MSR MUSIC LLC
INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL
Newtown, Connecticut 06470
203.304.2486 PHONE
203.304.2491 FAX
Email: info@msrcd.com
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
MUSIC
FOR BATTLE CREEK - Brass Band of Battle Creek MS1348
"The
performances on this disc are all infectiously lively, the product of
performance in front of a live audience, and showcase playing that’s often
breathtaking in terms of control and improvisatory freedom... The live recording
is exemplary—close up but spacious, timbrally accurate, with pinpoint
placement of the instruments. The soundstage is handsomely wide as well. A very
fine job all around... this is one for all lovers of brass band
music."
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No.1; STRAUSS: Burleske - Joshua Pierce; SPO / Paul Freeman MS1346
MASON
BATES: DIGITAL LOOM - Mason Bates, Antares, Biava Quartet et al. MS1342
"[Mason Bates']
compositional skill in weaving [techno, drum-machine, sampling and wave
manipulation] with pipe organ, voices, string quartet and mixed ensemble is in
several cases
sophisticated and winning."
"This
is a composer with an interesting voice who deserves to be heard...
This is a fascinating disc... Bates’s music is well constructed and has a wide appeal. The
variety contained within this disc demonstrates a considerable
imagination."
OFF
THE BEATEN PATH - Ian Hominick MS1341
"...
a solid and outstanding disc...
VOICES
OF TIME – Matitiahu Braun [2-CD set] MS1336
"Matitiahu
Braun is a wonder. [He] gives veritable master classes in both violin and viola,
in Voices of Time... Braun’s stylish, perfectly executed performances of the
music of all these figures make for a memorable recital... Matitiahu Braun
presents Unaccompanied Cello Suites 1 and 2 in their alternate versions for
viola. The warmth of his tone and his sure handling of cadences and stops, serve
the needs of these two suites to perfection... In Prelude and Four Caprices by
Ruben Varga, Braun negotiates some formidable difficulties with deceptive ease.
The most difficult are found in the final caprice, where strongly syncopated
lines are offset by powerful cadences. And the artist tastefully builds and
sustains the emotion in Sung’s memorial to the martyrs of
Phil Muse, Audio Society of
Atlanta ~ March 2010
JAMES
GRANT: Chocolates – Michelle LaCourse and Martin Amlin MS1335
"This is music with its feet
planted firmly in the jazz tradition: sultry, languid, full of passion and deep
feeling, but also easygoing and amiable. The sound is clean and open, but at the
same time, intimate. For
fans of the viola and of jazz, it's hard to imagine it getting much better than
this."
"The viola might not be
associated with the world of jazz in most people’s minds, a fact that makes
this disc all the more refreshing. James Grant, writes music that treads that
most difficult of tightropes: it is approachable without being in any way dumbed
down...
Colin Clarke, Fanfare ~ January /
February 2010
ORGAN
RECITAL: Bach, Frescobaldi, de Grigny & Vierne – SooHwang Choi
MS1334
"SooHwang
Choi is a prominent Korean organist who at a relatively young age can cite an
impressive set of credentials: the usual string of degrees, plus scholarships,
teaching assignments, and solo recitals throughout Asia and the U.S. She has
studied with a host of leading teachers, including Peter Williams, Jean Guillou,
Hans Davidsson, Davitt Moroney, and Christoph Wolff. If the latter two names are
familiar, then you already have an idea of her approach to early music. The
present CD appears to be her first; I wasn’t able to discover any previous
effort on the Internet. It’s always exciting to discover new talent—one of
the most satisfying aspects of record reviewing is the prospect of writing the
first review of the next Heifetz or Rubinstein. Time will tell, of course, with
SooHwang Choi, but this debut recital is
promising...”
MELODIE:
Music for Violin & Harp – Aurora Duo MS1332
"...Inghelbrecht’s
Esquisses antiques, Andrea Padovano’s Berceuse, and even Carl Nielsen’s The
Fog Is Lifting, create a fragrant atmosphere enhanced by Fairbanks’s smoothly oiled approach and rich, buttery tone... in Heitor Villa-Lobos’s
The Song of the Black Swan...Fairbanks chants with throaty ardor over a harp
accompaniment of ice-crystal clarity. Ibert’s Entr’acte, with its
mesmerizing repetitions of figures, provides the first sharply contrasting mood,
and the Duo’s command of dynamics and textures makes it a particularly
effective interlude... Mozart’s Adagio, the first item from the Classical era,
may share the acoustic ambiance of the other pieces, but the Duo manages to
impart to it clear stylistic definition...
RHAPSODY:
Chamber Music of Richard Faith – Missouri Chamber Players MS1331
"Richard
Faith has been a teacher, pianist and composer for many years. Pianists and
piano pedagogues have probably been more familiar with Faith than the concert
hall clientele. That is a shame. The new MSR Classics CD Rhapsody - Chamber
Music of Richard Faith reveals a highly skilled and unabashedly
romanticist composer who clearly has a strong sense of melodic line and writes
with both the performer and audience in mind... The performances are all first
rate and the recording is excellent. The audio is clear and, acoustically
contains some nice - but not intrusive - reverb as it was recorded in a chamber
hall at Missouri State University.
Well recommended to both performers and
listeners seeking new, different but accessible modern chamber music!"
MENDELSSOHN:
Concertos for Two Pianos and Orchestra – Pierce & Jonas; SSP Orchestra /
Rezucha
MS1330
"[These
performances] by Joshua Pierce and Dorothy Jonas, a duo that has been playing
for some time to wide acclaim is quite the sparkler, as good as I have heard...
the orchestra plays very well, certainly well enough for this music, and the
pianist add a robust degree of flashiness that suits it well... Every
Mendelssohn collection worth its salt needs these works, and this is as fine a
place to start as I have heard... This is an enjoyable release of some esoteric
music that will be a worthy addition to your catalog."
"In
these 1995 performances by the famed duo of Joshua Pierce and Dorothy Jonas, one
notices many instances of the spirited and imaginative interplay of the two
pianos with each other and with the orchestra, which is the hallmark of the duo
concerto style... In Concerto No.2, the Pierce-Jonas Duo, once again with the
able collaboration of the Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra under Bystrik Režucha,
revel in the yet more sophisticated counterpoint and the beautifully balanced
interplay between the orchestral strings and winds, between the two keyboards
and the orchestra, and between each other as soloists. As with Concerto No. 1, Pierce,
Jonas and friends succeed in capturing both the sheer excitement and the sense
of fun inherent in the music."
JAG
& JERSEY – Linda Cionitti et al.
MS1329
"Prior
to listening to this disc Ms Cionitti’s name was unknown to me; from now on I
will make a point of seeking out her playing whenever I can. For
fans of clarinet music an absolute must and for those who are of a curious
nature a veritable box of unexpected delights - a disc I urge you to hear."
"Cionitti
is a wonderfully expressive player who pours her soul into all her performances;
her phrasing is very natural, and she is never afraid to push boundaries with
dynamics and tempo. She shines the brightest in contemporary works, where her
tight rhythm, vivacious personality, and brilliant grasp of jazz and rock idioms
make for an entertaining tour-de-force."
VOCAL
WORKS IN EIGHT LANGUAGES: Music of John Plant – Jocelyne Fleury
MS1327
"[John
Plant has] a regard for language that is purely metaphysical and
a skill in
handling words musically which is uniquely his own... It is an inspiring
sampling of music... Everything is sung by Jocelyne Fleury with a sense of
wonder and a voice that seems to feel no fear at exploring timbres combined with
a relish for words that reach into the poets' hearts. In addition to his deeply
sensitive piano playing, Plant contributes evocatively descriptive liner-notes
which are so beautifully written they can almost be read as poetry themselves.
The recordings have a slightly dusky, penetrating air."
POEMS
& FAIRY TALES: Music of Medtner and Scriabin – Irina Feoktistova
MS1326
"Medtner’s
intricacies have trapped any number of pianists...But Irina Feoktistova clearly
has the Ariadne’s thread to navigate the music’s mazes... this
Petersburg-trained pianist turns out ripe,
romantic performances notable for their heightened emotion, their rich but
sensuously varied tonal palette, and—most of all—their superb rubato,
which matches the music’s rhythmic flow to its most unpredictable harmonic
currents with unerring discernment... Her
strong-willed Scriabin is similarly impressive... [with] her weighty account of
Op.2/1 (its contestatory lines highlighted to striking effect), her impassioned
churning in op. 8/12, and her spellbinding Vers la flamme, this disc makes a
significant contribution to the Scriabin catalog, too... A follow-up would be
welcome."
"[Feoktistova]
has all the technical mastery and coloristic touches to bring [the music] off in
fine fashion.
She sorts out all of the complex rhythms each of these composers are noted for
using without ever getting bogged down. Her sense of line and forward momentum
are essential for this repertoire... her musicality and variety of touches are
just about perfect [in the Scriabin]."
"[This]
collection opens with Irina’s performance of Medtner’s “Fairy Tale In
B-Flat Minor”, followed by his “Sonata-Reminiscenza, Op. 38, No. 1”. Both
reveal a complexity of composition that is expertly performed by Ms. Feoktistova. Certainly,
[her] twelve minute performance of his melodic and poetic
“Sonata-Reminiscenza” contains a deeply nostalgic, and atmospheric beauty...
Feoktistova more than
rises to the many technical challenges laid down by Scriabin."
"In
Poems & Fairy Tales, Irina Feoktistova explores the tone color and the
harmonic complexities in two of
Atlanta Audio Society
~ March 2009
JOHANN
SEBASTIAN BACH: Goldberg Variations – Ronald Hawkins
MS1324
"[Ronald Hawkins]
is technically accomplished and ... uses his technical skill in intelligent
and respectful service to the music.
Overall, [his] approach
seems to be a Romantic one, with slight rhythmic hesitations and morendo phrase
endings being common effects... Hawkins is an artist to watch."
SCHUMANN:
Faschingschwank aus Wien,
Sonata No. 1 and Waldszenen – Sally Pinkas
MS1323
"Judging
by this Schumann program [Sally
Pinkas]
is a force to be reckoned with and
has a natural feeling for the peculiarities of the composer's idiom. All
of these performances have a sweep and passion to them, without pushing the
button too far. Her technical ability handles all that the composer can thrust
at her."
"[a]
fine new solo disc. [She] plays with a keen ear for architectural aspects, while
also deftly conveying programmatic aspects. Pinkas is an artist who melds lucid
textures with subtle expressive detailing, minus hints of bombast or mannerism. Her
attention to noble tonal resources and rhythmic clarity ensure that each of the
disc's works exudes distinctive character.
To [Faschingsschwank] Pinkas brings ample lilt, nuance and patience. Throughout
the narratives [of the Sonata] Pinkas' command of line is suave, her
articulation sure and her crystalline voicing a vote of confidence in Schumann's
deeply personal sonic world."
"Sally
Pinkas must be counted among the winners [who have recorded the Schumann]... she
has a firm grasp of the rugged excitement that grips us in the last movement of
the composer’s turbulent First Sonata—rarely have I heard it done so
effectively. And many of the Forest Scenes
are downright lovely... Pinkas
is a fine player, as she has shown before in other recordings.
And there are many excellent things in this recital..."
"Sally Pinkas conveys three works
of Robert Schumann to us in a way that shows a real love and deep understanding
of the composer. Not content with just performing Faschingschwank aus
Wien,
Sonata No. 1 and Waldszenen in all their glory and with all their formidable
technical difficulties, she also attempts to present a cogent picture of the
poetic and psychological intention that informs Schumann's music."
Atlanta Audio Society
~
BRAHMS
Clarinet Sonatas 1 & 2 – Pierce-Aomori Duo; Daniel Barrett
MS1322
"...beautifully
played by clarinetist Hideaki Aomori, cellist Daniel Barrett and pianist Joshua
Pierce. Aomori is a seamless clarinet player and the chamber music aspects of
these performances (balance, lines subdued to more important lines) are superb.
In particular, in these pieces, after important cadences, it is up to the piano
to pick up the new phrase; Pierce does it with great acuity and a level of
energy that propels the music. All
three play with a compelling rhythmic impetus, which does not prevent
considerable freewheeling. Top-flight performances."
"The
Pierce-Aomori Duo, consisting of pianist Joshua Pierce and clarinetist Hideaki
Aomori, give swiftly flowing, beautifully characterized interpretations of
Johannes Brahms' Two Sonatas for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 120. At the conclusion
of the program they are joined by cellist Daniel Barrett for the composer's Trio
in A Minor, Op. 114, making for a highly satisfying end to a program rich in
unexpected delights."
CARTER,
COPLAND & PATITUCCI – Ann Schein, Earl Carlyss
MS1321
"...
excellent renditions of the music. [Schein's] approach [reveals] a lyricism,
dare one say Romanticism, that is certainly present in the score. It
is a deeply satisfying performance; she plays the very challenging music with
firm confidence, color, and obvious affection...
"Ann
Schein excels in Carter's Sonata...[she] gives a highly persuasive and engaging
account.
Her performance of Copland's Piano Variations is accomplished, too...In the
Violin Sonata Schein is joined by her husband Earl Carlyss for a performance
that is by turns lyrical and rhythmically vibrant."
"I
can't figure out which is the stand-out here - Schein's playing or the pieces
she chose to play. Either way, everyone wins. Ann Schein (joined by her husband,
Earl Carlyss) brings an easy confidence to modern works for piano... Ms. Schein
brings out the balanced richness of the [Carter]...
This is a Carter you have never heard, and she does him justice... This
is an excellent gathering of works, excellently performed.
I recommend this for the Copland, but the Carter makes a keeper."
"[Ms.
Schein] has personally known Carter for many
years and has a deep love, admiration, and understanding of his work. [Copland's
Piano Variations] are performed in a way that doubtless would have delighted
Copland himself... [Copland’s Sonata For Violin And Piano] is beautifully
performed here by both musicians. Ann Schein [also] performs Lakes by the
renowned jazz musician John Patitucci. It is a piece that was written and
dedicated to Ann in 2007. [Patitucci writes] ‘I am honoured that she has
connected with this piece in such a powerful way and made it her own'".
TROMBA
MUNDI
MS1320
"This one
ranks [among trumpet ensemble recordings] as one of the best. It
is hard to imagine a better trumpet ensemble than Tromba Mundi,
whose members play with an admirable purity of tone and nearly flawless balance,
intonation, and ensemble precision."
Kilpatrick,
American Record Guide ~ September / October 2009
"Even
if one happens to be a trumpeter a whole disc of music for trumpet ensemble
better be good. Luckily, this one is... [In
the Zuckerman] the sheer instrumental control of the members of Tromba Mundi is
remarkable; it is difficult to imagine a more persuasive account than this.
Ewazen’s Fantasia is bright and breezy. Again, performance is of the very
highest standard. Notes are attacked to perfection, with the utmost precision.
It is not just the bright attacks [in Bradshaw's Carillon]
that make the performance of this piece notable. The scurrying, background
figures are played with miraculous legato... A thoroughly enjoyable disc."
Colin Clarke,
Fanfare ~ September/October 2009
DVORAK
& SHOSTAKOVICH: Trios – The Merling Trio
MS1319
"these
are splendid, heartfelt performances....[The
soloists] display plenty of the give-and-take of a seasoned chamber ensemble."
"The
Merling Trio deliver a precise and yet fluent rendition of [the Dumky Trio]. A
perfect example of this occurs during the first ‘Dumky’ when a lively polka
emerges from the mournful opening. The trio carry us effortlessly through these
rapidly changing emotions whilst elegantly capturing the romance behind each
movement... The Merling Trio produce a compelling and moving recording [of
the Shostakovich]... [this is] a thought provoking rendition that builds
towards a finale that shifts between the macabre and onwards towards feelings of
hope and potential liberation... [an]
excellent release and one that is highly recommended
"The "Dumky" trio,
like Piazzolla from a previous album, thrives when played with a great deal of
drama and Romanticism.
Merling is able to produce these characteristics in abundance, quickly changing
between the more brooding, plaintive sections and the fiery, agitated ones
yielding a nice sense of theater in their performance.
The Shostakovich trio, on the other hand, was written in response to the
composer's close friend who died in a concentration camp; there is no theater in
this work, only despair, making it one of Shostakovich's bleakest compositions.
Merling starts off nicely; the cello false harmonics in the opening passage are
haunting as is the muted, soaring violin part. The tragic largo is deeply
thoughtful and introspective..."
