’, including indeterminate aspects – provides much richer music. Maché 1 undergoes a lovely development from isolated pitches into a dense, complex electroacoustic soundworld, later emphasising electric guitar, finally becoming a kind of drone. Maché 4 is truly outstanding: resonant chords, dissonant but attractively so, punctuated with hugely powerful and exciting sweeps across piano strings.

Short, pleasant, well-crafted pieces. Simmons delivers his usual fine per¬formance.