Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice

“…Batiashvili revels in the challenges, technical and expressive, that Lindberg has placed before her. This is a commanding first recording of a work that, in its approachability and appeal, deserves to become a modern classic” The Telegraph Classical CD of the Week

“The formidable Lisa Batiashvili plays the hugely demanding solo part with breathtaking brilliance” Sunday Times

“Still there's plenty of drama, fire and lyrical beauty in the Lindberg Concerto and the brilliant young soloist Lisa Batiashvili makes plenty of it. This is a searing performance, with strong support from the Finnish Radio Symphony… superbly recorded.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2008 *****

“…Lisa Batiashvili, whose agility and tonal sweetness serve as an ideal foil for the blinding colours on Lindberg's constantly shifting canvas. Sibelius's Concerto provides a comforting disc companion, especially as the performance so memorably focuses on the dreamier elements of the first movement. Batiashvili bows a seamless sensual line, her tone smooth as silk. Sakari Oramo conducts a cleanly detailed and warmly articulated accompaniment, stronger on pulse than on drama, and at times sounding almost like chamber music.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2007

“It's been said that Magnus Lindberg forges his works more from harmony and rhythm than from unfolding melodic lines, and the celestial acrobatics of this neatly constructed Violin Concerto, a real star-burst of a piece, tend to bear out that theory. It was premiered last year in New York, the soloist, as here, Lisa Batiashvili, whose agility and tonal sweetness serve as an ideal foil for the blinding colours on Lindberg's constantly shifting canvas. The work opens like a bright light descending, the soloist a first among equals who, beyond her brief cadenza, witnesses a gradual darkening of orchestral texture.
The harmonic complexion can be either ravishing or dissonant, and the range of musical gesture, from ethereal reverie to Bartókian dance is consistently gripping. The breathless stream of invention recalls Lindberg's similarly hyperactive Clarinet Concerto – anyone who enjoyed that work should relish this one too.
Sibelius's Concerto provides a comforting disc companion, especially as the performance so memorably focuses on the dreamier elements of the first movement. Batiashvili bows a seamless, sensual line, her tone smooth as silk. Sakari Oramo conducts a cleanly detailed and warmly articulated accompaniment, stronger on pulse than on drama, and at times sounding almost like chamber music. Those who like their Sibelius flinty or rough-hewn might find this reading just a little too civilised, though for me the joy of hearing everything so considerately thought through and 'joined up' more than compensates for a lack of elemental drive. In any case it's the Lindberg that makes this disc unmissable.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“…it's the Verdi group that is the heart of the first half. "In solitaria stanza", with its main theme closely resembling "Tacea la notte" from Il trovatore, must rank as one of the loveliest things she has recorded. …the Massenet "Elégie"… benefits from Gheorghiu's operatic experience: here are words and music given equal importance to make a miniature drama. ...throughout the recital, Jeff Cohen provides a sensitive and idiomatic accompaniment. The recording catches the mood; it was obviously a fun evening.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2007

“Maxim Rysanov's viola has an inward, lamenting quality that Yuri Bashmet's more conventionally projected manner misses. And it feels as though the chorus and orchestra (from Latvia's third city) are living and breathing every note… Crucially, the acoustic of Riga's Dome Cathedral has a rich resonance, wonderfully captured. The texts of Styx consist of a succession of names ad words, all of profound and intimate significance to the composer. This performance made me really feel that significance. The extraordinary qualities of Latvian choral singing - fullness of tone, legato and intense stillness - have been often extolled. In The Myrrh-Bearer there is the added advantage of the kind of basso profundo richness that I would imagine Taverner can only rarely have found in the UK.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2007

“Rysanov yields little to Bashmet in terms of intensity of expression and the capacity to sustain an atmospheric melodic line.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2007 ****