"Postcards
in e is the title of an attractive offering by the Merling Trio of famous works
by Dvořák and Shostakovich. In this program the Merling show the primary
quality that distinguishes their art, which the American Record Guide aptly
described as 'a properly stylistic balance between abandon and
control.' On my
first audition of
Dvořák's
“Dumky” Trio in e Minor, Op. 90, I was struck more by the control factor, a
passion for precision which enables these artists to bring out many choice
points in this well-loved work. The beautiful tone the Merlings cultivate
throughout the Trio makes it an easy winner."
Atlanta Audio Society
LA
GUITARRA – Tuomo Tirronen
MS1317
"...indeed,
all the music on La Guitarra
flourishes thanks to [Tirronen's] elegant phrasing, tonal refinement, narrative
finesse, and stylistic comprehension... this [is a] beautifully played and
recorded program. Recommended to anyone interested in the music or the
guitarist."
BRAHMS,
DVORAK
& SHOSTAKOVICH – The American String Project
MS1316
"The American
String Project displays a warm, lustrous corporate sonority with evenly blended
textures and gleaming technical facility.
[The Shostakovich] works surprisingly well in the deft arrangement by Barry
Lieberman. While the 15-player ensemble bestows a richer, more Romantic profile,
the music-making never turns soupy... an admirable memento of an enterprising
festival and worth considering for the compelling Shostakovich
performance."
"[The
Dvorak is] a gorgeous, goose-pimple inducing encore; the orchestra achieves a
stunning weightlessness of line.
Not to be maudlin, but my eyes were not entirely dry by the end of this. The
sound is quite good, and the microphone placing is just right."
"[Shostakovich's] Quartet No.4
in string orchestra guise certainly has weight and feeling... Brahms is the big
success, uncannily recalling the Fourth Symphony and later the Third. Dvorak
breathes easily and comes across like some lost movement of his Serenade. Recorded
live, the Project plays with the unmistakable infectious radiance of musicians
enjoying themselves."
"PERFORMANCE
[ * * * * * ] / RECORDING [ * * * * ]
"The American String
Project...imbue their repertoire with an inner dynamism. Made exclusively from
live recordings with minimal editing, the
CD is a beautiful example of uniquely capable artistry...
[In Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 4] the characteristic playfulness and
emotionally mercurial nature of Shostakovich’s writing is masterfully captured
in Lieberman’s arrangement, executed with charm and sophistication by the
chamber orchestra. Despite the rife aural familiarity of the original quartet
texture, the arrangement contributes greatly to the effect of the harmonies and
musical impetus without detracting in any way from Shostakovich’s artistic
vision. In the Andantino, Maria Larionoff plays the solo line with a sound that
is intensely expressive and supple, confidently soaring into the emotional
heights the part demands. With their combined expertise, the musicians that make
up the section are incredibly sensitive and versatile in their support and
interweaving of the sonic texture into an elaborately conceived tableau. TASP
masterfully presents the famously complex and suspenseful final Allegretto
movement. It is especially apparent that the musicians are bringing their own
experiences in quartets to the nuanced and intricately expressive interpretation
the aggregate chamber group makes manifest... Brahms’
String Quartet No. 2 [is] presented with special care and pride, as the composer
is a particular favorite of Lieberman’s... Within the first 5 minutes of the
opening Allegro non troppo, the listener’s aural faculties have lost sense of
the chamber orchestra and conceive of a full symphonic string section. TASP can
indeed boast a roster of unparalleled caliber, engendering a passion whose core
remains steady amidst a maelstrom of artistic intensity. The entire quartet
arrangement is remarkable, so faithful to the source material that Brahms would
have no doubt endorsed it with a mildly chiding internal shame that he didn’t
think of it first... [In
Antonín Dvoŕák’s String Quartet No.9] TASP manages to convey in
its encore of this deliciously subtle and expressive piece."
"The
American String Project…have outdone themselves in 2008…What [Lieberman and
Larionoff] do to amplify and extent the harmonic possibilities of the string
quartets that are transcribed for a 15-member ensemble, is nothing
short of sensational."
Atlanta Audio Society
AN
AMERICAN MIRAGE: Exotic Piano Images – Ruthanne Schempf
MS1313
"Ruthanne Schempf...
is a new name to me, but judging from this release, I hope to hear more of
her... Schempf’s program shows intelligence and imagination: Schempf’s
rendition [of the Griffes] is as good as any of the others. She displays
impressive technical command and brings clarity to the densely written
passages... Schempf accords [the Nevin works] all the poetry this music
requires. Likewise, four of MacDowell’s Woodland Sketches are played with
sensitivity and delicacy... everything Schempf plays is either deeply serious,
eminently pleasing, or both. Her
sound is especially impressive—full, rich, sonorous in the low range, never
clanky in the high. This
program should find a place in most any collection that still needs some early
American piano music in it."
"Ruthanne
Schempf seems to have the lyrical effusions of [the composers] in her blood."
American Record Guide
~ November / December 2009
"From
pearly luminescence to determined rigour,
Schempf has a compelling style for all
seasons. [ * * * * ]"
RAVISHINGLY
RUSSIAN – Houston Chamber Choir / Robert Simpson MS1311
"...a pleasure to
listen to... The Dargomyzhsky piece is wonderful,
and shows the choir at its very best. Each part is clear in the chords and the
balance between parts is near ideal. We hear how well each voice is integrated
in the second Tchaikovsky piece, which begins with a unison tenor statement
answered by the whole choir. The absolutely unified tenor section is wonderful
to hear and it moves seamlessly into and out of the rest of the choir. This
coherence of part is essential to the success of the Alexander Rom’s Vocalise.
The one piece that departs in any measure from the rest of the program is the
delightful nonsense song at the end by Valery Gavrilin, a terrific
concert-closer... The 30 voices of the relatively new Houston Chamber Choir make
some wonderful...noises. Their minimal vibrato gives them a clean sound... elegantly
sung and a pleasure to listen to.
The recording quality is excellent. Recommended for those who simply want to
hear good choral singing."
"The
Houston Chamber Choir has produced a
sparkling new CD that showcases the little-known area of Russian secular choral
music...
The Houston Chamber Choir's achievement is formidable, reflecting
a depth of exploration and an intelligent interpretation of a foreign culture's
choral repertoire that clearly demonstrates a great deal of love and enthusiasm
on the part of the director and his singers.
The musically convincing results
offer a great reward both to the performers and the listener. To choral
conductors, this CD will offer a wealth of programming ideas, while to lovers of
beautiful, first-rate choral singing, it will provide a most enjoyable and
enduring listening experience."
TELEMANN
IN THE FRENCH STYLE – The Hanoverian Ensemble MS1309
"Musicianship
is cohesive with worthy flute-playing..."
"It
seems as if we're getting a better perspective all the time on the music of
Telemann. If we are, performances like these must surely claim a major share of
the credit. ..beautiful characterizations.
"Robert
Baksa... writes deceptively simple yet inherently beautiful music,
as displayed
in the new collection Journeys. The performances are by Annette Heim, flute, and
Bret Heim, guitar, who've taken an obvious shine to Baksa's music. The series of three sonatas has
a fluent grace in the writing and a pitch-perfect ease in the performances. In
the disc's finale, Celestials, everything comes together into something more
evocative, with movements that depict scenes of weather. Even Baksa's depictions
of wind and rain storms are inviting."
MOZART:
Violin Sonatas – Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio; James Winn
MS1305
"The
recorded sound, hardly over-reverberant, presents a balanced, close-up portrait
of the performers. These
sweet-toned, elegant readings [are] suavely pleasant, jovial, and engagingly
conversational. Recommended."
"Violinist Stephanie
Sant’Ambrogio comes from an acclaimed musical family...
Stephanie [plays with] beautiful tone, and the sheer elegance of her
technique... The spontaneity
with which Sant’Ambrogio and Winn interact captures [this music with the]
necessary feeling of utter naturalness, the deceptive impression that what we
are hearing is the most exalted improvisation, which is the final achievement of
Mozart’s art. Sant’Ambrogio maintains a firm, well-formed melody line, and
the tone of her Guadagnini fits the music like a glove. Winn keeps the
composer’s Alberti basses in the left hand from falling into predicable
patterns, and pacing by both players is alert throughout the program."
LES
AMOURS DES MAI: Love Songs in the Age of Ronsard – Julianne Baird; Parthenia
MS1304
"Here
is a delightful collection of mostly French vocal and instrumental music from
the second half of the 16th century... Julianne Baird is without question
the star of this CD. The voice
[is] beautifully controlled and expressive, with a judicious amount of vibrato.
And, as hinted above, she negotiates the coloratura in the Bassano like
nobody’s business...
CONSOLATIONS:
Romantic Music for Flute & Piano – Linda Marianiello; Robert Morrison
MS1303
"[the]
balance between the 1930 Powell and the 1873 Steingraeber yields an arrestingly
natural sound. Marianiello does not
surrender any nimbleness to [Pahud]... there are definite sparks from these MSR
musicians... A fine collection from
beginning to end, for the musical
marriage between Marianiello and Morrison is as blissful as their instruments'."
"Marianiello
and Morrison are a real partnership. Both
players show themselves to be masters of fine phrasing and dynamics, building an
overall architectural picture and defying the inherent limitations of their
respective instruments... well worth
hearing and admiring."
Gary
Higginson, MusicWeb International
"Linda
Marianiello really shines in Consolations...
In this program of (mostly) French masterworks, she is ably partnered by a
fellow artist with Chicago roots, pianist Robert Morrison. They form an ideal
collaboration... A formidable program."
Atlanta Audio
Society
LA
BELLE EPOQUE: Guitar Music of Ponce and Tansman – Azusa Shimizu MS1301
"Shimizu is
well-equipped for the technical demands of [La Folia], and her
playing has considerable flair and imagination."
* * * *
"[Shimizu's
Sonata 3] is one of the finest I've encountered. The playing is strong,
dramatic, masculine, yet tender and meditative when needed. It's one of the best
balanced performances I've heard,
with just the right tempos to bring all the varied emotions together. The last
movement is electrifying. The shorter works are just as satisfying. Excellent
playing and effective programming."
"There
is a tangible calmness radiating from this album. Azusa has chosen a
sequence of music that captures the work of both Ponce and Tansman, their
cultural influences, and the flavour of life in Paris following one of its most
inspirational phases... Expression and melody abound throughout. It is performed
by guitar playing that sounds almost effortless, natural, and at times
impossibly light, yet dexterous, bright, and truly inspirational. The result is
all rather exquisite..."
Jeff Perkins,
BlogCritics ~ March 2009
ROBERT
RAINES: Return of Odysseus; Menage; Echoes of Sarah – Moravian Philharmonic /
Vit Micka MS1299
"The
remarkable thing about Raines' music is not so much that it is technically
intricate, which we might have expected, but that it also has the power to move
the listener emotionally…dramatic and evocative, but highly economic writing. Keep
this premiere offering in your CD collection and treasure it. I have the feeling
we will be hearing much from Robert Raines in the future."
"Echoes
for Sarah is a poignant and
moving fantasy for nine flutes [that] takes us through a range of emotions and
uses the colours of the different members of the flute family to good effect.
With a duration of nearly 12 minutes, there is the potential for the flute
ensemble sound to become stale, but this does not happen here; the work
constantly evolves and eventually breaks down into haunting vocal sounds before
the end of the piece. The playing here is good, especially for a live
performance of University students... Ménage immediately hints at
Raines’ diverse background as a composer and musician. The playing here, by
Deanna Bertsche (flute), Erin Douglas (bass clarinet) and Jose Bevia (piano) is
excellent... The Return of Odysseus has drama running all the way through it.
The orchestration is rich and imaginative, and the rhythmic writing has
resonances of Stravinsky without ever becoming predictable or generic...the
music is creative, expressive and extremely enjoyable. Raines’ plentiful
influences create a rich tapestry of sound which never stays still and has the
sense of a modern day spectacle...This is a captivating and well-executed
performance by the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra which serves as the perfect
introduction to Raines’ work... Raines
is clearly a composer with a considerable talent and imagination.
His music would sit well within a programme of contemporary works or as film
music or anywhere in between, such is the breadth of his appeal. There is a
life-force behind his music which involves the listener and keeps the material
fresh; it is rare that I can listen to a 30 minute piece of music without my
mind drifting at some point, but Raines held my attention and made me want to
listen again. That, surely, is a good sign.
"Echoes
of Sarah...is scored very effectively for nine flutes, and in emotional content
both deals with the issue of personal loss and carries its subject's spirit up
to the clouds, utilizing spinning polyphonic lines scored among the flutes to
lift the music off into the air. Ménage [is] tart and jazzy... the pièce de
resistance here is Raines' ballet The Return of Odysseus. Its rhythmic profile
may remind some of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring but it is not imitative of
that work and, moreover, is expertly scored... With repeated listens, The Return
of Odysseus really grows on you; some of its motifs and melodies stick in your
head, while the rest of it retains its freshness and sense of surprise. Raines'
music is communicative without being compromised... it never wears out its
welcome... The
performances, by the Moravian Philharmonic and others, are dedicated and all
render a tangible consensus of excitement and enthusiasm on the part of the
players."
"The
remarkable thing about Raines' music is not so much that it is technically
intricate, which we might have expected, but that it also has the power to move
the listener emotionally. The
well-balanced recordings capture all the elements in Raines' dramatic and
evocative, but highly economic writing.
Keep this premiere offering in your CD
collection and treasure it.
I have the feeling we will be hearing much from
Robert Raines in the future."
Atlanta Audio Society ~
March
MUSIC
FROM RARITAN RIVER –
Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo; Daedalus Quartet MS1298
"Dusan
Bogdanovic’s Sevdalinka , with its Bartókian/Eastern European melodies, modal
harmony, and Balkan/African polymetric rhythms, is a colorful introduction to
this eclectic recital by the Newman/Oltman guitar duo. Strings, courtesy of the
Daedalus Quartet, vigorously propel the outer movements; in the third, drumming
on the guitar bodies increases the rhythmic excitement while adding ethnic color
and mysteriously enhances the gradually intensifying Adagio espressivo... As
might be expected from such an experienced duo, Newman
and Oltman are completely in synch with the program’s fluctuating moods and
idioms, and play flawlessly. The Daedalus Quartet’s playing in Sevdalinka is
similarly top-notch. A winner all around."
"[Newman &
Oltman's] performances are consistently fine... Newman & Oltman play all
this material with high artistry and a strong grasp of the essence of some very
challenging music."
SONGS
FROM ANOTHER PLACE –
Monica Harte MS1297
"Monica Harte is in possession of a small, but
exquisitely controlled
vocal instrument she uses to delve into the hearts of these texts with uncanny
powers of penetration, providing us with three journeys into truly other places.
Both the recorded sound and the contributions of the instrumentalists similarly
rise to the task."
FOR
DARFUR! Irin
Ajo and
other Sacred Songs and Spirituals – Odekhiren Amaize; Andrew Gordon
MS1296
"[This] program
might be described as a meditative prayer, both reflecting on the situation of
Darfur's besieged population and interceding on its behalf. The material
approaches these themes from several perspectives, both religious and secular.
Amaize draws on African American music... on several African traditions... on
patriotic song... and on a huge range of Western art music... [This recital is]
extremely powerful, with a sense of strong personal commitment... any
singer will have something to learn from this remarkable release."
ILLUMINE
OUR HEARTS: Liturgical and Secular Jewish Choral Music
– Sursum Corda; Lester Seigel
MS1295
"The
167-member group's strength lies its its seamless phrasing and sensitive
blending... Sursum Corda sings the words with warmth and clarity,
which engages the meanings of the texts... Jane Seigel makes some exceptionally
glorious sounds [in Cuando el Rey Nimrod]... The faultlessly constructed
programme provides a welcome opportunity to hear composers and musicians who may
not be household names but whose contributions to the country's devotional
life...are quietly central to its survival."
MELANGE:
New Music for Trumpet and Piano – Dean McNeill, Jon Ballantyne, Bonnie
Nicholson MS1294
"Dean
McNeill has subtitled Mélange "New Music for Trumpet and Piano." The
key word here is "new," for in this album McNeill and several of his
friends explore the borderland where jazz and classical genres meet and coexist
happily. Perhaps it is fitting that McNeill himself teaches at the University of
Saskatchewan, in the Canadian prairie province of that name, for as with a
prairie, Mélange seems to breathe the air of wide open spaces and boundless
possibilities".
Atlanta Audio Society ~
October 2008
FAURE:
Quartets for Strings and Piano – Adaskin String Trio with Sally Pinkas MS1293
"This
recording [of Faure's Quartet No.1] does much to sustain the buoyancy intrinsic
in the writing. One is particularly persuaded by the ease of the ensemble to
guide the ear... The Second Quartet derives great mobility from the ensemble's
firmly etched melodies... this
recording has a remarkable consistency of animation, the string playing
achieving a sonority and rare joie de vivre and the pianist threading into the
texture with complete authority."
