Maurice Ravel

“…at its best his playing evinces an ease and naturalness that makes his overemphasis elsewhere regrettable. He excels in the Sonatine's virtuoso finale, where, as instructed, he is brilliantly animé, and his Toccata from Le tombeau de Couperin has real pep and articulacy...” Gramophone Magazine, January 2009

“Ravel's liquid keyboard music runs like cool, clean water through the expert hands of pianist Artur Pizarro. His refined sensitivity to this gossamer repertoire makes this, his second album of Ravel, a recording to treasure.” The Guardian, 21st September 2008

“Volume 15 of Regent's splendid English Cathedral Series takes us to York and the superb artistry of John Scott Whiteley… The major work is Whiteley's transcription of Cochereau's Symphonie en improvisation (1963), a strong work, played with great verve. A thunderous opening movement and a tremendous Tarantelle frame an elfin Scherzo and a meditative Adagio.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2009

“Volume 15 of Regent's splendid English Cathedral Series takes us to York and the superb artistry of John Scott Whiteley, who has served the Minster with great distinction since 1976. His daily contact with this vibrant instrument ensures a sonic as well as musical treat. Whiteley is also filmed for Priory's DVD, playing the Minster's mobile nave console.
Regent's programme opens with a magisterial account of Alain's ecstatic Litanies, followed by a nicely contrasted Berceuse marine by Maurice Guillaume. Marie Joseph Léon Désiré Pâque's Pièce ambles along agreeably (if slightly disjointedly) but more satisfactory is Bernard's delicious Scherzo-Caprice. Another highlight is the Ravel transcription (from Mother Goose) which fits the organ like a glove. Dupré's Cortègeet Litanie is most beautifully shaped. The Organetto by Joris Verdin (b1952) consists of seven short movements that parody those forms of composition possible on the 15th-century Italian portative organetto. It's worth hearing once. The major work is Whiteley's transcription of Cochereau's Symphonie enimprovisation (1963), a strong work, played with great verve. A thunderous opening movement and a tremendous Tarantella frame an elfinScherzo and a meditative Adagio. The disc is a treat for the ear with first-rate notes and documentation.
Priory's DVD programme eschews any music by York composers, though there is Charles Wood's charming Prelude on York and the briefest extract from Francis Jackson's Op 5 Impromptu.
Instead, the emphasis is on the player's physical interaction with the manuals and pedalboard.
With reference to the latter, this performance of Thalben-Ball's Paganini Variations should be compulsory viewing. Views of the Minster's exquisite stained glass and clocks add flavour, particularly in Mulet's Rosace and Mozart's Fantasia, K608. The Cymbelstern stop adds tingle to Mushel's fairground-like Toccata.
Although Elgar's Imperial March suffers from a surfeit of rubato there is no shortage of élan in Cochereau's thrilling Easter plainsong improvisation on Haec dies. Appealing too is the authentically Gallic tang to the tuning as the wind occasionally struggles to cope. Richard Knight's camerawork is superb and Paul Crichton's sound beautifully balanced and warm. A delightful production throughout.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Fazil Say share a radical approach, performing each musical gesture in the most vivid way, with smoothness and tonal beauty a secondary consideration. It's undeniably exciting… Daring, and highly individual playing…” Gramophone Magazine, January 2009

“This is far from being just another recording of the Kreutzer Sonata. Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Fazil Say share a radical approach, performing each musical gesture in the most vivid way, with smoothness and tonal beauty a secondary consideration. It's undeniably exciting, especially the first movement which, after all, is quite a wild piece, but the exaggerated shortness of many staccato notes can be quite disturbing. And in the finale, which, though it shares something of the first Presto's manic quality, has a joyful aspect, Kopatchinskaja's ultra-short, rather splashy bowing of both main themes fails to project their full melodic élan.
Like the Beethoven, the Bartók is a slightly frustrating mixture of the brilliant and the questionable, but in the Ravel the performance's radical edge is more completely successful. The first movement's out-of-key interjections are sharply characterised and drawn together by a powerful sense of line, and the spirit of the Blues movement is captured wholeheartedly, with some unusual piano sounds and spectacular violin- playing. Not surprisingly, Say's own Sonata is also beautifully played. Most imaginatively written for the two instruments and adopting a direct, uncomplicated style, four short movements chart a progression from romantic melancholy through an area of dark, grotesque struggle to an empty, bleak landscape, with a repeat of the gentle first movement as consolation. Daring, and highly individual playing – it's a CD worth investigating.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“…here, in performance after performance, is the sort of playing that made Rubinstein, on hearing the teenage Gilels in Russia, exclaim, "if that boy ever comes to America I might as well pack my bags and retire".” Gramophone Magazine, February 2009

“these are now the transfers of choice for this body of recordings” MusicWeb International

“Here, in performance after performance, is the sort of playing that made Rubinstein, on hearing the teenage Gilels in Russia, exclaim, 'if that boy ever comes to America I might as well pack my bags and retire'. Even in dated sound an 'elemental virtuoso gift' and a 'sonority rich in noble metal' are omnipresent. And whether you hear Gilels in his exquisite Rameau, the thunderous brilliance of his Godowsky or in the way his decorations in Smetana's A minor Polka shimmer like the beating of a hummingbird's wings, you will hear a nonpareil pianism. True, in years to come Gilels would find greater depth than his enviably spruce and immaculately turned Mozart conveys, but even here the playing is of an aristocratic distinction and finesse.
All in all these performances is a reminder of this grandest of musical titans. Ward Marston's transfers come up excellently and special thanks go to Judith Rayner for the loan of discs from her priceless collection.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“The Elgar's wistful atmosphere is captivating and Jonathan Crow and Paul Stewart catch it nicely.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2009