Ivan Ilic

“… When composing, Busoni managed to combine the light Italian music with the German text. He wrote the text himself. The first merit of the recording is that it reveals compositional treasures. But it also convinces with fresh, lively orchestral colors that Gerd Albrecht got from the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin. The group of singers is equally good. The voices are clearly put in the foreground by the recording technique. Of course, this makes it easier to understand the text and also makes it possible to hear every nuance…” ****

Pizzicato Supersonic

“… The love and admiration for Tartini’s music is obvious in these captivating performances. Chouchane Siranossian’s playing is characterized by great naturalness – a quality that has become very rare among modern baroque violinists – without ever degenerating into casualness. An important characteristic is the fine shaping of the concertos, the delicate agility of both the solo violin and the ensemble…. As a listener, you feel comfortable throughout the entire program: the Tartini concertos are extremely well served by Chouchane Siranossian, and you can clearly hear that the technically challenging music does not cause her any difficulties. The performances are brilliant and virtuoso, often movingly tender, but also melancholic, mischievous or full of irony in a very inspired and personal style, which clearly stands out from the baroque mainstream, because there is nothing wild in these performances, nor pure design, because Siranossian and Marcon concentrate primarily on making the music expressive.”

“In addition to operas and other works composed for public occasions, there are always those created for a private setting. Salieri created such works for a wedding, a silver wedding or other celebrations. This release combines cantatas with small instrumental pieces, so that a varied collection was created. This is the result of the persistent work of the Salieri scholar Timo Jouko Hermann, who also conducts this overall fine performances.” ****

“… the two main works on the disc make this a must for adventurous Beethovenians …”

“…This latest outing is a selection of music for particular brass and percussion ensembles, and demonstrates the composer’s approachability and imagination. Because of the particular sound palette, it is probably best to hear these pieces in isolation rather than sequentially, but Gregson admirers need not hesitate.”

“While his music is perhaps not as popular as it once was, the attractive and inventive light orchestral music of Morton Gould is still delightful when listened to in the right mood – and particularly when delivered with the panache to be found on this disc. Morton Gould was an American musical phenomenon, equally at home in classical, crossover and film genres, and the recipient of both GRAMMY and Pulitzer awards during his long and distinguished career. The Symphonettes represent Gould’s best crossover work – the Symphonette No. 4 deriving its character from Latin-American dance forms to make it one of his most popular compositions.”

“… While it has long enjoyed considerable popularity, Mozart’s Haffner Serenade has not been particularly well served in the SACD medium, and this appealing performance nicely close the gap, pointing up all the elegance and likeability of Mozart’s score…”

“… For admirers of 20th-century American symphonic music, this is a particularly attractive package. The fact that all three works won the Pulitzer Prize is not, of course, an emblem of their longevity, but all are written in the kind of broad and expansive idiom that represents American composition at its finest… The performances here are both committed and forensic in their attention to detail…”