"The Adaskin Trio...
along with Israeli pianist Sally Pinkas, turn in
first-class readings of
Fauré’s Piano Quartets."
Turok's
Choice ~ Issue No.208, March 2009
"[an]
excellent release... performed with trademark vibrancy by the Adaskin String
Trio. The piano
performance of Israeli- born Sally Pinkas on this album is nothing short of
remarkable. Her
impressive list of achievements merely acts as a backdrop to a performance of
passion, precision, and perfection. The Adaskin String Trio’s enchanting
performance of both compositions underlines their reputation. The
trio radiate an authority based upon sound knowledge, appreciation, and
understanding of the music at hand.
There is a powerful magnetism to the overall effect which shines forth from
these two beautiful compositions...Exquisitely performed and recorded it is a
true joy to experience."
"The
Adaskin String Trio’s new recording with Sally Pinkas for MSR Classics is
worth celebrating for several reasons. First of all, the performance is
splendid. A comparison with the 1992 Ma-Stern-Laredo-Ax recording of the
quartets (Sony) stymied me when ít came to a preference. These Canadian
string players and the wonderful Dartmouth-based pianist, Sally Pinkas, are a well-knit
ensemble and play with passion as well as precision. MSR’s recording
creates a warmer ambience than Sony’s and gives the Adaskin’s strings a more
even texture, beautifully captured by a fine local label – that's another
thing to celebrate!"
David
Perkins, Classical Voice of New England
BY
REQUEST: A Collection of Our Favorites / Mainstreet Brass MS1290
"There’s
something for everyone in this enjoyable collection...
Mainstreet Brass enters
winningly into the spirit of the varied selections with exuberant fluency...
This CD should please Mainstreet Brass’s many fans who often asked for
recorded versions of the group’s repertoire—the impetus for the CD—as well
as anyone who would enjoy hearing this attractive program played by an
excellent, versatile ensemble.
"
SHOSTAKOVICH
& TCHAIKOVSKY – Kim Cook; Volgograd Symphony Orchestra / Edward Serov
MS1289
"Kim
Cook’s an extremely fine cellist. [Her] tone is very clear and attractive and
she can play with excellent spirit and gusto.
The end of the Tchaikovsky is highly successful and upbeat. Cook’s first entry
[in the Tchaikovsky] is not narcissistic, it’s communicative, and she carries
on that way, to the end. The main reason for buying this CD is to hear the
glorious sound Kim Cook makes with a cello, and that is something you should
surely do, if you care for the instrument."
"[Cook's]
reading finds lyrical elements in the [Shostakovich] where I thought there were
none; indeed her whole approach to this seminal work seems to be one of melody,
allowing the underpinnings of the orchestra to add the spikiness present in all
of this composer’s scores. Her bow strokes feel as if they are long and
intense, giving a valued and valuable resonance and depth to her reading, trying
desperately to assure us that this composer can compete with the best of them in
both songful- and soulfullness. The Tchaikovsky is somewhat in the same mold, as
if trying to prove a point! Cook is more expansive than many I have heard in
this music, and takes her time in the many intimate passages, while not cheating
us on excitement. Overall I think this
a fine release, one that I am sure I will return to despite the competition...
The sound is excellent and the production values high—and
bravo to the Volgograd Orchestra!
"American
cellist Kim Cook, with the able assistance of the Volgograd Symphony Orchestra
of Russia under Edward Serov, gives performances of
two Russian classics that sound simply ravishing...
THE
CLASSICAL SAXOPHONE: A French Love Story – Javier Oviedo; Orchestre Pasdeloup
/ Jean-Pierre Schmitt MS1288
"[Oviedo has
a] sweet, controlled sound and the predominantly lyrical interpretive approach
that is the hallmark of French saxophone-playing. Oviedo's style fits this
program perfectly. If I could have only one version [of Glazunov's Concerto] it
would be Oviedo's. The Hure is particularly lovely. Oviedo meets the technical
challenges of the Mayeur nicely... the Bozza shows off the soloist's elegant bel
canto tone to good effect... In sum, a
must-buy release for saxophone fanciers and highly recommended release for
anyone attracted to genial French music of the last century."
"Oviedo
is an excellent instrumentalist... "
Turok's Choice ~ Issue
No.205, December 2008
"The
music is rich, lush, and colorful, and
one is tempted to praise repeatedly
Oviedo's gorgeous sound, which fits these pieces perfectly...the Orchestre
Pasdeloup is both sensitive and brilliant. Schmitt maintains the right balance
between soloist and ensemble, and one can sense that Oviedo and the Orchestre
Pasdeloup are working together to transcend the concerto genre. This is a
collaboration in the true sense of the word...each [work] is beautiful,
well-written, and enjoyable...[the Bozza and Glazunov] are rendered with great
care and warmth, and the performances are very satisfying. The program notes are
very well done. "
American Record Guide ~
November / December 2008
IKKYU'S
DREAM: Solo Piano Reflections – Philip Swanson
MS1287
"Swanson's
music has an easy charm,
with a strength of clarity and line..."
BALLADE:
Music for Flute and Piano – Kara Kirkendoll Welch; Gabriel Sanchez
MS1286
"Flutist
Kara Kirkendoll Welch, in partnership with pianist Gabriel Sanchez, does a
superior job of conveying the essence of luminously beautiful works by Henri
Dutilleux, Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Frank Martin, and Gabriel Fauré. In doing
so, she displays the full range of color of her instrument. All the music on the
program involves stiff technical demands of the flutist, and Ms. Welch is up to
them.
FEDERICO
MOMPOU: Musica Callada – Haskell Small MS1282
"In
the opening work of Book 1, Small conveys the austere purity and concentration
with an unhurried, timeless quality that seems just right... Throughout Small
realises the microbially shifting expression... [Small]
is in touch with Mompou's enigmatic, other-worldly music landscape..."
"Haskell
Small clearly feels this music deeply,
tracing the gentle melodic contours with sensitivity and letting the music soar
when called for. His pacing is appropriately patient and methodical, and he is
careful to pull out the melodic figures when they occur outside the top
register."
"Haskell
Small plays with expressive restraint and delicate phrasing, making the most of
each ringing line, each atmospheric nuance."
"Haskell
Small plays with evident care and devotion, and an atmospheric recording
contributes to a sense of intimacy."
"I
am prepared to follow Haskell Small through these twenty-eight stations again,
knowing that he probably is the living guide who knows this destination better
than anyone and the Blüthner piano seems the perfect vehicle for the journey."
EAST
WEST ENCOUNTER II – Susan Chan
MS1280
"...it is the singularly poetic
style of Chan as a pianist that acts as the glue that binds this recital
together. In the familiar music here of Bach and Chopin, she finds a lyrical
pulse, unhurried and lush, with an uncanny absence of self-absorption. This is
beautiful playing, almost simple at first impression, but upon careful
listening, recognized to be well crafted and awash with subtle tonal shading...
an unusual program, made compelling by a uniquely charming musician."
SOUNDS
OF BRAZIL – Quintet of the Americas
MS1279
"The
Quintet is a tight ensemble fusing their remarkably different timbres into a
virtuosic panorama that pulses with energy and excitement.
The rhythmic teamwork, artistic commitment, and risk-taking make the recording
hard to put down, and their guest collaborators bring a similar amount of skill
and investment. The whole program is enjoyable, well worth the price..."
Hanudel, American Record
Guide ~ September / October 2009
"Coupled
with the quintet's highly lyrical playing of de Mello's warm-hearted melodies,
the effect is charming... The performances are uniformly excellent; each
member of the Quintet is a characterful soloist, but their blend and balance as
an ensemble is exemplary, and their ability to integrate their playing with de
Mello's organic percussion is admirable. MSR Classics' digital sound is
evocative..."
IN MY OWN VOICE –
Kelly Hall-Tompkins; Craig Ketter; Anna Reinersman MS1278
“Attention
concert presenters!... you'd have a winner in presenting Kelly Hall-Tompkins. Here
is an artist who deserves not just a hearing but fame itself.
Right from the start in the Kreisler, it's clear that Hall-Tompkins is beyond
technique. She has a firm presence and, above all, a grasp of the work's
structure. The Ysaye and Bach are choice examples of her solid grasp of
structure and, thus, her powers of interpretation. In brief, she compels
you to listen. [Ethnic Variations shows] Hall-Tompkins' virtuosity in yet
another style. She turns it into crossover-with-class. The engineering is
excellent, and the program notes well written and to the point. ”
French, American Record Guide
~ September / October 2009
“In
My Own Voice includes technically
confident and strongly shaped readings of challenging unaccompanied works by
Kreisler and Ysaye as well as the great Bach Chaconne…
Hall-Tompkins combines prettily with harpist Anna Reinersman [in a delightfully
inventive fantasia]…and with pianist Craig Ketter she delivers sweetly played
bonbons [by Suk and William Grant Still].”
" 'Chaconne'...is an
enthralling fifteen minute performance... Kelly Hall-Tompkins’ wonderful
performance is remarkable... In My Own Voice contains a wide ranging choice of
violin pieces each of which are played immaculately. Kelly Hall-Tompkins
performs the technically demanding Bach and Ysaye compositions, alongside the
beautifully haunting Saint Saens, the lively Kreisler, and the fascinating Baker
variations with equal mastery and remarkable versatility. The
beauty of the artiste, the instrument she graces, and the music chosen positively
radiates from the recording."
"Kelly Hall-Tompkins here
offers a debut recital disc that proceeds from the familiar to the unusual.
That's noteworthy in itself... The level of sheer virtuosity associated with
Paganini is retained in diverting ways, and Hall-Tompkins plays with obvious
enthusiasm... performances of virtuoso standards that are convincing in
themselves but that don't quite fit together. Technically everything's solid...
and in her capacity for
taking chances on unfamiliar material, Hall-Tompkins serves notice that she's a
young violinist to be watched."
SCREE:
Contemporary Works for Flute and Piano – Elena Yarritu; Gabriel Sanchez MS1277
"The unconditional affection
they feel for this repertoire is immediately evident, and is by itself good
reason to buy the disc. But their choice of repertoire—mixing the familiar
with the exotic—is so smart and balanced that they could have had the luxury
of playing only passably well, and the CD would still be good. But they do much
more than that. They
are excellent performers who seem to be having a great deal of fun besides. They
do not give the impression, for a second, of being on a mission. Rather, they
seem to want to share their good times with us. Piano and flute are presented as
two very well-defined entities that get along, discuss, talk, menace each other,
love each other...
All in all, this CD will please
both contemporary music lovers and people who are just starting to be interested
in the music of the last two centuries. Warmly recommended."
"Elena
Yarritu takes a rigorous approach to her instrument and
a primal delight in dangerously fast tempos that take the flute into fearsome,
adventurous areas."
EDMOND AGOPIAN:
FAR BEHIND I LEFT MY COUNTRY –
UCalgary String Quartet MS1276
"...performed
here with affectionate understanding... This is music of deep-seated humanity,
at times incredibly vivacious, almost frenzied in its headlong dash through
constantly accelerating tempos, or else floridly sentimental, sorrowful, or
nostalgic. I was grinning from ear to ear with sheer
pleasure.”
FLORENCE MUSTRIC, V.2 - J.S. BACH:
THE THRILL OF THE CHASE – Florence Mustric, Von Beckerath Organ MS1271
"...in
the kinder and gentler pieces [Mustric] excels. They are imbued with an
all-consuming warmth that I found both delightful and gratifying.
The
distortion-free recording is, like her playing, especially cozy, detailed, and
airy, from the deepest pedal tones to the top of the treble. As in all serious
organ recordings, the instrument’s specs are provided."
"The
sound [of the organ] is indeed quite vibrant and powerful... Clarity is superb -
rarely will you hear Bach’s lines so clearly delineated... I
can hear [Ms. Mustric's] commitment in this music, and the emphasis on lucidity
and cleanliness of line is most impressive.
Indeed it is hard to imagine any virtues of this organ being lost in the
recording, so attentive are the microphones. The program itself is extremely
attractive, some of Bach’s most famous and beloved pieces."
"The
organist at Cleveland's Trinity Lutheran Church continues her fine series of
recordings on the imposing Rudolph von Beckerath organ... Mustric exploits the
full tonal resources of the instrument as she builds Bach's massive structures
and forges a celebration of organ sonority. Textures are clear, lines deftly
balanced and ornaments tastefully applied.
Your speakers (and ears) will be in
heaven. Grade: A."
The Cleveland
Plain Dealer ~ March 2009
FLORENCE
MUSTRIC, V.1 - EAST
OF BERLIN – Florence Mustric, Von Beckerath Organ MS1270
"The
featured instrument is historically significant [and] sounds robust, incisive,
colorful, coherent, and clear... Florence Mustric has chosen a program that is
well-suited to [the organ]... Mustric
performs [her own arrangement of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition] in a
classically oriented manner, with crisp, clear phrasing and articulation that
match the parameters of the instrument and provide a refinement and clarity to
the music. Mustric
chooses registrations that are appropriate to each tableau and consonant with
the classical character of the instrument, which serves to underscore the
temperament of the music surprisingly well. With this performance, one hears the
familiar in a new, revealing way. Sokola's Toccata is played with strength,
clarity and precision. The most compelling performance is [of the Suda]. Replete
with emotional energy, [the work] concludes with a whisper. This disc is a
welcome documentation of one of America's most significant instruments,
revealing its flexibility in familiar and unusual repertoire."
“Florence Mustric's
version [of Pictures] provides a fresh spin on a piece originally for solo
piano. Mustric's adaptation is a particularly spacious evocation of Mussorgsky
miniatures, with all manner of expansive tempi allowing for time to dwell on
details that may fly by in other versions. Even to ears accustomed to Ravel's
wondrous spectrum of orchestral colours, the organ transcription has plenty of
convincing and effective registrations. The instrument's grandeur is put to
magnificent use in "The Great gate of Kiev". Mustric
plays the Mussorgsky as if the work were born for organ.
The recording's sound is excellent.”
Gramophone ~ June 2008
BARTOK:
String Quartet No.1; SCHUBERT: "Death and the Maiden" – The American String Project
MS1269
"The execution of
the The American String Project proves quite facile, the homogeneity
of sound and the seamless shifting of dynamic levels adjusted as one, so the
expanded nature of the orchestration retains its essential, intimate nature."
Audiophile Audition ~ December
2008
"[In Lieberman's
Schubert] the music contains more depth and color, and the structure
comes out better than before...the
ensemble playing is impressive."
Fanfare ~ November / December
2008
“Bartok's
Quartet works surprisingly well in [this] orchestral arrangement. Here the
deeper, darker colours provided by orchestral strings enlarge the music's
atmosphere and mood, projecting it onto a larger canvas, as it were... The
Bartok really makes this disc worthwhile."
Gramophone ~ Awards Issue
(October) 2008
IN
A LYRICAL WAY – Jeffrey Powers; Vincent DeVries MS1266
“A
remarkably accomplished and versatile musician, Mr. Powers brings a deeply
cultured aesthetic to this repertoire that manifests itself in its titular
lyricism... Mr. Powers
beautifully shapes his tone to convey the embedded subtleties within [Meulemans']
elaborate horn call, effectively opening the CD to the Flemish aural milieu...
Powers and DeVries expertly intertwine their timbres [in the Mortelemans]
to create a beautiful, closely-woven tapestry of the Flemish countryside... The
[Poot] demands a wide tonal palette and
dynamic range from the horn, the difficulties of which are effectively obviated
by Mr. Powers’ seamless execution. Dr. DeVries demonstrates his
collaborative expertise as he provides a sensitive and well-supported fabric of
sound... The [Echaute] is a gem of gushing expression
and lyricism which showcases Mr. Powers in his unaffected musicality and
artistic integrity. Cascading between Wagnerian tonal intensity and sublime
singing pianos, the demands of the piece and the agility of Mr. Powers’
playing are well-matched... Westerlinck’s Maclou [is a]
showpiece in many respects [and] Mr. Powers’ sound seems imbued with an
internal animation as it dances across the nuances of this demanding piece...
[Gilson's] Preludes
are a wonderful testament to the amount of musical material that can be garnered
from a relatively modest motivic kernel. Mr. Powers does a great service
to the repertoire of the horn by bringing these pieces to light, as each offers
a unique character and energy... the
expansive melodic nature of [Ryelandt’s Sonata] is ideally paired with Mr.
Powers’ artistic approach and Dr. DeVries’ masterful pianistic textures..."
