Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice

“Many concertos are attributed to Haydn but these three are undisputedly authentic. The keyboard part in No 4 falls in a narrow compass; Andreas Staier introduces variety by ornamenting the slow movement and decorating fermatas in all movements. His embellishments are very good indeed, even if he is ornate in places. (If you dislike ornament, you should choose the Andsnes, who sticks to the letter and does so most artistically.) A rarity is No 6 for violin and keyboard, its outer movements the least interesting with sequential passages. The emotive slow movement (mostly a conversation between the two soloists) redeems matters and gives Gottfried von der Goltz a chance to show his mettle as a sensitive violinist.
In the finest work, No 11, the orchestral exposition is an ideal Vivace, the first theme lilting over repeated quavers generating the right degree of forward tension, and the bass line given its full due, oboes and horns colouring the texture tellingly. A similar degree of perception, with Staier's contribution equally telling, is heard throughout. The recording is expertly balanced and tonally truthful. An outstanding disc.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“this disc continually surprises and delights. Faultless.” The Independent on Sunday, 16 January 2005 *****

“Andreas Staier has established himself as one of the foremost solo exponents of the baroque repertoire, here matching Haydn himself for musical wit, wisdom and joie de vivre.” The Observer, 16 January 2005

“This is a magnificent achievement, and one of the pinnacles of Opus 111’s monumental Vivaldi Edition. If Vivaldi needed a champion to more firmly establish his credentials as a fully-fledged opera composer, then this recording is it.” Gramophone Magazine

“Jean-Christophe Spinosi's imaginative interpretation of Vivaldi's Orlando, excellently cast and performed.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2008

“Spinosi and his excellent team of musicians have revised history's judgement of Orlando furioso by their compelling presentation.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2006

“Vivaldi's opera combines magic, heroism and comedy to tell of a seductive sorceress, a noble knight driven insane by love, a feisty fiancée who disguises herself as a man to rescue her bewitched lover, and a magic ring that helps ensure everything ends happily ever after. This recording bears the fruit of Vivaldi scholar Frédéric Delaméa's painstaking reconstruction of the original 1727 version. Marie-Nicole Lemieux's delivery of Orlando's anguished and often unhinged recitative is astonishingly good, full of conviction, passionate, and vocally brilliant.
When his sanity is restored, she achieves a tangible lucidity that makes the drama wholly satisfying.
Jennifer Larmore's sorceress Alcina is devious, vivacious, and venomous. Philippe Jaroussky's Ruggerio is adept at both delicacy and heroism and Ann Hallenberg is excellent as his fiancée Bradamante.
Ensemble Matheus provide bright ritornelli and intelligent accompaniments. The playing is often abrasive and intentionally percussive in fast music, but the performers also excel at the softer moments. Spinosi's direction is vividly theatrical, and recitatives are declaimed with aplomb, although sometimes it sounds as if characters cannot wait to interrupt with their next line.
Vivaldi's score has a dramatic stature greater than most of his other operas. He rarely devoted much attention to accompanied recitatives, but here he composed several that are unusually extensive and adventurous. This is a magnificent achievement: if Vivaldi needed a champion to establish his credentials as an opera composer, then this recording is it.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Boulez is arguably the most influential figure in the world of music today” The Guardian

