Brodsky Quartet

“… What I like very much about Menses and Wyss’s recordings of the sonatas is the sense of an equal partnership. Perhaps this is partly due to the engineering which gets it exactly right, but I think it may also be the way Wyss brings out expressive detail in the piano part…  This new Avie recording is certainly worth hearing …”

“… the highlight is Helen Tulve’s L’ombre derrière toi … There is the whiff of vintage Saariaho is more than the French title, with delectable textures and an argument in constant flux. But this is Tulve’s own music substantial, tightly bound and with an inevitability about it that often eluded later Saariaho …”

“… the fecundity and freshness of Ye’s invention sustains the listener’s interest and the solo instrumental writing is often ravishing. Adding to the interest of much of the orchestral writing is a notable undercurrent of melancholy not dissimilar to that found in the music of John Barry… The performances of the soloists and orchestra are excellent throughout and the sound is of BIS’s highest quality.”

“… Ronald Brautigam performs the first three (of five surviving) piano concertos… each of these works is a satisfying self-contained listening experience in itself… None of this music is going to challenge Mozart and Beethoven but all of it, and the C major in particular, is worth revisiting, especially in such committed and sympathetic performances as these.”

“… Ariane Matiakh’s performance of the symphony is beautifully done and can be recommended … Her performance of Vers la voûte étoilée similarly holds its own … “

“… This recording is worth investigating for the Piano Concerto alone, and I hope more pianists are inspired by Sicroff to take up this odd but rewarding score.”

“An enjoyably no-nonsense kind of playing makes the opening of Bach’s Concerto in D minor, BWV1052, extremely striking. Soloist Andrew Arthur and the one-to-a-part strings of The Hanover Band play with a feisty swing… this album is well worth your time…”

“Bright, brash, breezy: attributes one often associates with American orchestral music and which Peter Boyer (b1970) delivers in spadefuls… Under the composer’s direction, the London Symphony Orchestra provide performances as committed as one could hope for.”