MYTHS
& LEGENDS – American Horn Quartet MS1268
“This
program offers the virtuoso dazzle we expect from AHQ.”
American
Record Guide ~ September / October 2008
THIS
IS GERSHWIN – Joshua Pierce; Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Kirk Trevor
MS1265
"...splendidly
played...[Pierce] has had
a long personal connection with Gershwin's music. This manifests itself in the
tenderness and feeling he brings to his performances.
Technically, Pierce is a top-flight pianist. Pierce makes much of [the
Variations] and is also very convincing in the Second Rhapsody. The
accompaniments are very involved and the recorded sound excellent."
"The
placement of the little-played Second Rhapsody at the beginning of the program
signals the kind of Gershwin recording this is going to be: the work, of which
Gershwin himself was proud, is perhaps his most "classical" work
harmonically, despite its outward similarities to the better known Rhapsody in
Blue that preceded it. Pianist Joshua Pierce makes a good case for this work in
his extensive notes, from which even Gershwin devotees will learn something new.
As he points out, it didn't arise in circumstances at all similar to those than
engendered Rhapsody in Blue, it was film music, for a now-lost film, and it
marked the first major orchestral composition to appear in a sound film.
Pierce's notes are replete with formal analysis in addition to providing
historical background... Pierce finds "restlessness" in the shifting
tempos and melodies of this [Rhapsody In Blue], which is a fresh way to look at
it, and the complexities of the I Got Rhythm Variations also fare well in his
careful reading... This is
quite a novel Gershwin disc,
and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra does better at realizing the aims of
Pierce and conductor
"American
pianist Joshua Pierce shows that he's one ivory tinkler with a
whole lot of George Gershwin in his soul. The result, entitled “This is
Gershwin,” comprises all the
composer's music for piano and orchestra... [Pierce's] super-smooth legato and intuitive understanding of Gershwin's sensational rhythms serve him well
here (And that's an understatement!)
Atlanta
Audio Society ~ March 2009
STARRY
NIGHT PROJECT: Music Based On Visual Art – Montage Music Society MS1264
"This is a stylish
concept album... [Montage
Music Society's] playing is elegant and scrupulous throughout. The
whole project, in its multidisciplinary approach, is very well conceived and
presented: many of the paintings are included in full color reproductions in the
booklet."
"...
this whole program has a feeling of quiet grandeur about it that is quite moving... The connection between the arts is stronger than we think. This is
beautifully played and recorded as well."
SCHUBERT:
Piano Sonata D.850; LISZT – Min Kwon MS1263
“[Min Kwon] has a fine
grasp of Schubert's challenging Sonata...She is in command of a wide dynamic
range throughout the Sonata, with some lovely details in the slow movement and
nice pastel effects in the finale. She shapes phrases simply and directly...this
is a worthy addition to the catalog...Kwon gives a masterly performance of the
Don Juan, never slighting the drama during all the technical display. Her
playing kept me on the edge of my seat,
and admiring how the slender young pianist managed to get such a big,
non-percussive sound. Gnomenreigen and Gretchen am Spinnrade are also
impressively controlled and tonally varied. I hope it is not too long before
Kwon returns to the recording studio..."
Charles
Timbrell, Fanfare ~ January / February 2008
“Kwon
views dynamics, pedaling, and color in a unique way. [In Schubert's Con moto]
Ms. Kwon finds herself and reveals the full beauty of the music. All flows
naturally, with phrasing so gentle and lovely the notes breathe with just the
right motion. The concluding rondo is a model of refined delicacy that works
well. [Gretchen am spinnrade] is performed most beautifully. Gnomenreigen finds
Ms. Kwon fully in spirit with the music and holding little back as the gnomes
dance in all their devilry. For the Don she shows a willingness to play at full
thrust to emphasize our hero's braggadocio. Like the Don, she
can boast of a full conquest-this time of the music's temperament and technical
demands."
American Record Guide
~ November / December 2008
“...clearly
a virtuoso."
BBC Music Magazine ~ November 2008
“...she
brings out the melody of Schubert's song beautifully and phrases intelligently."
Turok's
Choice ~ Issue No.204, November 2008
HAMPSON
SISLER: Songs of the Sages – Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine / Artkady Leytush
MS1262
“...an
abundance of gently dissonant modality and chant-like rhythmic flexibility."
BBC Music Magazine ~ October 2008
CACIOPPO:
ANCESTRAL PASSAGE – American String Quartet; Moscow String Quartet [2CD
set] MS1261
"This
double disc of music by Pennsylvania-based composer and educator Curt Cacioppo
delivers something different [which is] interesting in itself, and indeed this
release might make a good discussion topic for college classes involving music
and culture... the performances...are integrated and communicate a unified
musical vision. Among
releases of contemporary music, this one is an unusually good conversation
starter."
All
Music ~ October 2008
"Two
other string ensembles that I've listened to with pleasure lately are the
Moscow and American string quartets, performing music by the American composer
Curt Cacioppo... This new recording is made up of viscerally and
intellectually stimulating compositions influenced in subtle ways by
Navajo, Hopi, and other Native American music. Cacioppo
has a unique creative voice that deserves to be heard."
Time
Out ~ June 2008
SYMPHONIC
DANCES – Pierce & Jonas Piano Duo MS1260
"I
always enjoy hearing unusual repertoire and this exciting disc certainly
fits the bill. The label MSR Classics has compiled a disc titled
Romantic Music for Two Pianos performed by the partnership of Joshua
Pierce and Dorothy Jonas that includes eleven accessible scores. I love
how the selection mixes established scores in their lesser known arrangements
for two pianos, like Saint-Saëns’s Danse macabre, with other
scores that I only rarely encounter, such as those from Britten and Bax. Throughout
this recording the splendid partnership of Joshua Pierce and
Dorothy Jonas communicate a close rapport conveying refreshing performances of
exemplary ensemble.
The release benefits from a pleasing sound quality."
MusicWeb International ~
November 2008
"[Pierce &
Jonas']
precision ensemble is
enhanced by their generally crisp and clean sound...they
have individual and joint technical expertise that is hard to beat. Pierce and
Jonas [in the Debussy-Ravel] get the nod over the illustrious recording by Josef
and Rosina Lhevinne. The Lutoslawski Paganini Variations are also top
notch...none of [Liszt's] brilliance is lost here. Pierce and Jonas']
Rachmaninoff let me hear some different things...and proved to be quite
enjoyable...a worthy addition to Rachmaninoff and two-piano collections."
American Record Guide ~
November / December 2008
"...a stunning
disc."
Turok's Choice ~ Issue
No.204, November
2008
"[Pierce
and Jonas] meet the music's demands with flair..."
BBC Music Magazine ~ November
2008
"[the
Pierce & Jonas two-piano team] are one
of the top duo-piano teams in the world today.
These recordings...constitute a wonderful two-piano concert without a dud in the
group...The entire program is a gas...Sonics are fine; you two-channel holdouts
should love this one: sit in your sweet spot and revel in the byplay of the two
pianos on your left and right - there's just enough separation."
Audiophile Audition ~
August 2008
“In
Symphonic Dances, the famed duo-piano team of Joshua Pierce and Dorothy Jonas
celebrate their 30th anniversary in style... In terms of sonority,
timbres, and a dazzling palette of tone colors, only the symphony orchestra can
rival what we have here with two artists of the keyboard playing in
communication with each other, the composer, and the listener...The
program is varied and attractive."
Atlanta Audio Society ~
August 2008
MUSIC
OF BARBARA HARBACH Vol.5: Vocal Music – Stella Markou
MS1256
"CD
RECORDING OF THE MONTH: Don’t
miss this disc for it is something very, very special.
The performances are
excellent, committed and vibrant – Stella Markou knows how to use her voice to
best effect, and although rather limited in her range of vocal colour, she makes
up for it in insight into the music – in excellent sound and with good notes
in the booklet."
MUSIC
OF BARBARA HARBACH Vol.3: A Celebration of Hymns – Barbara Harbach, organ
MS1254
"This
is a very enjoyable organ recital,
the tunes just familiar enough and the treatment just novel enough to sustain
interest throughout. Splendid sound.”
"Lovingly researched and expertly composed and arranged [this album is] a fitting
representation of the remarkable dedication at the heart of Dr. Barbara
Harbach’s life work. Her performances successfully transfer the music with
vibrancy and a joyful respect... [This release arrives] with informative notes
including an account of the many achievements of Dr. Harbach and the historical
background to the music she has chosen and performed... the well chosen
selection of hymns act as further endorsement of the level of respect which
Barbara Harbach has for this particular genre. [This
album] is distinctly individual, expertly performed, and contain[s] a high
degree of educational value. Harbach’s
greatly admired authoritative position within the music world, and her abilities
to perform the pieces with such command are all on display within these works.
They provide a highly satisfying addition to any classical music collection.”
"Harbach
brings together an interesting mix of the hardy counterpoint and fugues common
to the German tradition and the harmonic preferences and flourishes of the
French approach, though many of the tunes are American... the recording
itself, made with an Aeolian-Skinner at Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis,
MO, is splendid. Harbach's Toccatas,
Flourishes & Fugues will provide some interesting and fresh pieces to
the attention of organists everywhere and likewise will bring enjoyment to those
who welcome a novel twist on familiar hymn tunes as played on the organ.”
"These
small pieces are what many would consider to be typical organ music, but
there’s more to them than that for nothing this composer does is ordinary –
there’s always something unexpected in there. Somewhere... Harbach is probably
better known both as an organist and harpsichordist than as a composer but it is
to be hoped that this will change and the three issues, so far, of her music on
CD should be going along way to introducing her special art to English
audiences. This disk is a fine example of her taste and capabilities in creating
music for what is, after all, a fairly limited medium and one which hasn’t
been visited too often by contemporary composers... The
recorded sound is magnificent. Crisp and clear with a little reverberation but
not so much that the music is lost in endless echo, for this full praise must go
to engineer Roger Fredrickson for his perfectly placing the organ in the right
aural setting... This is well worth investigating for, as always with Harbach,
there’s so much to enjoy in her music.”
A
MUSIC
OF BARBARA HARBACH Vol.2: Chamber Music I – Ensemble Istropolis; Moyzes String
Quartet MS1253
"...the
pieces here recorded are quite delightful. There is an open-air quality to these
pieces...The scoring is transparent and the textures clear and bright..this
music doesn’t sound like any composer I’ve ever heard, it is original in
that respect. It is very well written and skillfully, and gratefully, scored for
the various ensembles. The performances here are very assured...I am very
pleased to have made Ms. Harbach’s acquaintance and want to hear more. It’s
fine stuff, well deserving of a hearing.”
Bob Briggs, MusicWeb International ~ July 2008
“[Harbach's]
style is unabashedly tonal and optimistic, attractive in uncomplicated fashion. Barbara
Harbach's chamber music is melodic and well-crafted...this
is attractive music and I look forward to exploring more. No complaints about
the performances under Kirk Trevor, all of which provide worthy advocacy...”
Gramophone ~ July 2008
“A
great deal of credit for the success of the music on [this record] goes to the
conductor and the sound engineers. They have done their best to present the
composer, who should someday-if there is any justice in the universe-become a
household name. You
have got to hear this woman's music
if you're a fan of mid-century American romanticism. She brings something
entirely new to the table.”
American Record
Guide ~ March / April 2008
"Harbach
has distinguished herself as one of the preeminent American composers of any
generation. Her music is distinctly American,
with clever folk elements that hint at Copland but are all uniquely her own.
[this disc is] a testament to Harbach's versatilit; the works on this album are
scored for an impressive assortment of instruments, from the traditional string
quartet, brass and woodwind quintets, to larger ensembles featuring both
strings, winds, and brass."
All Music Guide ~ December 2007
MUSIC OF BARBARA HARBACH Vol.1: Orchestral Music – Slovak RSO / Kirk Trevor MS1252
AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE - CRITICS CHOICE 2008Paul Cook, American Record Guide ~ January / February 2009
"Anyone who read my previous review
of Harbach’s chamber music will know that I am a fan. All I need say is that
this disk is well worth having for, if anything, it’s even better and more
interesting than the previous disk. So if you’re with me, you can stop reading
now and rush to your local record shop and buy an hour’s–worth of the most
glorious music you’ll hear this year...[Harbach's] music
is tuneful, grateful to play and a joy to listen to. I described the music on
the earlier CD as ”white note” music, implying a new simplicity, and it
celebrates the great American outdoors. The works recorded here, as befits
compositions for orchestra, use larger thoughts and gestures than the chamber
works, but her country is never far from her feelings. The
(Willa) Cather Symphony...is very special indeed and needs to be heard. The
recording is bright and clear with a good perspective on the orchestra and the
performances are obviously of the very highest standard. The notes are straight
forward and lead one through the music but don’t get technical, nor tell you
too much – so, in general, the music is allowed to speak for itself. Harbach’s
music is in a class of its own and this is a CD which must not be missed at any
cost.”
MusicWeb
International ~ September 2008
"[Harbach is]
a dead-on-heart-and-soul American romanticist in the Copland-Hanson-Harris
mold...Harbach's music astonished me for its heavy reliance on the lyric and the
beautifully (and cogently) framed melodic line. I could listen to her music for
hours. This music is so uniquely
characterized with its own sense of beauty that it makes me wonder where this
woman has been all our lives. This
is music that really needs to be heard."
American Record Guide
~ March / April 2008
GINASTERA
& SCHNITTKE – Choir of St Ignatious Loyola / Kent Tritle
MS1251
" this live recording captures a
couple of tremendously affecting pieces... [Ginastera] puts a whole new spin on how
you hear these things, and is a testament to the genius of the composer that he
is able to grant us a fresh perspective on this age-old text and music. This is
a wonderful discovery... [ The Schnittke] is an extraordinarily moving and
intricate piece that successfully marries the typical and well known techniques
of the composer along with a passion and romantic sensibility ... this is a
religious piece of music through and through with some gorgeous harmonies and
profoundly heartwarming moments... this work is in a category of its own - a
marvelous discovery for me, and, I’ll wager, for you as well...
The Choir of
St. Ignatius Loyola sings with an almost desperate affection in both of these
works, while director Kent Tritle maintains a firm grip on the overall pace to
wonderful effect. Highest recommendation."
BOREALIS
EN SALON– The Borealis Wind Quintet MS1250
"...an
appealing programme... The performances are excellent,
with tight ensemble. A
highly attractive disc.
"The
challenge in composing a wind quintet is to write for five instruments that do
not automatically blend—unlike a string quintet. However, it can be done, as
shown by these four fine composers and even more so by the warm, exquisitely
balanced playing of The Borealis Wind Quintet. The sound quality is top notch.
In a phrase, très charmante."
"Borealis boasts five accomplished professionals who think and play as one unit.
They integrate their personalities into a natural and effortless soundscape, yet
keep them just separate enough to engage in a sincere and energetic musical
dialog. Their meticulous attention to rhythm, balance, intonation reflects a
profound knowledge of each piece, and their willingness to push the envelope on
tempo and dynamics points to shared artistic thoughts as well as a refreshing
philosophy of risk-taking so rare in chamber ensembles, especially wind groups."
American Record Guide ~ November / December 2009
BEYOND
THE HORIZON – Adam Frey, euphonium; Paula Peace, piano MS1249
"Adam
Frey [is] perhaps the world's leading young euphonium
player...[this disc] is a
significant contribution to the euphonium world, presenting a
number of new works that should become part of the standard recital
repertory...ability to play technically difficult, slurred material with
admirable evenness and precision. Excellent collaborative work by pianist Paula
Peace."
Fanfare ~ March
/ April 2008
TAKING
FLIGHT – Adam Frey, euphonium; NZSO / Hangen MS1248
"Adam
Frey is an expert euphonium player... Frey can get from the bottom to the top of
the instrument lickety split. Endless streams of fast notes with no breath? No
problem. In lyric material found on Taking Flight... Frey's tone is so
fluid and pristine he almost sounds like he is playing a saxophone...Frey takes
this bumpiest of instruments for a smooth ride throughout, and always comes in
for a three-point landing."