“Rachmaninov's only substantial piano trio remains a relative rarity in the catalogue. It's not hard to see why, for this is more of an Ugly Sister than a Cinderella. True, there are many passages of beauty and poignancy, but overall it's an oddly structured piece, with two substantial movements followed by an almost throwaway finale.
This new reading comes closer than most to concealing the work's flaws. The opening movement is wonderfully realised, a single sweep of grief mingled with love and regret (it was written on the death of Tchaikovsky). And the second couldn't be more musically played. It's a highly piano-centric work, but you never feel that Berezovsky is hogging the limelight, superbly matched as he is by his compatriots. By contrast, the finale, despite its portentous, Brahmsian opening, is over all too soon, as if Rachmaninov simply ran out of steam.
It's tantalising that Rachmaninov left no recording of his own. But in the case of Shostakovich's Second Trio, we've had the composer at the keyboard on two occasions (various labels). Comparison is salutary: most modern interpretations seem sluggish by comparison (though admittedly Shostakovich plays fast and loose with his own tempo indications), particularly in the finale. Berezovsky, Makhtin and Kniazev are even more satisfying than the very good performance from the Wanderer Trio; their take on the following Passacaglia ideally balances profundity with unaffectedness.
Their restraint is much more potent than the tacky exaggerations of Argerich, Kremer and Maisky, in a live performance from 1998.
Only a couple of niggles: the string players apparently ignore the con sordino instruction in the finale, and at one point in the Passacaglia there's a very prominent exhalation from one of them – bothersome enough to make one wonder why it was left in. The recording is warm and convincingly balanced and complements the superb performances.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“A first-class collection from the perceptive and sympathetic Artur Pizarro. He opens brilliantly with Rodrigo’s evocation of Albéniz, A l’ombre de Torre Bermeja, here, as elsewhere, bringing out its affinities with the guitar. … Among the simpler items, the nostalgic Preludio, and delicate Pastorale, the rippling Serenata española and charming Air de Ballet are all highly beguiling. In sum, Pizarro captures the varying moods of this music very well. If you have not discovered Rodrigo at the piano I urge you to try this generous collection, vividly recorded and with excellent booklet-notes by Graham Wade: you won’t be disappointed.” Gramophone

“Rodrigo's piano music appears infrequently in the recital room, though excellent two-CD surveys have appeared: Gregory Allen on Bridge and Sara Marianovich on Sony. Now comes a first-class collection from the perceptive and sympathetic Artur Pizarro, who opens brilliantly with Rodrigo's evocation of Albéniz, A l'ombrede Torre Bermeja, here, as elsewhere, bringing out its affinities with the guitar. Cuatro Piezas include a glittering 'Fandango' and a touchingly pensive 'Prayer of the Princess of Castille', while among the Andalusian Pictures (Cuatro Estampasandaluzas), 'Twilight over the Guadalquivir River' makes a reflective contrast with the quirky bravura of the devilish 'Seguidillas'.
Among the simpler items, the nostalgic Preludio, and delicate Pastorale, the rippling Serenataespañola and charming Air de Ballet are all highly beguiling. Pizarro captures the varying moods of this music very well. This generous collection is vividly recorded and with excellent bookletnotes by Graham Wade.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“In her hands the guitar takes on the precision of a diamond, each note a clear, shining facet that catches, prism-like, a glint of the spectrum.” The New York Times

“Louis Couperin, less famous than his nephew, François 'Le Grand', was nevertheless one of the greatest harpsichord composers of the 17th century, a creator of suites of beautifully honed miniatures cast predominantly in the standard French dance-forms of the day (Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and so on) exuding all the noble expressiveness and lyrical melancholy of their age.
He finds an ideal interpreter in Skip Sempé, a player who relishes the sheer sound of the harpsichord and knows how to exploit its glorious resonance. Sempé achieves this by means of probably the most exquisite touch you'll ever hear on the instrument, leaving him in control of the tone at every turn. Chords are spread lovingly, ornaments tumble easily into one another, all without a hint of unwelcome percussiveness or jangliness – every note seems to have been deftly caressed into being.
He also shows us just how much he enjoys the bass sonority of his harpsichord (a compliant French copy by Bruce Kennedy) by throwing in a low-lying transcription of a Marais gamba piece; another guest composer is Froberger, who answers Couperin's Prélude in explicit imitation of his style, with his sombrely magnificent Tombeau de Monsieur Blancheroche. A minute lack of improvisatory flow in the unmeasured Préludes is scarcely worth mentioning when so much else in Sempé's playing gives unalloyed pleasure. This is demonstration-class musicianship at the harpsichord.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010