Penguin Guide Rosette Winners

“an outstanding release in every way” Edward Greenfield in Gramophone

“It's an inspired coupling, as well as a generous one, to have these three high-romantic concertos together. James Ehnes gives superb performances, bringing out their full emotional thrust without vulgarity or exaggeration. His playing has always been impressive on disc, but here he excels himself in expressive range as well as tonal beauty, with expressive rubato perfectly controlled.
The concertos date from the late 1930s and '40s, and though at the time their romanticism might have seemed outdated, the strength and memorability of the musical ideas in each amply justifies the composers' stance. In the Barber, Ehnes more than usually brings out the contrast between the first movement – improbably marked Allegro when the impression is of a slowish piece – and the Andante slow movement, strengthening the work's impact. The Korngold, drawing its striking main themes from some of the composer's film scores, is just as richly lyrical, prompting from Ehnes some ecstatic playing of the many stratospheric melodies above the stave, using a wide dynamic range with wonderfully delicate half-tones.
The Walton is just as memorable, for unlike most latter-day interpreters Ehnes has taken note of the example of the work's commissioner and dedicatee, Jascha Heifetz. Where the work is generally spread to well over half an hour, Ehnes takes exactly 30 minutes and the result is all the stronger. This is one of Walton's most richly inspired works, and Ehnes brings that out strongly, helped by the powerful playing of the Vancouver orchestra under Bramwell Tovey.
Textures are not always as transparent as they might be but the power of the orchestral playing in all three works adds greatly to the impact of the performances. An outstanding disc in every way.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Ehnes proves an ardent and committed advocate, mirrored by Bramwell Tovey's glowing partnership, particularly in the lyrical, beautiful slow movement, which has exquisite delicacy of feeling. It is an inspiring coupling, as well as a generous one...Ehnes gives superb performances of all three, bringing out their emotional thrust without vulgarity or exaggeration. An altogether indispensable CD.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Under Marin Alsop's sensitive guidance, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra has found the heartbeat of this music.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2000

“That Marin Alsop is a musician of outstanding gifts is amply reinforced by this all-Barber anthology. In her red-blooded rendering of the wartime Second Symphony, she shows just what a powerfully inspired creation it is, extracting every ounce of sinewy logic from its fraught outer movements, while distilling wonder and atmosphere in the haunting central Andante, unpoco mosso. No less convincing is her reading of the magnificent First Symphony, always acutely responsive to the music's daring expressive scope and building climaxes of riveting cumulative intensity. In its unhurried authority, big heart and epic thrust, it's the kind of interpretation you could have imagined from Bernstein in his NYPO heyday. Elsewhere, she brings an aptly bardic quality to the outer portions of the First Essay, while few could fail to respond to the twinkling affection and gentle wit she lavishes on the irresistible School for Scandal Overture.
Were the orchestral contribution just a fraction more polished, this would be a world-beater.
Zinman's stylish 1991 anthology with the Baltimore SO tends to throw into sharper relief the relative shortcomings of Alsop's hard-working Scots (their fiddles especially lack something in silk-spun refinement and tone when playing above the stave). The expert engineering can't quite disguise the acoustical shortcomings of Glasgow's Henry Wood Hall, but the result is tonally truthful and conveys plenty of impact when required.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“the two Symphonies are played by the Scottish orchestra with passionate commitment and deep lyrical feeling.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition