“...This is a must-have acquisition for every fellow RVW enthusiast; urgently recommended...”

“The star of this production, if indeed a CD should have a star, is conductor Oundjian who has a wonderful feel for the Vaughan Williams idiom… Oundjian gives us music that is consistently lovely without exaggeration or any unwanted urgency. He lets it unfold, and the music does the rest…”

“… warmly recommended.”

“… In the arresting (and still underrated) Piano Concerto, Oundjian forms a splendidly combustible alliance with Louis Lortie, who process as commandingly articulate and powerfully imaginative a proponent as any I have yet encountered. Not only does the big-boned solo writing hold absolutely no terrors for him, the experienced French-Canadian virtuoso locates every ounce of crepuscular mystery from the slow movement and ravishingly soft epilogue. Rest assured, Oundjian and his admirably spruce Toronto band are with him every step of the way … Oundjian also presides over a deeply sympathetic rendering of Flos campi, that sensuous and exotic paean to earthly love … Boasting top-notch contributions from the TSO’s principal viola, Teng Li, and the Elmer Iseler Singersm it’s an uncommonly lucid, entrancingly detailed performance to have you marvelling afresh at this music’s intoxicating beauty, soaring poetry and bracingly adventurous harmonic scope. AS for the remaining items, both the Oboe Concerto and Serenade to Music enjoy supremely mellifluous treatment…”

***** Essential Album

“… a mouth-watering programme that more than deserves a place in any Vaughan Williams collection.”

Artistic Judgement: Great/Exceptional    Technical Judgement: Exceptional (Dynamics: 5  Soundstage: 5   Timbre: 5   Detail: 5)

“… These Toronto performances are consistently fine … In the wonderful oboe Concerto, Sarah Jeffrey is more than immaculate: her musicianship is very fine …” *****

“…The orchestral playing is exceptionally fine. These are engaging and enjoyable performances of masterpieces of English music – an ideal disc for anyone seeking the works presented here, and a must for fans of Vaughan Williams in particular.”

Performance ****      Recording ****

“… an ideal introduction for anyone wanting to explore beyond familiar Vaughan Williams repertoire… Flos Campi is still quite rarely performed, and the work’s sensuous meditation on the biblical Song of Songs is here graced with what must be a candidate for its finest recording ever. The solo playing by Toronto Symphony principal Teng Li offers deep weight of tone, rapturous phrasing and a musical personality that mesmerises the ear; the choral singing is superbly focused and … flawlessly in tune, with  a classy orchestral accompaniment to match…”

“… a fine disc.”