Handel: Harpsichord Works, Volume 3

"It is no mean feat that Yate's delightful performance of these suites provides a rewarding listening experience without a dull moment despite a total duration of over 70 minutes." --BBC Music Magazine "Edge of the seat playing that vibrantly dispels any thoughts of Handel's harpsichord music as dull." --Gramophone Magazine ...

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Saxophone Concertos

“Lovers of the saxophone must welcome a CD that offers two stalwart works in such fine interpretations, as well as significantly extending the recorded repertory.” --Gramophone Magazine, July 2008 Yoshimatsu’s Albireo Mo de and Toshiyuki Honda’s Concerto du vent are showpieces of Sugawa’s burnished sound… The sinuous athleticism of Ibert’s Concertino da camera and Lars-Erik Larsson’s stunning, bluesy concerto are worthier tests of Sugawa’s virtuosity....

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C.P.E. Bach: Cello Concertos

C.P.E. Bach would undoubtedly rejoice, were he alive, upon hearing this album of his cello concertos by Truls Mørk and Les Violons du Roy under the direction of Bernard Labadie. From the opening notes, one cannot help but feel the orchestra is fantastic. The A major Cello Concerto begins with vigor and liveliness, with the ensemble playing perfectly together in tempo with great spirit. Mørk plays just as well, with a clean, accurate, and somewhat...

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Say: 1001 Nights In The Harem, Etc

“[The Violin Concerto] is colourful and consistently engaging, filled with ear-catching textures, rhythms and melodies...The orchestra matches Kopatchinskaja's vigour and suppleness with incisive playing.” --BBC Music Magazine, July 2010 **** Fazil Say is an accomplished and acclaimed pianist, but the main focus here is on his composing talents. Not so long ago there was a craze for late-18th and 19th-century music that mingled European styles...

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Piazzólla: Tango Distinto

“A swinging, sultry collection of arrangements of the Tango King's music showcasing the exception talent of Greek trombonist Achilles Liarmakopoulos.” --BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 **** "Piazzolla’s music appears in a variety of arrangements, but this is claimed as the first recording with a trombone as the constant element. I don’t recall having encountered the young Greek trombonist Achille Liarmakopoulos before, but he’s a fine exponent...

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Poenitz: Songs and Hymns with Harp

The second instalment of the Poenitz cycle on Brilliant Classics presents works for solo voice, accompanied by harp(s) and harmonium. The unique instrumental colours lend a special atmosphere to these intimate and deeply felt works, often on sacred texts. Franz Poenitz was not only a virtuoso on the harp (as is clearly evident in the rich and complex writing for his instrument in this music) but also an accomplished painter, one of his creations...

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Cherubini: Arias & Overtures from Florence to Paris

“Schiavo displays a nimble coloratura technique, phrases elegantly and makes much of her words...The Tuscan period band Auser Musici are robust rather than specially subtle partners, with, as recorded, a distinctly abrasive string tone. But there is no doubting the energy and commitment of their playing.” --Gramophone Magazine, April 2012 “These are the first performances I have heard by Auser Musici, technically and musically a notably accomplished...

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Onslow: Cello Sonatas

“These elegantly crafted Sonatas from 1820 combine some of the thematic rigour of Beethoven with the ornate virtuosity of Weber. These are strongly committed and highly expressive performances.” --BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 **** "It is good to hear Maria Kliegel again. Her warm sound is a pleasure…[Kliegel and Tichmann] enjoy themselves with this expansive yet classically phrased music. Altogether, it is a worthwhile project well handled by...

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Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1, Etc

To celebrate Franz Liszt’s bicentenary, Lang Lang has selected some of the most famous, virtuosic and poetic solo pieces ever written for the piano, concluding with a fabulous new recording of the Piano Concerto No. 1 – accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic and Valery Gergiev. Alternating the lyrical Liszt with the bravura, Lang Lang’s tribute to his ‘piano hero’ mixes old favourites with some lesser-known pieces, transcriptions with original...

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Hoffmeister: Double Bass Quartets Nos. 2-4

The novelty of Franz Anton Hoffmeister’s double bass quartets lies in his substitution of that husky-voiced instrument for the first violin in a regular string quartet line-up. Seldom heard in such a prominent position the double bass reveals itself as a good humoured and surprisingly expressive vehicle for Hoffmeister’s amiably melodic writing. It also gives an especially haunting melancholic quality to Schubert’s much-loved Arpeggione Sonata,...

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Chausson: Concert in D major for violin, piano, and string quartet

“Violinist Jennifer Pike, pianist Tom Poster and the Doric String Quartet have done much more than scratch the surface of this piece...it is their handling of the gradually building tension in the slow movement, from disquiet to impassioned pleading via reflection and agitation, that marks out as an especially fine performance.” --BBC Music Magazine, April 2013 ***** “[Pike and Poster] play superlatively - beautifully merging into the texture...

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Casella: Triple Concerto; Ghedini: Concerto dell'Albatro

“Ghedini’s colours are so tastefully blended and applied that I found myself listening for a second time, and a third...Casella fans will want this concerto; the Ghedini is a real bonus, though.” --MusicWeb International, 9th January 2014 “a pair of radically different mid-century triple concertos...I Pomeriggi Musicali's fine live performances are scrupulously conducted by Damian Iorio... Violinist Paolo Ghidoni and cellist Pietro Bosna adopt...

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