“…If you consider yourself to be a lover of English music, so long as you do not have this release, then your collection is incomplete.”  *****

“… In all, the Doric Quartet takes Mendelssohn seriously – a convincing view admirably expounded.” ****

“…In Chandos’ new recording with cellist Paul Watkins, all of the Concerto’s contrasts come across magnificently. The lyrical moments swoon with intensity, while a certain resigned aggression marks Watkins’ attacks in the first movement’s tempestuous gestures. The soloist’s tone is never less than warm, though, and his intonation – even in the most devilish runs of double stops – is unfailingly precise. Sir Andrew Davis leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBCSO) in a robust, full-bodied accompaniment that ably embraces the score’s blend of serenity and chop. Louis Lortie gives a lush, elegant reading of the keyboard solo of Finzi’s famous Eclogue, Davis and the BBCSO strings providing an impassioned accompaniment throughout. Later on, Lortie gets to exhibit a bit more of his impressive range in Finzi’s Grand Fantasia and Toccata, which channels the composer’s admiration of Bach. Left to themselves, Davis and the BBCSO give a stirring reading of Finzi’s elegiac New Year’s Music. This is pensive music, tender and lonely, and you can hardly ask for a more sensitive reading of it than the piece receives here.”

“…The thirteen-part sequence of academically-inclined compositions might seem daunting but it is all very listenable. Tempo and style vary widely, and occasionally Reicha is disarmingly basic, with the simplest of minuets, for example. The bonus (very short) Fugue, from Opus 36, may have been chosen by Ilic because of its quaintness. It starts in A, ends in G, and is full of harmonic swerves and unexpected pauses – a study in quirkiness. I’m sure Reicha enjoyed providing audiences with light-hearted moments. Chandos’s sound quality is pleasingly natural and there is both richness and clarity, every detail brought out, aided, I feel, by the pianist’s economical use of the sustaining pedal.”  ****

“… Zender’s reimagining is radical, replacing Schubert’s piano accompaniment with an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink ensemble that includes soprano saxophones, electric guitars and wind machines. He also amplifies the singer’s voice and intersperses many of the cycle’s 24 songs with his own eerie orchestral ruminations. But for all its differences, Zender’s arrangement preserves, if not accentuates, the haunting sense of loneliness, wandering and desolation that has drawn singers to Winterreise for nearly two centuries…”

“In and of itself, the symphonic music of Ruth Gipps is quite impressive: melodically rich, formally economical and orchestrated with a nuanced sense of texture and color… Gamba and his Cardiff-based orchestra deliver vibrant performances of the two symphonies — especially the more bombastic Second, which was written to celebrate the Allied victory in WWII — but for the purest distillation of Gipps’s style, look to the six-minute Song for Orchestra, Op. 33, a bucolic masterpiece-in-miniature that features the composer’s own instrument, the English horn."

 “O’Dette and Stubb’s co-direction brims with delectability and astute dramatisations. Their perceptively detailed performance conveys a vivid sense of storytelling in partnership with an excellent quintet of singers and expert Bostonian players.”

“The Early Opera Company plays with amazing dexterity … his [Curnyn] five accomplished singers present a treasure trove of memorable Handelian singing.”

Editor’s Choice – Vocal Section

“…The Clarion Choir, under the sure direction of Steven Fox, turn in a thrilling performance, recorded with clarity and not too much resonance in St Jean Baptiste Church in New York. This recording … represents the rehabilitation of a major work, which nobody interested in Russian music of the 20^th century should miss.”

“… Goodall’s scoring is luminous and expertly fashioned … one cannot but fail to be moved by a work that wears its heart so openly on its sleeve.”

“… a stimulating and beautifully sung collection, which connoisseurs of the great British choral heritage should rush to buy.”

Review for Vol. 8 & 9 in the series

“… this series is notable for the flair, clarity  and spontaneity that Goode brings to this timeless music. Beautifully recorded, both discs deserve the widest currency.”

Review for Vol. 8 & 9 in the series

“… this series is notable for the flair, clarity  and spontaneity that Goode brings to this timeless music. Beautifully recorded, both discs deserve the widest currency.”

“…Freshness doesn’t have to be chilly, and precision needn’t inhibit expression. These lively, intelligent performances of an attractive and thought-provoking programme offer compelling proof.”