Reviews

The performances are superb – and so is the recording

This is a most desirable disc… these two discs contain just about all of Ives’s best-known and most significant works for piano. … Mead would be hard to beat.

Mead has no problems with the formidable technical difficulties many of these pieces present; the massive accumulations of notes, the cross rhythms and lightning switches of mood

… very well recorded. Above all, each disc contains a good selection of lves’ smaller items.

impressive two-CD set

Not surprisingly perhaps for a former pupil of the legendary Nadia Boulanger, there is a consistency that runs through the heart of all of these works: namely a concern with both the vertical and horizontal aspects of the music, whereby the importance of melody, harmony and contrapuntal line combine to play a crucial part in the structural cohesion of the finished score. Manchester based Psappha give highly committed performances of all five works… this premiere Powers recording is long overdue but better late than never!

Powers is a renowned craftsman who operates in ‘enriched tonality’ and is a determined contrapuntist, as befits a Nadia Boulanger pupil. Well recorded in Cheshire, this first CD devoted entirely to his music is a release which will give a great deal of pleasure.

With formidably well-realised performances from the members of Topologies, and sound which finds clarity and impact in a variety of recording locations, this is an important disc, helping to ensure that Alwynne Pritchard’s music can be heard and well discussed.

CDs like this do not gain massive publicity or renown, yet they do a great service to both singer and song – and therefore music as an art. This CD could well grace many private record collections and brings together 25 imaginative songs.

Were it not for fiercely dedicated independents such as David Lefeber’s Metier label, music lovers with a taste for adventure would be far less served. This Catalan string quartet disc is a remarkable release. The recording itself… is about as good as they get. This is exemplary string sound and the ambient space is exactly right. The Kreutzer Quartet plays with precision, heart, and soul… marvelous stuff.

All this music is wonderfully played and recorded in a Loughton church with ideal acoustics for the purpose; the Kreutzers leave you in no doubt of their commitment and conviction. Taken one at a time, I enjoyed them all

An entirely creative use of virtuosity… together with it goes an acute understanding and enjoyment of all the things that sheer virtuosity can draw from the piano. Throughout, Ian Pace’s technique astounds.

Absolute technical control, a quality fully realised in the magnificently truthful recording. This must be one of the most ambitious recording projects of our time, and it deserves the widest encouragement and support.

Pace’s pianistic achievement… is quite remarkable.

Fine set… Pace’s imposing pianism and extraordinary devotion to the cause… one of the finest around. Music that’s heartfelt and approachable yet densely ambiguous.

Once again Metier is doing Michael Finnissy proud. The result is something thoroughly new, and entirely compelling, especially when given the ardent advocacy of Ian Pace, whose ability to combine thoughtfulness with extreme virtuosity can be heard nowhere better than here. Recommended. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Few current violinists can claim as wide a repertoire and as active a policy of commissioning as Sheppard Skærved, and the present disc offers an excellent and often surprising overview of his solo repertoire. A varied and stimulating collection then, recorded with due appreciation of Sheppard Skærved’s incisive clarity – a trait equally apparent in his informative booklet note.

Skærved has more than risen to the challenge, and no inadequacies are exposed by his recording of Etude Philharmonique and other works by Henze, Naji Hakim, David Matthews, and Dmitri Smirnov. He demonstrates that, in the right hands, the solo violin can evoke a remarkable range of moods and colors.

Fine performances of some of Rawsthorne’s finest yet most neglected chamber music. Alan Rawsthorne’s Theme and Variations for two violins not only ranks as one of his masterpieces, but can also be considered as amongst the finest string writing for violin duo this century… this new and exceptionally fine account by Peter Sheppard Skærved and Christine Sohn [is] all the more welcome. Another Rawsthorne work that deserves much wider recognition is the Violin Sonata of 1958. A must for all admirers of Rawsthorne’s music. GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINEE

playing of passionate intensity in the finest performance of the [Theme and Variations] that I’ve yet heard