***** Coup de Coeur

“… A collection well worth experiencing.”

Recording of the Month

“…Beautifully recorded with presence and depth, this is a peach of an album.” ****½

Recommended

“…The Neave Trio have delivered a truly magical disc with four of the loveliest of trios. I especially found Smetana’s work a fantastic listen. Its emotional content manifests itself most effectively. What with the crisp sound, this is a disc to savour.”

Performance ****      Recording *****

“… a characteristically eclectic mix that nurtures the Neaves’ well-upholstered warmth, attention to detail and compelling rapport…”

“…The Neave Trio radiates perfect unity, effortlessly and gracefully conveying the bohemian rhythmic and melodic elements that earned him [Smetana] the title of father of Czech music in his native Bohemia. The final movement, featuring its melancholic funeral march, captivates listeners, and this album is worth owning solely for Neave's rendition of this particular piece… A beautiful album.”

“A typically unorthodox programme from an exploratory trio … Each player gets a chance to shine on the disc, and the engineering is first-rate.”

“…these four chamber works explore music of a definitive national identity … The members of the ensemble – Anna Williams, violin; Mikhail Veselov, cello; Eri Nakamura, piano – brandish their considerable skills in the service of otherwise neglected composers and scores, with astonishing brilliance in their recorded sound, courtesy of Recording Producer Jonathan Cooper…” *****