All Music Guide ~
April 2008
EAST
WEST ENCOUNTER I – Susan Chan MS1247
"Pianist
Susan Chan...shows remarkable clarity of vision and purpose in [the Chinese
works]... The same marvelous clarity I cited earlier serves Susan Chan
handsomely in the western classics
by Beethoven, Liszt, Franck and Chopin. [Chan] relishes the wonderful songlike
quality of the second movement [of the Beethoven], marked sehr singbar
vorgetragen, where the melody harmonizes with itself in a way that shows us
how “Schubertian” Beethoven
could be when it suited his purpose... Liszt's Mephisto Waltz No. 1 is, of
course, programmatic, based on the “Dance at the Village Inn” episode from
Lenau's Faust. Too many pianists have used [Liszt's Mephisto Waltz] to
display formidable technical prowess at the expense of the music. Chan takes the
music as it was intended, quickly but not excessively fast... The final section,
representing the rendezvous in the garden, is as charmingly expressive as I have
heard it on record... Cesar Franck's organ Prelude, Fugue and Variation, Op. 18
is not at all programmatic in intent, but Chan's lucid performance shows us how
evocative “pure” music can be... Chan's
feeling for color and harmony serve her well again in Chopin's Sonata...she
shows a firm grasp of the overall design of Chopin's use of polyphony and
counterpoint..."
CONCERT
GEMS for CELLO – Ashley Sidon; Nicholas Roth MS1245
"...played with a lovely
expressive sound by Sidon."
American Record Guide ~
September / October 2008
LIRICO
LATINO: Songs for Solo Trumpet – James Ackley; Rebecca Wilt MS1246
"Phrasing and
interpretation are vital to a top-notch performance of the music on this
recording, and Ackley, accompanied brilliantly by pianist Rebecca Wilt, more
than meets the task...Ackley
plays with a wonderful combination of sensitivity and fervor.
Phrases ebb and flow, vibrato is controlled perfectly and without affect, and
intensity is achieved without destroying the lyrical nature of these
thoughtfully selected songs. Lirico Latino captures the imagination ..."
Kevin Scully, ITG Journal ~
January 2008
"All
that is needed [here] is a beautiful tone and lots of heart, and Ackley has
plenty of both. The Latin
flavors are found in the piano parts, played by Rebecca Wilt with subtlety,
ease, and flair."
American Record Guide ~ March
/ April 2007
ASA:
Piano Music by Composers of African Descent – William Chapman Nyaho
MS1242
"I
thoroughly enjoyed this disc. The program is well-chosen, with lots of variety.
The 11 composers whose works are offered here are not known quantities in our
country, but they should be."
Kushner, American
Record Guide ~ May / June 2009
"This
release...collects music by black composers in a way that has rarely if ever
been done before, and it's highly recommended to anyone interested in the
intersection of African music with European concert forms. Much of the music has
never been recorded before, and several of the African pieces are real finds...
The music isn't particularly virtuosic for the most part, but Nyaho's way of
finding the threads that connect it all is a kind of virtuosity in itself... a
major find for students of the way African musical ideas have been diffused
around the world."
James
Manheim, All Music Guide ~ March 2009
"Nyaho
is an excellent pianist and gives each piece a bright and enthusiastic reading...
taken together as a survey [the works featured] provide a very interesting
picture of Africa's influence on contemporary art music around the world."
CDHotlist
for Libraries ~ March 2009
ANNA
BON DI VENEZIA: Six Harpsichord Sonatas, Op.2 – Barbara Harbach MS1241
"[Anna Bon's] work remained largely
overlooked but is now the subject of this excellent
release courtesy of Dr.
Barbara Harbach’s commitment and, of course, her skill of performance.
The album would probably have never seen light of day without Dr. Harbach’s
dedication to her chosen cause."
"Harbach
has a fluent technique..."
BBC Music Magazine ~
November 2008
"...Barbara
Harbach is a splendid musician whose commitment to excellence as a performer
informs all of this music with not only Bon's evident spirit of fun but also her
contrasting moods of reflection and energy. In other words, she has taken fairly
ordinary music with a few extraordinary moments and made it all sound rather
excellent by virtue of her interpretive brilliance and total identification with
the material. This is
extraordinary harpsichord-playing by any measure.
I would buy this recording just to hear this woman play...because she elevates
every note and phrase into a realm beyond the written score. This album is a
triumph for Harbach and a vindication of her decision to record these
works."
Fanfare
~ September / October 2008
"Harbach utilizes a beautiful sounding Willard Martin instrument fashioned after a French double manual harpsichord built by François Blanchet; it suits the music perfectly, and Harbach intelligently works with the Martin's various registrations to keep the program overall varied in sound. Those who enjoy and appreciate eighteenth-century keyboard music will certainly not fail to treasure this MSR release."
All Music Guide ~ May 2008
DANIEL
GALAY'S KLASSICAL
KLEZMER – Michele Gingras; Ron Matson MS1240
"We have here some highly
enjoyable and versatile music-making from the Gingras-Matson duo. The songs are
respectful, and certainly not stylised or formalised out of recognition. Instead
they marry classical elements with klezmer ones with real success."
PRESTIDIGITATIONS:
Contemporary Concert Rags by J. L. Zaimont – American Ragtime Ensemble /
David Reffkin MS1238
"[Bubble-Up
Rage is] probably the best new piece for flute and piano that I've heard in a
long time...[Reflective Rag] is
wistful, lyrical - a beautiful remembrance of ragtime that moves me...[Zaimont
and Kosloff's performance of the Snazzy Sonata] is extraordinary for its verve
and ensemble..."
American Record Guide ~ November /
December 2007
"...an
irresistible program of original rags and other pieces of popular Americana that
the composer tweaks to loving, rollicking and poignant effect...
The performances are captivating across the board, including those featuring
Zaimont herself as pianist...the music enchants."
Gramophone ~ October 2007
"Judging from the music on this recording, Zaimont has not only brought the great
rag music we know from the past into the twenty-first century, but she has
created new music that will have a
definite appeal...The disc is well presented, with authoritative notes and good processing. For
me, this was a highly entertaining 57-plus minutes. It's a disc full of good
music that will definitely put a an extra jump in your step!"
Classical
Music Guide, June 2007
EXPLORATIONS:
New Transcriptions for Bassoon – Benjamin Coelho & Uriel Tsachor
MS1237
"[I
encourage you to] revel in Coelho's incredible bassoon
mastery, and enjoy all four of his transcriptions. With the wonderfully
performed and equally wonderfully recorded CD,
Ben proves himself to be one of
the finest bassoonists of his, and indeed all generations. I give it my
strongest recommendation."
IDRS Journal, Volume 31, No.2 [
4 Crows ! ! ! !
]
MIRROR
IMAGE AT THE OPERA – Michelle Stebleton, Lisa Bontrager & Tomoko Kanamaru
MS1234
"[MirrorImage]
sound terrific - excellent technical skills, heartfelt musicality, and perfect
blend (the name is well-deserved... The fine pianist Tomoko Kanamaru edited the
orchestral reductions. Excellent arrangements...
"
EXPLORATIONS:
Music for Solo Bassoon & Piano – Benjamin Coelho & Uriel Tsachor
MS1237
"Of
the talents of [Coelho] there can be no question
- he has a fine,
bold sound with a flirtatious and adept technique...I cannot fault him for a
moment in the way he plays this music, or the depth of understanding of it...MSR
offers excellent mid-hall sound, pianist Uriel Tsachor plays with understanding
and a complimentary verve, and the very highest production values are found
every moment of this disc (and the notes are very good also). Bassoonists
should flock to acquire this album."
Fanfare ~
September / October 2008
"[Benjamin
Coelho is] one of my favorite bassoonists...Without a doubt, these
transcriptions add to the slim bassoon repertoire...[Coelho]
seeks challenge in technique and style...I have enjoyed [Coelho's] performances
the [Schumann] immensely...[In the Brahms] Coelho and Tsachor really put on a
convincing show...courageously presented..."
American Record Guide ~ July / August 2008
DUO
VIRTUOSO – ELARIS DUO: Steven & Larisa Elisha MS1236
"Larisa and Steven Elisha give
impressive performances
of works for violin and cello, with the major work Kodaly’s Duo, Op.7. This
sprawling, 26-minute work is difficult to shape convincingly; technically adept,
these performers try valiantly. Duets by Beethoven, Haydn, Boccherini,
arrangements of Mozart’s Duo K.423 and the Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia are
impressively played."
Turok's Choice ~ Issue
No.208, March 2009
"Duo Virtuosi is the
title of
an impressive debut album by the husband-wife duo of Steven and
Larisa Elisha. Performing on cello and violin, respectively, they are known as the
Elaris Duo. Together, they explore an amazing range of styles, colors and
textures in music by great composers over three centuries. The selections heard
on this disc may be thought of as grand-scale works in which the sonorities
often make it hard to believe they are played by just two string instruments."
Atlanta Audio Society ~
October 2008
VOYAGE A PARIS: Franck, Messiaen, Poulenc & Ravel – Greg McCallum MS1233
ROMANZA:
Works for Trumpet, Bassoon & Orchestra – Guy Few; Nadina Mackie Jackson /
TCO, McGegan
MS1232
"...these
performances are top notch...
Mr. Few's performance of the Hummel Trumpet Concerto is clean and polished.
Phrases are crafted to perfection, and his tone is rounded to a point of
fascination. Ms. Jackson's performance of the concerto is also made her own...
This pair of performers is indeed a good one, and I am glad they are
collaborating as much as they have. Let us hope that this collaboration
continues. ”
"Guy
Few begins the CD beautifully with an excellent interpretation of the Hummel
Trumpet Concerto. [In the
Bassoon Concerto] Nadina's interpretation...gives us three impressive 'lessons'.
The first is in exquisite double-tonguing, the second is in equally exquisite
lyricism, and in the third it is making us literally want to 'dance' to her
interpretation... this
recording is the very best of the Hummel Bassoon Concerto since John
Miller's landmark disc of the 1960s.
It makes the CD worth getting for this work alone! The entire CD is a delightful
'journey' through the age of Romanticism...A final singular word about the
marvelous Toronto Chamber Orchestra and its conductor Nicolas McGegan needs to
be added: Perfecto! They do an incredible job throughout, giving the two artists
a luscious 'canvas' upon which they can freely 'paint' their magical
sonorities...state of the art 'concert-hall' recording technique, and you have a
CD that is equally Perfecto:
a fabulous recording that I cannot recommend highly enough. Once again I am
dazzled by Nadina's musical prowess on the bassoon and profoundly jealous of her
formidable technique. Braves to all involved in this recording! ”
Rating: 5 Crows! The
Double Reed ~December 2008
"This latest release by Ms.
Jackson couples her once again with trumpet wiz Guy Few in a superb program
consisting of some wonderful music... The Hummel Trumpet Concerto is played
here to perfection by Few.
[Few provides a] vigorous performance that ensures full competitive standing...
my favorite [Hummel] Bassoon Concerto to this date (that of Dag Jensen on a
Capriccio release) cannot really top this
wonderful reading by Jackson, one of the best, if not the best on disc.
This is a wonderfully proportioned reading that simply sparkles. Jackson’s
reading [of the Weber] meets all challenges while kicking up a lot of dust in
the dizzy final pages, great fun and spirited playing. The sound is very
naturally captured, as are all of the best MSR releases, without undue
microphone placement on the soloists. I
cannot imagine a better put together recital,
for the specialist and the generalist—you will love it."
Audiophile Audition ~ August
2008
"Seductively and shimmeringly gorgeous…"
World Magazine ~ June 2008
GREGORY
PARTAIN PIANO RECITAL – Rachmaninov, Scarlatti, Barnes, Beethoven MS1231
"...suave and
comfortable performances of three Rachmaninoff Preludes. He handles the B-flat's
tumultuous left-hand figurations with ease and, in the polytextural central
section, prepares an unusually protracted and supremely controlled ritard...a
lively, vivacious [Scarlatti] A major sonata...Partain
[has] superior fingerwork throughout Beethoven's Appassionata...[In
the Brahms, the] tempo relationships and transition emerge in a seamless,
cumulative arc. Appropriately, Partain's tone fills out and opens up: notice how
he achieves a beautiful legato phrasing through fingers alone, scarcely touching
the sustain pedal. "
Gramophone ~ December 2007
"...some of the best
Scarlatti I've ever heard...13 minutes of stunning playing - crisp, clear,
articulated, and phrased. There is balance and rhythmic vitality in every
measure. Dare I say it, these
approach the same level as Horowitz's legendary recordings...I
enjoy Partain's performance very much [of the Brahms Variations]...I enjoyed a
performance [of the Appassionata] that fully realizes the quote ["strong,
intelligent, unshowy pianism'] "
American Record Guide ~
November / December 2007
"Gregory
Partain is a gifted pianist, and every item is intelligently and sympathetically
played. Partain's strengths show to best advantage in the group of Scarlatti
Sonatas, especially the beautifully judged account of the pensive F minor, and
in a thoughtful, sensitively shaped and expressive rendition of Brahms' rarely
heard Original Theme variations, to which Partain
imparts a cumulative power I have seldom heard brought out to such vivid effect.
The recording is good." [Performance: 4 of
5 stars]
BBC Music Magazine
~ November 2007
"Gregory Partain
demonstrates his ability to shift rapidly and deftly between greatly differing
compositional styles. [In the] Rachmaninov preludes...Partain's exemplary skills
in voicing the dense compositions [are demonstrated]. The melody clearly rises
above the harmony and accompanimental figures almost as if it was being sung.
Inner voices are remarkably well-articulated and there's no trace of
over-pedaling. [In the] three sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti...Partain
effortlessly shifts from the lush, emotive Rachmaninov to the crisp, energetic,
and elegant figures of the Baroque. The A major Sonata contains passages of
repeated notes that are executed with almost impossible speed and precision. The album culminates with a very
satisfying rendition of Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata. All of his
aforementioned attributes come together here — brilliant clarity, crisp
articulation, and a magnificent sense of pacing... this album is an excellent
introduction to an artist whose career should be watched with anticipation"
All
Music Guide, October 2007
BARTOK,
BENSHOOF, CORAY & STRAVINSKY – Alaska Pro Music MS1230
"[the
Alaska Pro Music] let loose...reveling in Benshoof's spiky rhythms and jazzy
idiom; at the same time,
though, they bring an appropriate sense of serenity to the poetic slow
movements...The group sells [Sanctuary] well, and the dark ending leaves quite
an impression on the listener."
American Record Guide ~ July
/ August 2008
HAMPSON
SISLER: THE COSMIC DIVIDE – NSO Ukraine / Leytush MS1229
"There
is much beauty and peace [in the Rondo].
Valery Michailuk is the excellent soloist...Grandgeorge delivers the text [of
The Cosmic Divide] with ecclesiastical authority. [The Russian Song possesses]
great delicacy, both in the arrangement and in the performance, together with a
sense of restrained power...It is a great credit to MSR Classics that the
recording itself copes in such an exemplary fashion with Sisler's demands."
Fanfare ~
July / August 2008
"...what results
from the team-up [of Sisler and Leytush] is quite beautiful music and, in the
case of the Four Impromptus a
possible addition to the standard repertoire.
It's a terrific piece of music based on hymn tunes and chorale themes. It
has melodies Howard Hanson would die for.
You should buy this just for this one work. The Cosmic Divide is a very
listenable work...This man should be much better known than he is."
American Record Guide ~ March
/ April 2007
THREE
CENTURIES FOR FOUR BRASS – Metropolitan Brass Quartet MS1228
"Originally
released 25 years ago, this
recording remains as gorgeous as it is revelatory."
World
Magazine ~ April 2008
"...this
one is a gem. It is a pleasure to hear the MBQ's warm
and round sound, superior intonation and blend, and easy way with difficult
passages."
American
Record Guide ~ January / February 2008
"This
is a very welcome reissue...It presents both 16th century and modern works for
brass - all of them except possibly the Gabrieli being new to most ears. The
Metropolitan Brass Quartet was an important part of the renaissance of brass
chamber music...At a time when nearly all brass ensembles were quintets, the
Metropolitan’s had a different sound which was modeled more on the string
quartet and early choral polyphony."
Audiophile Audition ~
October 2007
BOLEN
& DEVRIES PIANO DUO MS1227
"What's
striking about these pieces for two pianos is that they don't sound as if
they're being performed by four hands.
So add the ability to make twice as much sound like "once as much" to
the reasons for marveling at Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Poulenc and Michaud (and the
ability to keep the unity luminously intact to the reasons for admiring Bolen
and De Vries)."
"The
team of Bradley Bolen and Vincent de Vries are... certainly quick on the draw in
music that requires mutual rapport, precise timing, and a real zest for high
profile rhythms... The program of works by Brahms, Poulenc, Rachmaninoff, and
Milhaud gives these artists ample opportunity to really show their stuff.
Atlanta
Audio Society ~ March 2009
"This is a great
two-piano program..the variety of touch and color heard here makes me realize
how astute Brahms was to create this second version of [the Variations].
