“… The works here are all well recorded and beautifully played. Wilson’s tempos are brisk but never rushed. In the Minuet of the Ravel, he indulges in a fuller emotional expression that further enhances the music.”

Sound 10      Booklet 10     Repertoire 9      Interpretation 10

“…Throughout this disc, we must salute the commitment of the musicians of the excellent Sinfonia of London under the expert baton of John Wilson. The “Chandos quality” sound makes every aspect of this orchestral music exciting and admirable.”

Performance ***      Recording ****

“… It [Pounds Symphony] is thrilling on disc and would be doubly so live. The symphony is dedicated to these performers, and I am sure the composer could not have wished for better champions. The liner notes by Mervyn Cooke are detailed, very readable … The recorded sound is up to Chandos’ usual, improbably high standards.”

“…The performances, authoritative and satisfying, are complimented by an outstanding sound recording… This noteworthy disc explores three fulfilling works by composers interconnected by pedagogical history.”

“… the symphony [Pound’s Third] as a whole is certainly worth experiencing – especially in a performance as scrupulously prepared and committed as this one… a sumptuously engineered programme that to my mind merits investigation …”

“…The repertoire is chosen carefully, but is all clearly stuff Wilson loves, and the crafting of the releases, from preliminary scholarly research to the performances and engineering in the studio, shows artistry and musicianship of the first rank…”

“…The three composers share a dedication to clarity in their writing, and find their perfect interpreters in Wilson and the Sinfonia of London, who luxuriate in Ravel’s wondrous Le Tombeau de Couperin and make a persuasive case for Pounds’s third symphony in this world premiere recording. Berkeley’s Divertimento of 1943 is the real find …” ****

“… The gem on this new recording is a sensitive and nuanced performance of Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, already well represented on disc but here given a performance that is among the most imaginative…”

“…Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin – played with impeccable virtuosity and a sense of weightless clarity … Berkeley’s Divertimento (1943) is an elegant, many-faceted work, with French accents, worthy of a place in the mainstream. The album is completed with a premiere recording, the Symphony No 3 by Adam Pounds (2021)… dedicating it to Wilson and the Sinfonia. Emotional, melancholic, persuasive, the symphony has a swirling waltz (second movement) and an acknowledged debt to Bruckner. Chandos’s commitment to Wilson and the Sinfonia of London, and their chosen repertoire, deserves celebration.”