“Maxim Rysanov's viola has an inward, lamenting quality. And it feels as though the chorus and orchestra (from Latvia's third city) are living and breathing every note. Crucially, the acoustic of Riga's Dome Cathedral has a rich resonance, wonderfully captured. The sound stage is as wide and deep as the music demands. Expressive extremes register as more abrupt, more startling and more challenging – harder-edged in their ecstasy. The music first transfixes, then scalds, and when consolation intervenes it feels multifaceted and somehow palpably wise. The texts of Styx consist of a succession of names and words, all of profound and intimate significance to the composer. This performance makes one really feel that significance.
The extraordinary qualities of Latvian choral singing – fullness of tone, legato and intense stillness – have been often extolled. In The Myrrh-Bearer there is the added advantage of the kind of basso profundo richness that one would imagine Tavener can only rarely have found in the UK.
Whether his piece is perhaps a little too reliant on those subterranean tones, and whether the pairing with Kancheli reveals a slight thinness of invention, are suspicions that may either firm or fade with further acquaintance. In the meantime, all that seems important is to surrender to the urgency and fervour of another extraordinary performance.
In short, here is a disc to blow the mind of anyone already in tune with these composers, and possibly one that may even lead a few sceptics towards a Damascene conversion.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Emanuela Galli (Euridice/La Musica) is splendid in voice and emotion and Mirko Guadagnini (Orfeo) is arresting in the low-lying lamenting sections of Act V but rather dry in the upper range.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2007 ***

“Cavina's wonderful account goes straight to the top of the list of recommended recordings. Do not miss it.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2007

“As in their previous Monteverdi editions, La Venexiana bring a dramatic delivery of the words and a uniquely Italian blend of solo voices to this glorious music, unrivalled on disc.” Sunday Times

“As always, Paul Lewis offers playing of rare insight and intelligence. He is just as much at home in the dazzling brilliance of the C major Sonata, Op. 2 No. 3...as in the graceful lyricism of the concluding rondo from Op. 7” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 *****

“These performances are a transparent act of musical love and devotion. Nothing is exaggerated yet virtually everything is included. Of all the modern versions of the sonatas (an there are many either complete or in progress), Lewis's is surely the most eloquent and persuasive.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2007

“There isn’t a bar in any of these sonatas that seem ill-considered or hastily characterised; if tempos are generally on the measured side, Lewis’s sense of structure and constant awareness of what the harmonic rhythm is doing allows him to generate tension in the most subtle ways.” The Guardian

“Paul Lewis's third volume of his Beethoven sonata cycle once more shows him playing down all possible roughness and angularity in favour of a richly humane and predominantly lyrical beauty. Again, here is nothing of that glossy, impersonal sheen beloved of too many young pianists, but a subtly nuanced perception beneath an immaculate surface.
His technique, honed on many ultra-demanding areas of the repertoire allows him an imaginative and poetic latitude only given to a musical elite. Telescoped phrasing, rapid scrambles for security, waywardness and pedantry he gladly leaves to others, firmly but gently guiding you to the very heart of the composer. His Appassionata is characterised by muted gunfire, as if the sonata's warlike elements were heard from a distance. Yet the lucidity with which he views such violence easily makes others' more rampant virtuosity become sound and fury, signifying little. His way, too, with the teasing toccata-like finales of Nos 12 and 22 is typical of his lyrical restraint, a far cry, indeed, from a more overt brilliance. How superbly he captures Beethoven's over-the-shoulder glance at Haydn, his great predecessor, yet gives you all of his forward-looking Romanticism in the early F minor Sonata (No 1). Again, how many pianists could achieve such unfaltering poise and sensitivity in No 4's Largo, con granespressione? These performances are a transparent act of musical love and devotion. Nothing is exaggerated yet virtually everything is included. Of all the modern versions of the sonatas, Lewis's is surely the most eloquent and persuasive. And, as in previous issues, Harmonia Mundi's sound is of demonstration quality.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Mlynarski's Concerto is a real find. Nigel Kennedy shows passionate involvement with this unfamiliar music throughout… Jacek Kaspszyk and the Polish Chamber Orchestra accompany energetically and idiomatically.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 ****