There is an audible excitement
that Bolen & DeVries bring to this music that cannot be captured by a full
symphony orchestra.
It's a perfect opening work for a two-piano recital. The Rachmaninoff Suite...is
given a solid performance here. The brilliant Scaramouche is a perfect closing
work for the recital."
American Record Guide
~ July / August 2008
"[Two pianists
of one mind - drama delicacy and plenty of fun, too...a well-matched
effort...[Bolen and DeVries'] reading of Brahms' Variations on a Theme By Haydn
highlights the proper melodic and harmonic material at every turn...consistently
propelled forward. A performance of Poulenc's Elegie finds their keyboard attack
melding together to the point that they almost sound like a single pianist,
delicately unfurling the work's quiet intensity in sync. Rachmaninov's Suite
becomes a joyful jam session...these pianists [are] steeped in the composer's
language. Milhaud's Scaramouche is a romp.
Bolen and DeVries are on point
throughout, avoiding overblown, speaker-buzzing thick textures."
Gramophone ~ June 2008
THE
AMERICAN STRING PROJECT – Live at Benaroya Hall 2006 MS1226
"In the first
movement of the Beethoven the targeted attacks of the sforzandos are
particularly virtuosic. The minuet is perfectly poised and the last movement
invigoratingly fleet. This remarkable performance [of the Shostakovich] has a
compelling sweep that might well be envied by many a conventional string
quartet. Three Sarasate pieces...[are] accomplished here with great elan. The
technical values of this live performance recording are superb. Let's hope there
will be more recordings from these imaginative, accomplished musicians."
Fanfare ~ May / June 2008
"[This
is] the best string orchestral playing TC has heard in decades.
Virtuosic not only in precision (parts of the Beethoven finale are reminiscent
of Toscanini's recording of Paganini's Perpetual Motion with the entire first
violin section of the NBC ) but in expressive nuances. If this group ever gets
around to recording the standard string orchestra repertory...the results - if
anything like the playing here - should be spectacular"
Turok's Choice ~ December
2007
"The
American String Project... hums seamlessly through a program of Beethoven,
Shostakovich and Sarasate, both intimate and virtuosic at once.
The Beethoven enjoys a muscular, lithe realization under leader Eriko Sato.
Forward motion is the order of the performance, and the two interior movements
gain authority and girth in the arrangement. The dark, deep colors of the lower
strings add a romantic ethos to Beethoven’s natural tendency to make C Minor a
surging modality of expression. Leader Maria Larionoff shapes the massive
Twelfth Quartet of Shostakovich, whose two-movement structure resembles
Beethoven’s Op. 111 Piano Sonata. Like Barshai’s arrangement of the Eighth
Quartet, Lieberman’s distribution of parts amplifies Shostakovich’s angular
polyphony and sullen, martial pessimism."
Audiophile Audition ~
September 2007
THIS
TIME IT'S PERSONAL – Stephen J. Ketterer MS1225
"The acoustics
are remarkably good, and the organ certainly has the resources for this varied
program...Ketterer plays with an appropriate sense of style...solo reeds are
potent, the strings are quite nice, and the full ensemble well-balanced...Good
recording by a very talented performer."
American
Record Guide, September/October 2007
THOMAS
BALTZAR: WORKS FOR UNACCOMPANIED VIOLIN – Patrick Wood MS1224
"Thomas Baltzar is a
little-known German violinist and composer who is getting a well-deserved airing
in this new premiere recording... British-Mexican violinist Patrick Wood
thoughtfully plays the works. His
tone is even, pure, and warm, and his intonation is spot-on.
His light, gentle playing adds just the right shimmer to the simple beauty of
each short piece."
Strings ~ July 2008
"[Baltzar's]
complete music for solo violin, excellently played by Patrick
Wood, is
impressive as well as historically important."
Turok's
Choice ~ June 2008
"The
pieces are...endowed with sophisticated turns of phrase and harmonic
personality. Certainly the discernment and imagination Baltzar invested in his
unaccompanied works were destined to provide curious violinists with ample
technical challenges, as well as musical rewards. Patrick
Wood ...makes a splendid case for Baltzar, playing the collection with graceful
and fervent assurance. His sound is rich and nuanced, his command of the
difficulties complete."
Gramophone ~ May 2008
"Wood's
playing does great justice to Baltzar's works and speaks well of his exhaustive
efforts to unearth them. His playing is very strong and muscular, much like
Nathan Milstein's playing of Bach. Intonation is quite precise, and his voicing
of the polyphonic texture of the music allows listeners to follow the melody
easily as it wends its way through the range of the violin. ...
this album is a welcome discovery of unheard solo violin music performed
convincingly"
All
Music Guide ~ March 2008
MARK
ZUCKERMAN: NEW MUSIC FOR STRINGS – Seattle Sinfonia; Momenta Quartet MS1223
"Zuckerman's
works are...highly accessible;
coupled with the detailed program notes, listeners are carefully guided through
some very enjoyable musical metaphors. The Elegy for Victims of Terrorism, heard
on this CD in both its string quartet and string orchestra versions, is quite
moving and makes the album worthwhile on its own... Sound quality is
appealing...and the ensembles are successful in guiding listeners through some
of the more minimalistic components of the compositions."
All
Music Guide, June 2007
MERCURIAL LOVE: Songs of Dowland and Purcell – Jama Jandrokovic; Jory Vinikour MS1222
"vivacious
performance…pearly tone…sung
by Jandroković with a twinkling relish of potential pleasures…"
MusicWeb
International ~ September 2008
"Jāma
Jandroković...is
in possession of a light, lyrical, sweetly subtle voice that suits these songs
very well...From [Dowland to Purcell] there are simply no
finer tunes that have ever floated through the air...the soprano has her way
with these composers to excellent effect."
Audiophile Audition ~ July
2008
"From Jāma
Jandroković... comes an offering as unexpected as it is purely delightful.
In repertoire that we’ve been used to hearing sung by either a countertenor or
a tenor with a distinctively "white" vocal quality, Ms.
Jandroković’s light lyric soprano and seamlessly flawless vocal
production seems to float over some of the most formidable obstacles in the
literature with deceptive
ease. She is also a very sensitive interpreter of a song text. Her noticeable
passion for poetry is a vital requisite for songs written in a great period of
the English lyric."
Atlanta Audio Society ~ July
2008
THE
DOUBLE BASS – Robert Oppelt & Friends MS1221
"The
present CD is [Oppelt's] first solo outing on disc; it makes for an
impressive showcase for his talents...[this
CD] is superbly executed by a crew of fine musicians and presented in an
atmospheric and well-balanced recording."
Fanfare
~ September/October 2007
"The
double bass isn't the half of it! The Rossini duo is played with vim and vigor
[and] with a light touch...Oppelt is a fine musician and has put together an
entertaining and unusual program."
American
Record Guide ~ July/August 2007
BEETHOVEN
& JS BACH – Richard Sher; Bernard Rose
MS1218
"...it is
no surprise that his disc is successful."
Turok's Choice ~ Issue No.205,
December 2008
THE
LIGHT WRAPS YOU – Michele Fiala & Friends
MS1217
"A classy affair
from start to finish...
Certainly Fiala, as well as her colleagues and mentors, must be very
proud and satisfied with this entire intelligent effort."
The Double Reed ~ November
2008
"This
is a voice fresh as a crisp December morning. Her oboe is singing, playful and
expansive, meeting every stated requirement... [Cats In The Kitchen] is
absolutely delightful... Let this class act wrap around you. Wrap up a few
copies and bless you loved ones with a cherished Christmas gift."
WKU Public Radio ~ October 2008
"The standard of playing is consistently high, and the music
is enjoyable and well written.
Well worth listening to."
MusicWeb International ~ November 2008
"Fiala
seems to enjoy herself in [the style
of these works]."
American Record Guide ~ July / August
2008
WILL
AYTON: A RELIQUARY FOR WILLIAM BLAKE – Parthenia; Alexandra Montano MS1216
"a lovely
program...[Parthenia] supply the glistening instrumental backdrop...[In the
Reliquary] Ayton's sense of style, counterpoint and vocal writing are all
expert...Ms. Montano sings expressively and without affectation. This is a pleasant, unpretentious surprise, attractively
performed and recorded."
American Record Guide ~
November / December 2007
"Possibly
the most aesthetically cohesive setting of [William] Blake's poetry and prose to
music yet...The
setting of William Blake's verse to music has proved irresistible to everyone
from Allen Ginsberg (ridiculous) and Robin Williamson (sublime) to William
Bolcom (both) and Van Morrison (neither). For sheer consistency and elegance of
tone, however, nothing equals A Reliquary for William Blake. Composed by the
American Will Ayton and performed with passionate delicacy by the viol consort
Parthenia and the mezzo-soprano Alexandra Montano, Reliquary creates a musical
setting for 14 Blake poems that, like the poetry itself, is simple on its
surface but alive with richer goings-on just beneath."
World
Music, June 2007
ANFANGS
("BEGINNINGS") Solo Guitar Recital – Tuomo Tirronen MS1214
"The care with which
[Tirronen] has assembled these pieces, his sense of timing, and his devoted
advocacy create an intriguing experience for the listener. These are thoughtful,
pensive compositions...communicative and evocative...Tirronen
plays with dedication, precision, and sympathy. His performances are dignified,
detailed, and allow everything to sound with maximum impact.
Recommended to those with a taste for exploration."
Fanfare ~ November / December 2007
"In
this fine debut [Tirronen] doesn't tackle so much as finesse his way around a
disc's worth of contemporary guitar repertoire...[On this album] Tirronen has
assembled an arc that seamlessly flows from one composition to the next in the
quietist swash of notes...Tirronen lets beauty have its natural way
while fully
engaged in the language of modern music. What emerges is neither neo-romantic or
New Age but a serious and profound program that asks the listener to contemplate
with almost reverent stillness on the being of sound and the soundness of
being.."
American
Record Guide ~ September / October 2007
REVER
EN COULEURS – Lisa Garner Santa; Gabriel Sanchez MS1213
"I am quite taken
[with this disc]...It is all magnificent music, played with finesse. The flutist
has the kind of tone I prefer - rich, colorful, perfectly in control, and always
in tune. Her phrasing is all well-shaped and thoughtful, just what this elegant
music deserves. Sanchez is an equal partner.
[Garner Santa] is a truly remarkable artist with dazzling musical ability.
Flutists and non-flutists alike should find this wonderful disc. I look forward
to hearing more from this duo."
American
Record Guide ~ May / June 2008
INTO
THE 21ST CENTURY – Jeffrey Powers; Vincent De Vries MS1212
"...performed
with virtuosic flair, emotion and beauty. Jeffrey
Powers is an excellent horn player and musician who plays with apparent ease and
abundant expressive skill.
He and pianist Vincent DeVries play together beautifully - their ensemble
precision is excellent...you
will enjoy this CD."
The Horn Call
~ February 2008
"This
is a wonderful, life-affirming disc that
is expressly not hornist-only territory. Jeffrey Powers is an expressive player
who brings a sense of nobility to the music on this disc. His repertoire choices
are fine ones too. All credit, too, to MSR Classics for getting this music to
the public view. In short, an excellently presented and performed disc preserved
in stunning recorded sound."
Fanfare ~ November /
December 2007
DIVINE
HARMONY: TELEMANN SACRED CANTATAS – Patrice Djerejian; ECO / Sir Philip Ledger
MS1211
"Djerejian
again impresses through her ability to move her weighty voice with agility and
for her capacity for expressing the varying moods of her texts... Ledger's
leadership from the keyboards is predictably deft...an
appealing Telemann package..."
American Record
Guide ~ January / February 2007
"Contralto
Patrice Djerejian builds on the success of her earlier all-Handel release Love
Lost and Found [MS1091] with Divine Harmony, a program of rarely heard sacred
cantatas by Georg Philipp Telemann... In these cantatas, typically consisting of
two florid arias with a soberly meditative recitative in between, Patrice
Djerejian gives a good account of herself in the Baroque decorations that
embellish the vocal line, underscoring the intent of the verse...an attractive
program."
Atlanta
Audio Society ~ September 2007
FRANZ
LISZT: ROMANTIC WORKS FOR PIANO & ORCHESTRA – Joshua Pierce MS1210
"Joshua
Pierce's stylish elan and genuine instinct for Lisztian bravura certainly serve
him well in these scores...The
Hunagrain Fantasy's unaccompanied piano passages convey both forward drive and
rhetorical breathing room, while the Wanderer Fantasy's outer section dialogues
are firm, decisive and, as the saying goes, 'full of beans'...Lisztians will
appreciate the informative, well written booklet-notes."
Gramophone ~
August 2008
"Both
of the previous reviews [of Pierce's Liszt Piano Concertos release] were
favorable, and I can only echo the superlatives used before...Pierce
delivers very exhilarating performances
[of the Hungarian Fantasy and Rhapsodie Espagnole]...The Russian orchestras'
energy is quite in keeping with the kind of pianism Pierce displays. If you
enjoyed the Liszt concertos, this makes a perfect companion."
American
Record Guide ~ July / August 2008
"Pierce's own 'fabulous
technical virtuosity' is on thrilling display..."
World Magazine ~ June 2008
"...spectacular."
Turok's Choice ~ June
2008
"... I'm
a huge fan of pianist Joshua Pierce,
and danged if he hasn't convinced me...that the Rhapsodie Espagnole is
worth my time. As for Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, no convincing was
needed. Both Russian orchestras are excellent."
CD HotList for Libraries ~
March 2008
SCHOENBERG:
Pierrot Lunaire; Brettl-Lieder– Jennifer Goltz MS1208
"Goltz
has a lovely voice and her colleagues are completely comfortable in Schoenberg's
musical language. Pierrot is pure enchantment. I
don't know a better performance of this piece and would be content to have this
as the only one in my library."
American Record Guide ~
September / October 2008
"This
is a most judicious pairing...[the Brettl-Lieder] are lyrical and
accessible...[they] take a highly stylised and sophisticated approach to the
double entendre, symbolism and eroticism of the texts. Soprano Jennifer Goltz
sings them as such. One can almost imagine her on the stage of a smoky cafe,
teasing the crowd with suggestive gestures and entrancing patrons with a voice
full of subtle allure and sprightly energy. On disc, she is captivating enough.
The connection [between the Brettl-Lieder and Pierrot Lunaire] seems to have
informed Goltz and the performers of the slyly named ensemble, Inauthentica, as
well. She is brilliant
again, and the California-based ensemble present Pierrot as if they had played
it night after night in a theatre. It's a charged performance;
with all the musicians acting like characters themselves in the twisted tale.
While you get more value with other Pierrot recordings paired with Schoenberg's
more famous music, this disc is a preferable way to enter that 20th-century
masterpiece."
Gramophone ~ July 2008
"... The
idea of pairing the wonderful Pierrot Lunaire with [Brettl-Lieder] is a stroke
of genius. Jennifer Goltz makes a fine swipe at both of these works, her Brettl-Lieder
being among
the best, and she knows how to
sell the work...Goltz brings a certain sense of the non-clinical to [Pierrot]
that is very attractive. Fine sound, excellent performances from a surprising
source, and one to be commended."
Audiophile Audition ~
June 2008
THE
SCHUBERT RECORDINGS, Volume III – Joshua Pierce MS1206
"In the
keenly anticipated follow-up to Volumes I-II of his Schubert series, Joshua
Pierce gives us a selection of piano pieces as delightful as they are mostly
unfamiliar".
Phil Muse, Audio Society of
Atlanta ~ April 2010
THE
SCHUBERT RECORDINGS, Volume II – Joshua Pierce MS1205
"Joshua
Pierce succeeds brilliantly; every time something repeats, it is varied in the
most subtle manner, so that it retains its place in the structure without
becoming redundant. Beautiful
music, performed distinctively, with great feeling."
Turok's Choice - Issue
No.205, December 2008
"Pierce
is a no nonsense performer...the music is left to speak for itself...[Pierce's
playing] is always direct and fully reliable...Pierce demonstrates a powerful
approach to this music. Climaxes are strongly stated...[Pierce's playing] is
quite excellent overall...I
found myself admiring and then starting to love his forthright interpretations.
Notes and recording leave nothing to be desired."
American Record Guide
- November / December 2008
"Seriousness
and breadth rightly give way to lyrical fantasy in Pierce's interpretation of
the C minor Impromptu...Pierce's
singing legato fully emerges in a fluid, flexible account of the A-flat...I
appreciate the concluding F minor for Pierce's crisp articulation and genuine
feeling for the composer's syncopated touches."
