2020 Most Wanted

“… The performances are brilliant. Michael McHale is an extraordinary gifted pianist. His interpretation is in complete sympathy with the music and his technique leaves nothing to be desired. John Wilson knows this music probably better than anyone else. His conducting displays an in-depth understanding of the intent of the music. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra performs superbly. The sound is first-rate. This is extraordinary music-making.”

 

“… I strongly recommend this latest volume in John Wilson’s Richard Rodney Bennett series; overall, the earlier concertos and symphonies (in which, I maintain, the ‘true’ Bennett’ is to be found) this latest disc is fully up to the very high standards set by the earlier releases…” *****

“… One thing this important series of recordings from John Wilson has demonstrated (this disc if the fourth) is Bennett’s consistency of voice and high musical standards, in spite of his wide-ranging style-hopping. One consistency is the transparency and polish of his orchestral writing… Michael McHale, an Irish pianist who has made several Chandos recordings accompanying clarinettist Michael Collins, gives sensitive, fluent, and sensitive reading of the solo part of the concerto… McHale is brilliantly supported by the orchestra under John Wilson, whose recordings (not just those of Richard Rodney Bennett) are adding a wealth of gripping music-making to our CD or download libraries. Recoding quality is in the best standards of the house. I thoroughly recommend this whole series, a worthy tribute to a composer who passed away in 2012. This volume is one of the best.”

“… I strongly recommend this latest volume in John Wilson’s Richard Rodney Bennett series: overall, with the earlier Concertos and the three astonishingly original Symphonies (in which, I maintain, the ‘true Bennett’ is to be found) this latest disc is fully up to the very high standards set by the earlier releases. Chandos continues to lead the classical recording world – in which I include what is left of the ‘majors’ – for the superlative quality of recorded sound. The presentation is excellent …” *****

“This is the fourth volume in Chandos’s highly successful series of the orchestral works of Richard Rodney Bennett, but the first I have come across. I think it would make a very good introduction for newcomers to Bennett’s work, though they might be taken aback by the wide variety of style and substance to be found in these five works. At first hearing, many listeners might even be surprised to learn that the earliest and latest of the five were by the same composer. What is not in doubt is the commitment of all concerned, and the standard of the performances under John Wilson, a conductor who seems to be everywhere just now, and in particular wherever there are new avenues to explore and less familiar music of quality to be revealed. The playing from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is superb, as is the recorded sound. The excellent insert note by Richard Bratby deals with the works in chronological order of composition, something I always appreciate, and combines just the right amount of background information and description…”

“… As always, the technique and composerly gamesmanship of his [Bennett] pieces consistently dazzles… It’s [Troubadour Music] an enticing piece full of textural allure and a solo part awash with virtuoso glitz and shimmer – beautifully taken here by Michael Hale, whose limpid fingerwork is possessed of a crystalline light-catching brilliance. In each of these collections there has been something that has caught my ear for the first time and become a constant companion. Aubade is that piece here … And really all one can ask of performers – and John Wilson and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra deliver in spades – is a precision and virtuosity for music that sounds like it’s evolving in the playing of it. Keep it coming.”

“Wilson’s survey of Bennett’s concert works continues to surprise and delight. This fourth disc is built around the 1968 Piano Concerto … deftly played by McHale… Troubadour Music … are exquisite miniatures.”

“…As with the previous discs in the series, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under John Wilson presents top-notch performances, which are as polished and assured as Bennett’s own music, and show a great deal of self-assuredness as they pass through this kaleidoscope of musical styles. In particular, in a field which includes recorded performances by the composer himself. the work’s original soloist, Stephen Kovacevich, and the outstanding Martin Jones, Michael McHale stands out as a compelling soloist in the Piano Concerto, and Wilson’s highly perceptive support as well as the balance between orchestra and piano combines to make this a highly recommended version…”