“All that designer stubble and estuary English can't disguise the high-class violinist he is.” The Guardian

“How good it is to have these deeply sympathetic performances (which were recorded in the presence of the grateful composer at St Alban's Church, Holborn, over one December day in 1975) restored to the catalogue. Richard Hickox and the St Margaret's Westminster Singers bring to both these rapt and timeless Mass settings an unhurried, intuitive understanding and devotional glow. The two unaccompanied carols are special too, in particular the ravishing Dormi Jesu (Rubbra's first published work, written in 1924 when he was a student of Holst).
With the mastertape sadly damaged beyond repair, Chandos had no option but to turn to a pristine copy of the original 1976 RCA LP. In the circumstances, the transfer to CD is remarkably successful, for the sound remains rich, clear and atmospheric. Detailed notes by the composer and Timothy Storey enhance the appeal of a mid-price reissue that long-standing Rubbrarians will surely want to own.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“These Masses were recorded in the presence of the composer and are given with the greatest eloquence and finesse...A must for all collectors of choral music, even those who do not normally respond to Rubbra.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“The Nash players do these deeply attractive and enjoyable works proud… in affectionate performances that revel in Coleridge-Taylor's idiomatic and challenging writing.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 *****

“The Nash Ensemble’s performances, as one would expect, are devoted and full of insight” The Telegraph

“Suave musicianship and sonic warmth … The Nash Ensemble offers a vital and intellectually stimulating account of these rarities and their devotion repays the listener’s curiosity many times over. The playing is fresh and vibrant, not to mention poised and erudite … not as much as a single note will disappoint” Fanfare

“Coleridge-Taylor is enjoying a decent innings at present… now comes this wonderful Hyperion collection featuring the Nash Ensemble at its golden-tones and responsive best. …the 1895 Clarinet Quintet… emerges as a quite astonishingly mature achievement for a 19-year-old... The even earlier Piano Quintet (893) may be marginally less assured but likewise manifests a tumbling lyricism and joyful spontaneity worthy of Dvorák, and well merits the entrancingly poised championship it receives here.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2007

“Coleridge-Taylor is enjoying a decent innings at present. The performance of the 1895 Clarinet Quintet is superb: it comes as no surprise to learn that these consummate artists had given a memorable live rendering at the Wigmore Hall just a few weeks previously. The work emerges as a quite astonishingly mature achievement for a 19- year-old, its pleasing sense of architecture and ambition reinforced by the inclusion of the firstmovement exposition repeat. What's more, the slow movement is now revealed as so much more than just a songful interlude, its 'deepest sensibility' (to quote Lionel Harrison's admirable annotation) and wistful tenderness that recalls the ravishing Air from Parry's An English Suite.
The even earlier Piano Quintet (1893) may be marginally less assured but likewise manifests a tumbling lyricism and joyful spontaneity worthy of Dvorák, and well merits the entrancingly poised championship it receives here. The 13- minute Ballade in C minor for violin and piano was written in 1907 for the Anglo-Russian virtuoso Michael Zacherewitsch (1879-1953), who had made his debut at the age of 12 playing the Tchaikovsky Concerto under the composer's baton.
Backed up by a blemish-free production from the Keener/Eadon team and attractively presented, this has to be one of the most engaging releases of the year.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“It is all masterfully performed by the Nash Ensemble whose unforced yet vital performances are a constant source of joy. Immaculate recording.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Of the 'chamber-like' versions of this Mass, Polyphony trumps all others for beauty of tone. At the end of the Agnus, where the sopranos don't have bulk, they gleam. In the Benedictus, too, musical sense arises from transparency and intelligent shaping. The performances of the motets are excellent, too, painting nuanced pictures of these vocally and philosophically stratospheric pieces.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 *****

“The seven unaccompanied motets are absolute gems. An ethereal account of Ave Maria has a breadth and grandeur which belies its short time-span; as the vocal lines crowd in on each other, the effect is nothing short of electrifying. And popular as it is, if there has to be a ‘definitive’ interpretation on disc of Locus iste, this has to be it. Put it simply, we’re unlikely to hear choral singing as fine as this for a good few years to come” Gramophone Magazine