Gramophone - November 2008
"Pierce
brings a formidable, fluent technique to these familiar keyboard staples...The
evolving melos of the G-flat Major Impromptu Pierce accomplishes by emphasizing
the bass trill in the manner of the posthumous B-flat Major Sonata. The A-flat
Major has Pierce relishing its deliberate ambiguity of modality... The C-sharp
Minor middle section brings out rich colors from the Pierce palette...[In the F
Minor Impromptu] Pierce applies a soothing legato to the filigree of the D-flat
Major/Minor Trio section ... The piu Presto coda [in the F Minor Allegro
scherzando] proves a moment Mr. Pierce obviously anticipated with his customary
zeal."
Audiophile Audition - October
2008
"Joshua
Pierce has become one of my favorite pianists in recent years, and the next time
someone asks me why, I'm just going to refer them to this disc of Schubert
impromptus, which Pierce plays with the perfect balance of
inwardness and emotion. You can't play Schubert well without understanding his
strange and tragic personality, and on this disc you get the feeling that the
composer is being channeled through the pianist. Is there higher praise than
that?"
CD
HotList for Libraries ~ October 2008
"This
new recording of the Impromptus, Op. 90 and 142, Volume 2 of a projected
3-volume Schubert series by pianist Joshua Pierce, is a genuine delight. In
these eight pieces, probably the composer’s most instantly recognized and
best-loved works for the keyboard, Pierce shows a very natural rubato, an
appropriately affective use of the pedals, and a keen feeling for the rhythm
and flow of the music."
Atlanta Audio Society ~
August 2008
THE
SCHUBERT RECORDINGS, Volume I – Joshua Pierce MS1204
"[Pierce]
applied his mind and heart to every phrase. Nothing is straightforward;
everything is interpreted, and there's a reason behind every gesture.
It is nice to hear such
thoughtful playing..[Pierce's Schubert]...is sweet-natured and easy-going rather
than temperamental. Tempos are not ponderous...in the Moments Musicaux Mr.
Pierce phrases things beautifully, and theres even some atmosphere - some poetry
to add to the meaningful prose..."
American Record Guide ~
November / December
2007
"Pierce's
interpretations of Schubert's B-flat Sonata and Moments Musicaux convey
undeniable enthusiasm, energy and sincerity...[a] gifted, charismatic pianist...Pierce's
driving left hand generates gripping momentum in [Moment] No.5. Note, too, the
eloquent lyricism he brings to No.4's Trio and the second and sixth
pieces...Simplicity and beauty also distinguish his well proportioned account of
the Allegretto. MSR's
excellent engineering accurately mirrors the dulcert, singing sonority that
Pierce carries with him from concert to concert and piano to piano"
Gramophone ~ October 2007
"Two
generations ago this all-Schubert recital would have been one by Artur Schnabel.
Joshua Pierce... plays
the posthumous B-flat Sonata in a literalist, non-pedantic style, with a
fine sense of the dramatic rumbles and pauses that afflict Schubert's pointed
thoughts on emotional loss. If Pierce's playing reminds me of anyone else's, it
is Claude Frank... Pierce handles the agitated triplets and harmonic shifts in the
first movement smoothly and on a large scale... Pierce evokes a high, tense
singing-line, and he projects the intricate left-hand bass harmonies without
forcing them...The A
Major spun-out melody by Pierce quite sings a song worthy of Keats... When Pierce wants the golden hammer, he uses
it, only to transform the percussion into silver bells... Pregnant
pauses, an outburst of passion, and attention to harmonic colors [in Moments
Musicaux] set Pierce's
rendition along some fine realizations, not the least of which is that by Rudolf
Serkin on CBS."
Audiophile
Audition ~ July 2007
"Pianist
Joshua Pierce gets off to
a great start in Vol. 1
of what promises to be a series of Franz Schubert’s piano music... He
approaches the opening movement of the [B-flat] sonata in a straightforward
manner, preferring to capture the abundant beauties en
passant, without too much fuss... There is a fatalistic current underlying
the most innocent melodies...and Pierce is sensitive to its presence."
Atlanta
Audio Society, March 2007
COMMANDING
STATEMENTS: Chamber Music for Trumpet - Peter Wood & Friends MS1203
"Wood
is a tasteful player with a consistently full, pure, and pleasant tone quality.
This is a fine program, well prepared and executed."
American Record Guide ~ March
/ April 2007
BACCHANALE:
Music for Trumpet & Bassoon - Guy Few & Nadina Mackie Jackson MS1201
"Guy
Few is a versatile musician whose work as a trumpeter and pianist have earned my
praise more than once. I
am more impressed than ever, and I hope he continues to record. Ms.
Mackie Jackson has a dark, burnished tone and a sensuous way of playing
that makes the bassoon seem like a more modern instrument than is often the
case. Fine support by Kevin Mallon and the Toronto Chamber Orchestra; excellent
sound."
American Record Guide ~ March
/ April 2007
"... in a
performance as fine as the one recorded here [the Hindemith is] worth a
listen... The rhythmic quirkiness and witty lightheartedness of [Bacchanale's]
second section make it a fun piece that deserves wider exposure... The disc is
filled out with arrangements of two short Shostakovich character pieces that are
the highlights of the album. Few
and Jackson play with polished tone, immaculate intonation, and infectious high
spirits; it's obvious
they're having a blast."
All Music Guide ~ November
2007
"...stunningly
beautiful in every way...pure
virtuosity by both instruments...gorgeously together and breathtakingly in
tune...."
The Double
Reed ~ April 2007
BEETHOVEN:
COMPLETE PIANO CONCERTOS – Joshua Pierce / Bystrik Rezucha MS1200
"Joshua
Pierce is an excellent pianist [with a] lightness of touch that doesn’t
preclude a sonorous tone and a flexible, even playful approach to phrasing that
never pulls the line out of shape...As
for the standard concertos, Pierce’s work is consistent... He and
conductor Režucha maintain tempos at a good clip...but they don’t rush the
music...Pierce
plays with energy, substance, and fullness,
without feeling that, because this is Beethoven, he must hammer the klavier.
The Slovak State Philharmonic pulls
through professionally, with the conductor insisting on crisp playing in terms
of tempo and articulation...
Salzman contributes smart liner notes...[Pierce's] performances of the Big Five
stand high among other recent efforts."
"The
American's bravura is polished and often fearless...this
more-than-complete set has much to offer...a technically stellar, exuberant and
often illuminating traversal...[the Concerto in E-flat] is well played by
Pierce, expressive yet keeping within Classical parameters...[in the Concerto
No.2] Pierce's playing is energized and brilliant with nice shade in the
cadenzas. The soloist is equally sensitive in the Adagio...Pierce brings wit to
the rather oddball original Rondo of No.1, bringing out the insistent staccato
humour and finessing the mercurial shifts...In the First Concerto proper,
Pierce's light-fingered articulation is well suited to early Beethoven and again
the cadenza is superb, spun out with sparkling virtuosity and phrasing that
leads the ear on...In the slow movement, Pierce floats the main theme in a
natural way...[the] fast tempo and vivid articulation are scintillating...an
exhilarating performance...[In No.3] the cadenza is again dazzling...The Largo
is refined and elegant...[Pierce shows] speed and brilliance...[In the G major]
the playing is faultless...[In the Emperor] Pierce is at his finest, with fleet
yet bracingly vital and vividly characterised solo playing. [In this set]
the
performances are never less than involving, technically commanding and
delightful."
Gramophone
- June 2007
"Joshua
Pierce...proves an exciting pianist in classical repertory.
The fast movements bristle with excitement, giving the strong impression of
concert performance...Pierce and company produce some exciting Beethoven. [In
the earlier works] Pierce's no-nonsense approach and clear, detached fingerwork
make a fine effect. [These recordings] have much to admire..."
American
Record Guide, March / April 2007
"How
does Joshua Pierce play Beethoven? How is it different? What’s magical about
it? Is it the emphasis on rhythmic groupings, creating timbre with rhythms, or
the utter lack of exaggeration, the fluidity, the simplicity, even? ... [The]
special quality of balanced self-expression is what makes Joshua’s
interpretation unique,
in its unpretentious but dazzling clarity. No exaggeration here, no excessive
rubato or aggressive dynamics. It makes Beethoven’s music come through exactly
as it did historically, somewhere between Mozart and Schubert.""
Sequenza
21, February 2007
"Beethoven's
complete piano concertos...are strikingly played by Joshua Pierce with involved
accompaniments by the Slovak State Philharmonic under Bystrik Rezucha...yet
another version of these concertos must offer something special to be
competitive, and this set does - Pierce's unceasing energy and his uncanny sense
of rhythm. The finest performers manage their accelerandos and ritards
so that there is an eventual compensation that evens out the musical flow from
time to time. For Pierce, this sort of compensation is constantly at work; it
becomes central to his interpretations, which take on tension and excitement
accordingly, illuminating this familiar music in an unfamiliar way. Technically,
Pierce is impeccable...If
your collection does not contain these pieces, the set can serve as a fine
introduction; as an alternative to more standard interpretations, it makes a
fine second version."
Turok's
Choice, December 2006
THE
END OF THE MATTER / Eric Berlin & Friends MS1199
Throughout
it all, Berlin plays with a flawless tone and an adaptive sense of
style, no matter what the
composers come up with."
Times Union
~ May 11, 2008
"Eric
Berlin has all the elements one expects from a trumpet player -
boldness, big sound, impressive technique - as well as the things that make a
complete musician: tonal variety, ability and willingness to blend, and
expressiveness. Eduardo Leandro is a superb percussionist...Lynn Klock is a very
good player..."
American
Record Guide ~ January / February 2008
"At
the risk of succumbing to too much optimism, one can imagine the
"spacey" feel of Berlin’s performances’ introducing
progressive-rock fans arrested by the gimmick-laden but musically accomplished
likes of Keith Emerson and Walter/Wendy Carlos to the deeper, wider worlds to
which their more serious moments point."
World
Magazine ~ January 2008.
PAUL
LUSTIG DUNKEL - IN RECITAL / Peter Basquin MS1198
"I
admire the courage to release an unadulterated recital like this...the raw power
of the performance, the audible joy of sharing great music, and the sound of a
receptive audience...give us a
truly rewarding experience...Bravo."
American
Record Guide ~
September / October
2007
"Dunkel's
transcription of [the Debussy] almost makes it sound as it if was originally
conceived for the flute...Dunkel
dispenses [the virtuosic Briccialdi] with no apparent effort"
Gramophone ~ October
2007
WILLIAM
BOLCOM: WORKS FOR VIOLIN & PIANO / Renata Artman Knific; Lori Sims MS1197
"Renata Knific and
Lori Sims ... collaboration in three of William Bolcom's violin sonatas bears
the imprimatur of Bolcom himself, who wrote the notes. Knific and Sims play [the
First Sonata] with crackling, edgy energy in the more extroverted passages, and
they bring an uneasy calm to the more meditative ones. Knific's
tone
remains confidently strong in
the upper registers, upon which Bolcom frequently calls... Their rhythmic zest
in the finale brings the Sonata to a more traditional-sounding conclusion than
the earlier musical materials might have led a listener to expect... The duo's
rhythmic incisiveness [in the Second Sonata] help defines the character of each
of these disparate movements... Knific and Sims play [Graceful Ghost] more
impudently and more slyly [than Shaham] so that the frequently recurring theme
doesn't quickly wear out its welcome in the middle. The engineers have captured
the performers close up, with especially strong effect at the end of the Fourth
Sonata. Recommended principally to those who admire the music of Bolcom, but
everybody should enjoy at least the rag."
Fanfare ~ January/February 2008
"For anyone
unfamiliar with the violin sonatas of William Bolcom, or who has heard them but
do not own this particular recording, stop what you're doing and buy it.
Violinist Renata Artman Knific and pianist Lori Sims...offer an astonishingly
commanding and engaging performance of the "Second,"
"Third," and "Fourth" sonatas. MSR's recorded sound on this
CD is especially clear, allowing every note to be heard in even the densest,
most aggressive passages. Intonation is all but flawless, and Knific's sound
varies easily between the savage and the sweet. Her palate of tone colors is
seemingly endless. Sims' piano playing is equally vibrating and varied. The
cleanliness of her playing is remarkable considering the demands Bolcom makes of
the pianist. Together, Knific and Sims perform as if they were a single
instrument. They match each other's temperaments, articulations, phrasing, and
character in a way usually associated with duos that have been playing together
for decades. This
CD is absolutely a necessary addition to virtually any collection and is
recommended without reservation."
All Music Guide ~ October
2007
RONDO
BRILLIANT – Joshua Pierce / Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra / Rezucha
MS1196
"The
world of pianistic extravagance is boldly served on this new disc...in which the
soloist has ample opportunity to demonstrate agility, athleticism and sheer
artistic chutzpah. Each piece has charming music amid the pyrotechnics...Joshua
Pierce, once admired mainly for his advocacy of new music, is an inexhaustible
champion
of these luxurious showpieces, he has the facility to tame every technical beast
and clarify the thickest of textures...Bystrik Rezucha and the Slovak State
Philharmonic Orchestra give their colleague warm, vivid support."
Gramophone, July 2007
"Pianist
Joshua Pierce has assembled a quintet of virtuoso concert works by a diverse set
of Romantic composers, a series...certainly demonstrative of digital
prowess...[The Weber] finds in Pierce
a passionate advocate of
its several labyrinthine episodes...Exuberant and self-assured, [Mendelssohn's]
Rondo emanates a jaunty air as it cascades to a fiery conclusion that has Pierce
exhibiting powerful 16th-note triplets and octaves in regal fashion."
Audiophile Audition, June 2007
"Pierce
is a fine player..[he] plays with great
rhythmic vitality and energy...his
passagework is crystal clear."
MusicWeb International, March 2007
"Pierce
plays viruosically;
his interpretations are as enjoyable as the music..."
Turok's
Choice, February 2007
"[Rondo
Brilliant] is an imaginative blend of early romantic works for piano and
orchestra...Pierce makes [the Hummel] a heady romp, handily rivaling [Chandos
artist] Howard Shelley in agile fingerwork and leaving sprawled in the dust both
Klaus Hellwig on Koch and Rudolf Macudzinski on a Fidelio LP...Pierce simply
plays the hell out of it [with] crystal clear tone...In the Mendelssohn, Pierce
once again goes to town - it's an exhilarating affair, yet entirely at the
service of the music...The Reinecke is a real find! Pierce responds with solid
tone and an affecting gravitas, well supported by the Slovak players...this is a
major addition to the romantic piano literature...Pierce's buoyant approach [to
the Czerny] adds to the fun...there's more than enough here to recommend this
one"
American Record Guide ~
September/October 2006
TEACHER,
TASKMASTER, FRIEND – Alpin Hong MS1195
"[Alpin
Hong] offers vibrantly etched performances...He
casts a keen ear for textural clarity and structure on Bach's Chromatic Fantasy
and Fugue, even within lavish sonorities that bask in the concert grand's many-splendoured
possibilities...To Mendelssohn's Rondo capriccioso Hong applies the nimblest of
touch, finding the lilting and brilliant qualities in the scampering material,
while also lingering sensitively in poetic passages...He shapes Mendelssohn's On
Wings of Song with utmost attention to lyrical tenderness...he treats
Ginastera's Danzas Argentinas with equal degrees of fierce bravura and finesse.
The zesty and nostalgic urban aura of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue seems
tailor-made for Hong's combination of rhythmic gusto, affection and gleeful
attack.."
Gramophone ~ September 2007
"Mr.
Hong takes the opening of the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue as slowly and
deliberately as ever I have heard anyone play it--so he caught my attention
immediately. He spins the entire work out for twelve minutes, which must be
among the broadest of conceptions. That Hong can play the brisk staccati at
breakneck speed when he wants to only certifies the highly improvisational
concept he has of the piece... The Rondo capriccioso of Mendelssohn gives full
vent to Hong's color capacities in bravura style.
The wicked fioritura and broad
spans deter Hong not at all, and the coda comes off in a style reminiscent of
Jorge Bolet. Liszt's lovely, extended nocturne after Lamartine, his Benediction
of God in His Solitude, finds in Hong a natural exponent for its liquid
brush-stokes...The Danzas Argentinas engage Hong in another form of
nationalistic virtuosity... The concluding Dance allows Hong to indulge his
capacities for percussive savagery...[In] Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue [Hong]
manages to punch and to coax enough multifarious colors from his instrument to
engage and to seduce our feet to tapping and our heads nodding in sympathetic,
stride rhythm."
