Kodály: Dances of Galanta (Galántai táncok)

“A winner from the start. The combination of conductor and orchestra could hardly fail in this brilliant, extrovert music, and with Decca's most spectacular recording quality I imagine this will become something of a demonstration disc […] Dances from Galánta, not quite so empty a piece of brilliance as Ravel’s Bolero but almost in that category, is made to sound very convincing here, right from the moment when Barry Tuckwell's horn lets out a marvellous sort of cock-a-doodle-doo at the beginning.” Gramophone Magazine (Háry János: Suite, Dances of Galánta)

“These splendid variations, worked Out with unfailing resource, receive brilliant and refined playing from the LSO. A most successful record.” Gramophone Magazine (Peacock Variations)

“Mackerras's close rapport with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the superb expertise of the Linn recording makes this an outstanding disc.” Sunday Telegraph

“Charles Mackerras and the orchestra manage to be both expansive and rhythmically acute in the early pages of the Dances. The particular interest of this performance of Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta is that the body of strings, smaller than the normal symphony orchestra, is close to that of Paul Sacher's Basel Chamber Orchestra at the premiere. The playing in this and the Divertimento is alert and full of enthusiasm...” BBC Music Magazine, November 2004 ***

“Sir Charles Mackerras emphasises the dance elements in these three scores, and in doing so, creates a most appealing programme. He paints the Bartók score with rich colours and draws forth some splendidly rhythmic energy.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2005

“a thoroughly sympathetic reading from Ferencsik … The huge orchestral tuttis impress us with their singing intensity” Audiophile Audition, 4th November 2009

“This is also one of the very few performances I’ve heard that catches the [Kodály’s] humorous edge, rather than just its color … [A] complete live concert more than worth the price of admission was caught in fine sound; and we are the beneficiaries. Definitely recommended.” Fanfare, May/June 2010

“While the superbly idiomatic Dances of Galánta are an undoubted highlight here, the Egmont and Brahms C minor Symphony are both readings of genuine stature – strongly projected, fine-grained and captured in some of the best sound of any of the discs here – it’s quite astonishingly lifelike.” International Record Review, June 2012

“the recorded clarity allows us to hear the wind playing with unchilly brilliance, as well as the Hungarian warmth of the strings … A considerable amount of panache is on display … there is a palpable sense of engagement […] captured with immediacy by the splendidly consistent and clarity-conscious recording set up.” MusicWeb International, February 2010

“Miki Aoki responds well to the music's virtuosic demands...but she is alive to the elusive subtleties of the simpler pieces...Particularly impressive is the way she 'gets inside' the Op. 3 Piano Pieces, revealing a remarkable expressive range in a genuinely memorable performance.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 ****

“As a leading interpreter of the music of Enescu, it's hardly surprising that Lawrence Foster should feel such a strong empathy with the Ligeti, and he delivers a committed performance with the well-drilled Gulbenkian Orchestra...In the Kodaly, Foster once again secures very neat playing from his Portugese orchestra.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2011 ***

“An appealing Eastern-flavoured musical salad this...Lawrence Foster directs warm, attentively phrased performances, often rich in detail...Hary Janos is given a spirited, extrovert performance with an impressive show of vividly recorded percussion and plenty of tenderness in the "Song".” Gramophone Magazine, June 2011

“The work's various solos are tastefully given, with admirable precision, but it is more in the élan of the tutti at full speed that the orchestra impresses...All in all, this is a most persuasive compilation, both for its excellent playing and for its intelligent and unusual programming.” International Record Review, April 2011