“Hyperion long ago paid signal service to Bruckner's mature settings of the Mass with recordings by Matthew Best's Corydon Singers of all three (see review of the F minor below). Interestingly, their 1985 recording of the E minor Mass has just been re-reissued on the budget Helios label, providing pretty powerful opposition to any new release, let alone one at full price. But while the Corydons were the choir parexcellence on Hyperion in the 1980s and '90s, the torch has been passed to Polyphony, whose sound is, if anything, even more smoothly rounded, more fully blended and more sumptuous.
In Stephen Layton, too, they have a director who is every bit as openly communicative, and while Best reveals the soul of Bruckner's sacred utterings more intensely, Layton (who also uses the 1882 version), produces such gorgeous sound from his singers that the overall listening experience is infinitely satisfying.
There's no doubt that the latest Hyperion recording, made in Ely Cathedral, has more presence and atmosphere than that made over 20 years earlier in St Alban's Church, Holborn.
That certainly helps produce an ideal balance between wind ensemble and singers, the delicate woodwind flutterings of the Benedictus providing a delicious undercurrent to the broad, spacious choral lines. The rare moments of climax are nicely restrained and never impinge on the overall calmness of Bruckner's setting.
Splendid as the performance of the Mass is, the seven unaccompanied motets which surround it on this disc are absolute gems. An ethereal account of Ave Maria has a breadth and grandeur which belies its short time-span; as the vocal lines crowd in on each other, the effect is nothing short of electrifying. And popular as it is, if there is to be a 'definitive' interpretation on disc of Locus iste, this has to be it. Put simply, we're unlikely to hear choral singing as fine as this for a good few years to come.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“...the sound they make is simply wonderful. This CD can't come recommended highly enough...The disc opens with "Ave Maria", and the ethereal performance is as near to perfect as you could imagine ever hearing.” Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk, 13th December 2007

“This is a superb disc. There have been distinguished collections of Smetana's symphonic poems but none quite to compare with this in excitement, richness of detail and, in the case of Wallenstein's Camp, sonic spectacle – how well Smetana writes for the brass! Indeed this, RichardIII and especially Hakon Jarl emerge afresh as symphonic poems every bit the equal of those of Liszt. The early Jubel-Overture (1848) with its thundering, frantic opening timpani and energetic folksy flavour is a real find. So, too, is the beautiful watery tableau The Fisherman, which has a Wagnerian evocation gently reminding one of the moonlight sequence in 'Vltava'.
But the key works are the first three mentioned above, Wallenstein's Camp full of vivid military invention, Richard III with its atmospheric, doom-laden portrait, including a memorable dominating theme, gently lurching to represent the king's gait. The orchestration is highly evocative, as it is in the even more ambitiously dramatic Hakon Jarl. Here the central lyrical section with its falling scalic main theme, introduced by harp and bass clarinet, is all but Tchaikovskian and leads to a superb climax. The Shakespeare March closes the programme boisterously.
Gianandrea Noseda draws wonderfully characterful and spontaneous playing from the BBC Philharmonic, and the Chandos engineers surpass themselves with the realistic vividness of the sound and the naturalness of the balance.
Not to be missed.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“This is a superb disc. There have been distinguished collections of Smetana's symphonic poems… but none quite to compare with this in excitement, richness of detail and, in the case of Wallenstein's Camp, sonic spectacle - how well Smetana writes for the brass! Gianandrea Noseda draws wonderfully characterful and spontaneous playing from the BBC Philharmonic, and the Chandos engineers surpass themselves with the realistic vividness of the sound and the naturalness of the balance. Not to be missed.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2007

“This is simply the finest compilation of Smetana's colourful symphonic poems ever put on disc” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Noseda conducts the BBC Philharmonic orchestra in scintillating, compellingly atmospheric, deeply considered and richly coloured performances” Sunday Times