Audiophile Audition, May 2007
SCHUMANN: Dichterliebe; BEETHOVEN: Songs - Stephen Cary & Dennis Helmrich MS119
4
"The
sound is excellent... [In
the Beethoven] Cary’s
relatively light lyricism and interpretative ability to project the lusty
outbursts in the composer’s music is most satisfying. The
five additional songs are a nice bonus, and the notes also must be mentioned—
excellent on all levels. Cary... is ably accompanied by Mr. Helmrich. If you
want and/or need the Beethoven, this is recommendable."
Steven
E. Ritter, Fanfare ~ September/October 2009
AEGEAN
COUNTERPOINT: Chamber Music of NICKITAS DEMOS
MS1193
"On the
evidence of the chamber pieces heard here, [Demos'] music is emotionally direct
and powerful in an essentially tonal language which most should find easily
accessible. Indeed there is an openness to the music which is thoroughly
welcoming, without ever being merely populist...Demos
is certainly a composer whose ears are open to many different musical idioms,
but who is able to synthesise them into coherent music of a distinctive kind.
There is much here that I will return to frequently, I suspect."
MusicWeb
International ~ September 2008
"[Demos influences] lend
color and atmosphere to his writing...There is an attractive variety of moods
here, and Demos works with breadth, working out one mood before contrasting it
with another...Demos clearly has something to say...."
MUSIC
FOR LOUIS XV - MICHEL DE LA BARRE – John Solum & Richard Wyton MS1191
"...well-written
notes...well-crafted and beautiful suites...John
Solum and Richard Wyton, two extraordinary musicians I have praised in the past, are the ideal performers
for this music. Their phrasing, articulation, and overall graceful approach make
this music sparkle and sing. There is never a dull moment. Flutists with limited
knowledge of this period should find this, and anyone who enjoys elegant music
play with style will enjoy it"
American Record Guide ~ November / December
2007
SONGS
AMERICA LOVES TO SING – Atlanta Chamber Players MS1190
"[a]
superb ensemble...Mozart's Kegelstatt Trio is given an elegant, amiable reading;
it sounds like a fluid conversation between old friends, which is exactly what
Mozart intended...Paula Peace's piano solo in 'What A Friend We Have In Jesus'
has great spirit...Christina Smith plays with joyful brightness...The recording
has a warm ambience ideal for chamber music....This
is a highly graifying recording, offering variety and splendid playing."
American Record Guide
~ January / February 2008
"The
Atlanta Chamber Players [play the Harbison] with great
delicacy and flair..."
CHRISTOPHER
ATZINGER DEBUT MS1189
"...[Atzinger]
is blessed with abundant energy, powerful fingers, a big sound and natural
musicality. He makes the
best possible case for Gregory Fritze's well made...1989 Sonata, moulding the
jagged, proclamatory unison motifs and fuill-throated chords in contrary motion
with immense authority, taking great care with the slow movement's
inside-the-piano strumming and plucking...Atzinger more than holds his own
against the Barber Sonata's finest recorded practitioners (Horowitz, Cliburn,
Browning and Wild)...Atzinger benefits from MSR's warm, roomy and most
attractive engineering."
"Here
we have a pianist not only with the technique, but the brains to put all of this
together. Please don't think that this is a purely academic recording - the
virtuosic bravura on display here is visceral. [Fritze] has written a very
enjoyable work and couldn't ask for a better performance. There
are no weak moments [in this release], only wonderful music-making. Christopher
Atzinger is surely a pianist to keep a watch for."
"After
a solid presentation of the Bach…Atzinger instigates a serious, measured
realization of Beethoven’s A Major Sonata...The aggressive march has Atzinger
throwing sparks, glitter, and occasional thunderbolts...The Barber Sonata
seems to be an Atzinger calling-card, with its high-flown, percussive lyricism.
Atzinger bestows upon the opening Allegro energico the same taut, hard-edged
patina we know from the Horowitz and Browning versions of this piece. The second
movement Scherzo might be Barber’s equivalent of a Liszt etude,
according to Atzinger’s playful fingers. The fugal last movement has Atzinger
in molten form, providing ardent, scintillating evidence of his technical and
sympathetic commitment to this music."
Audiophile Audition ~
February 2008
LEONARD
PENNARIO: THE EARLY YEARS 1950-1958 – 4CD Set MS1188
"...[Pennario's]
virtuosity left colleagues and admirers slack-jawed with envy and admiration......[the Mussorgsky is] bold and incisively
characterised...Visions
Fugitives are brilliantly alive to all of their flashing whimsy... lavishly
presented and brilliantly re-mastered, make for a superb souvenir of a very
special time in Pennario's long and glittering career."
Gramophone International
Edition ~ June 2007
"Recommended."
Fanfare -July /
August
2007
"[This
retrospective] is long overdue...The [Chopin] Sonata is excellent...like
everything in the collection, played to near-perfection...[the Polonaise] is as
sweeping and grandiose as I gave ever heard...I have never heard a more
satisfying rendition of the Schumann...[Liszt] to dazzling effect...[Mussorgsky]
is one of the most colorful, well-structured performances around...Pennario's
versatility and skill [in the Visions Fugitives]...[Bartok] dispatched with all
the panache Pennario was known for...[Rozsa's Sonata is] the summit of the
collection...[it is] the greatest recorded performance of any Rozsa work...Ravel's
Miroirs are projected with crystal-bright clarity...Alborada del Gracioso is
brilliantly done...Pennario's radiant colors and irresistible momentum may make
you momentarily forget there is an orchestral version [of La Valse]...Those old
Capitol vinyls never sounded as good as these remasterings...a
collection that should be welcomed by every pianophile."
American Record Guide - May /
June
2007
"...Chopin's
B-flat minor Sonata stands out in the Scherzo for Pennario's rhythmic
verve and secure marksmanship...you
can infer Pennario's sense of long line and sensitively shaded soft playing in
the Franck...Pennario delivers a serious, concentrated, fastidiously
prepared, and intelligently paced interpretation [of the Mussorgsky]...Pennario
taps into ]Prokofiev's] lyrical beauties that sometimes elude other
pianists...energetic, sparkling readings of sonatas by Bartók and Rózsa
further reveal Pennario's affinity for the music of his time. For surface sheen
and suave fingerwork alone, Ravel [works] command respect..."
Classics Today - March
2007
"The
importance of this set cannot be emphasized highly enough!"
H&B Recordings Direct
- March 2007
"For
many fans of the piano, Leonard Pennario: The Early Years 1950-1958 will
represent the fulfillment of a wish held for a long, long time — availability
on CD of a pianist who once sold millions of records and was practically a
household name in the United States at one time...The
music flows off the page and appears as though spontaneously created; you don't
think of how he executes it, it's simply there...Pennario's
steely, efficient Prokofiev, his indescribably jazzy Bartók Sonata, his
definitive reading of the Miklós Rósza Sonata — these were pieces in which
Pennario was matchless. His technical transparency in the Ravel Gaspard de la
Nuit is literally out of step with history — pianists of his era really didn't
have that piece under their fingers, and truly accurate performances of the work
are a late twentieth century phenomenon. However, Pennario had it down and was
the only pianist of his time who could play it well."
All Music Guide - March 2007
"Sound
quality for these [remastered] mono recordings is supremely better than any of
the original LPs that I compared and give new life to Pennario's
incredible pianistic art."
Lance Hill, Classical Music
Guide - March 2007
THE GRAND TRADITION – Richard
Morris Plays the A.E. Schlueter Organ MS1187
"The
repertoire was well-chosen to demonstrate both the finesse and power of the
finished instrument...The recording is gratifyingly warm and registers all lines
clearly, no matter how complex the musical texture or extreme the dynamic
compass. The quieter music is nothing short of ravishing. Morris is wholly
convincing in each of the stylistic subsets found on this offering. He
finds the right tempo for each piece and demonstrates a fine command of
registrational color."
Fanfare
~ January / February 2008
"Each
work is filtered through the distinctive romantic character of the Schlueter
organ …The final piece…shows Morris and the organ to perfection. If you
enjoy the sound of the American symphonic pipe organ from the 1940s and 1950s
then buy this disc. Richard Morris
displays a superb technique, coupled with a dazzling control of the tonal
colours provided by the organ."
"[Richard
Morris] plays with great note accuracy."
American
Record Guide ~ November / December 2007
THE
CHAMBER MUSIC OF KERRY TURNER – Rotterdam Philharmonic Chamber Soloists MS1186
"...those
who dare to try the new will awaken to the delights of Kerry Turner's
music...finely crafted short structures and delicious sonorities...[The
Berceuse] is a delightful, well crafted piece...The Horn Sonata is given a
supremely assured performance...The virtuosity of all four parts [in the
Quartet] is breathtaking (raid fire articulation is astonishingly clean), as are
the stunningly accurate rhythmic unisons...[The Rhapsody] is the finest work on
the disc...Wide-ranging in its emotional world...A
fascinating disc. Performance standard is uniformly high...Recording standards
match them."
Fanfare
~ September / October 2007
"The
readings by members of the Rotterdam Philharmonic are energetic and highly
skilled."
"Turner's
work provides a wonderful collage of colors..."
The
Horn Call ~ May 2007
EXULTATE:
Organ Music of Daniel Gawthrop - Mary Mozelle MS1185
"[Gawthrop]
has an ideal protagonist in Mary Mozelle, whose clear playing shows each piece
to advantage. Ms. Mozelle
has done us a large favor in presenting this splendid music."
"Mary
Mozelle…performs this first commercial recording dedicated to Gawthrop’s
organ works with conviction, insight, energy, and technical mastery.
The instrument, though quite different now than in its original conception, is
magnificent, its many colors and brilliant ensemble well suited to the
repertoire. Its clarity and presence are well captured within the reverberant
ambience of the space. This recording is an excellent introduction and overview
of Gawthrop’s organ music, some of which should be in every organist’s
library."
James
Hildreth, The American Organist ~ December 2008
"[Gawthrop]
has produced a substantial body of work for the [organ]...Gawthrop's writing for
the organ is always effective...Its style is conservative and eclectic...[Mary
Mozelle's] performances leave nothing to be desired in
technical polish and control, while the recorded sound captures the warmth and
clarity of the instrument."
American
Record Guide ~ July/August 2007
THE
ART OF THE POSTHORN – Douglas Hedwig MS1184
"...a
wonderful recording...Hedwig's
performance radiates music,
even through the most challenging registers and passages...he is an excellent
posthorn player in every sense...and Jorge Parodi performs his piano reductions
masterfully...this CD is a must-own."
ITG
Journal - June 2007
“Doug
Hedwig's performances are lively and very musical...[the]
solos are played with a grace and lilt that
complements the idioms...What [he] has presented in this CD in not only his work
as a performer and researcher, but a sort of auditory museum exhibit on the
practical and musical uses of the posthorn in the 1800s, presented with the
social context in which it thrived.”
"The
Art of the Posthorn qualifies primarily as...documentation of a significant
European musical tradition that has virtually vanished, and considered as such,
it succeeds very well...Trumpeter Douglas Hedwig
performs on a variety of original instruments with panache, with a broader
expressive range than might have been thought possible
on instruments of such limited technical possibilities. Pianist Jorge Parodi
capably accompanies him in pieces by Mozart, Michael Haydn and Louis Spohr,
among others...an intriguing and attractively produced document of a nearly
forgotten musical tradition."
AMAZING GRACE: Hymns of Faith and Praise – William Neil [2CD set] MS118
3
A
NEW DAY DAWNING – Jemmie Robertson & Yoko Yamada Salvaggio
MS1182
"[Jemmie
Robertson] is a fine player with a big, dark sound,
and he offers a program attractive new works... Fine collaboration by pianist
Yamada-Salvaggio.
Kilpatrick, American
Record Guide ~ September / October 2009
VIRTUOSO
HORN DUO – Kerry Turner & Kristina Mascher MS1181
"...
the music is all quite wonderful, as is the playing by both Turner and Macher. Recommended
to all classical collections."
ITG
Journal - June 2007
"...all performed
exquisitely...the balance and
artistry of both players is most effective..."
The
Horn Call - May 2007
THE
20TH CENTURY CLARINET CONCERTO – Gary Dranch MS1180
"Dranch
performs [the Wolff] beautifully with an ease and effortless quality that
matches the style of the work exquisitely. The string ensemble is clear, clean
and crisp throughout. Dranch's sound is amazingly dark and without edge even in
the altissimo. Dranch's perfect intonation and control in the slow sections [in
the Bavicchi] is notable and the performance by soloist and orchestra alike is
admirable...[Hindemith's Concerto] is a welcome conclusion to this CD...Dranch
is highly musical throughout...He seems keenly aware of the neoclassical
influence, and injects them in his interpretation. Dranch is precise and
reserved...The orchestra is immaculately clean throughout this work. I recommend
this recording as a worthy addition to the contemporary clarinetist's audio
library....there is something for everyone here, and then some. Gary
Dranch is supremely adept at handling the technical and musical challenges that
arise
in these works."
The
Clarinet, March 2007
JS
BACH: THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS – H-K Juhn MS1179
"Juhn's
playing is sensitive and imaginative...She
has a fine sense of style and plays with a command of the 18th Century language
I find much less common among pianists than harpsichordists...She shines in the
careful nuance of the slow ornamental variations...She is also up to the task of
the technically demanding variations. She executes the hand-crossing with
apparent ease. The quality of the sound is very good."
American
Record Guide ~ September/October 2007
"As
a Bach player, [H-K Juhn] has obviously devoted much thought to how she wants to
approach the Goldberg Variations...her acumen for voice leading lends impressive
clarity...The engineering is excellent."
Records
International, February 2007
RICHARD
HOWARD: PRAIRIE VISIONS – Richard Howard MS1178
"A
seven-movement suite of unashamedly programmatic content and full-blooded
Romanticism, this is a very personal statement by a composer-pianist obviously
well versed in the traditions of grand pianism. Emotionally
charged and full of bravura pianism,
stopping just short of sentimentality (most of the time, à la Percy Grainger),
the most obvious inspiration and comparison for Howard’s style is Rachmaninov...the
piece has an innocent and heartfelt quality which, along with the excitement
generated by its thunderous virtuosic passages, render it entirely convincing on
its own terms."
Records
International, February 2007
J.S.
BACH & GABRIELI: Cello Works – Benjamin Whitcomb MS1177
"Whitcomb is a
fine player... a member of the Ancora String Quartet. He
has a large tone, good clean technique, and is bolstered by a fine sound
on this recording...The addition of the highly virtuosic and first-ever works
for solo cello by Gabrieli make a...favorable bonus."
RACHMANINOV,
RESPIGHI & CASELLA – Joshua Pierce / Anton Nanut MS1176
"...an
energetic revisiting of a standard of the repertoire, as well as an introduction
to two splendid works that may not have been heard elsewhere...The Rachmaninov
is easily the fastest rendition in memory. While some performers may falter with
such ambitious tempi, Pierce thrives. Every note is clearly articulated even in
the most bravura passages. Each variation flows naturally into the next and by
the last three, Pierce
has the listener at the edge of his/her seat
wondering if he can keep the fireworks. The RTV Symphony ably keeps the momentum
going...Respighi was a master of variety in color, mood, and evocation. The
Toccata for Piano and Orchestra is no exception, making it puzzling why this
piece is not heard more frequently. Pierce and the RTV deftly handle the many
changes in mood from the grave beginning, to the scintillating and whimsical end
sections, and the extended lugubrious, brilliantly executed cello solos...The
outer movements of the Casella Partita for piano and orchestra are rambunctious
and bombastic...A lesser pianist may quickly lose the listener's interest, but
Pierce manages to pull it off..."
All
Music Guide, November 2006
"Pierce's
impressive Paganini is coupled with...important large-scaled but rarely-heard
works by Respighi and Casella...Marvelous piano playing
and fine accompaniments..."
Turok's
Choice, October 2006
DVORAK
ARRANGED FOR WINDS – Windscape Wind Quintet MS1175
"...superbly
played by violinist
Daniel Phillips, pianist Jeremy Denk and Windscape, a top notch quintet. The
arrangements are very skilful. The music is wonderful and pleasant to hear..."
"Once
you've heard the opening theme of the Quintet played by David Jolley's horn,
there's no going back. It
captures the whole tenor of a Romantic century in a handful of notes...these
well-balanced tapes project Windscape, and also Denk's piano in lifelike
fashion...Philips plays the violin Romance beautifully, and passionately. The
Quintet interpretation is positive, dramatic, and involving..these are vigorous,
pioneering accounts. Great fun, stimulating, and recommended."
Fanfare
~ March / April 2008
"[David
Jolley's] transcriptions are sensitive to all the nuances, dynamics, and
character of the originals. Windscape is a very versatile ensemble and performs
with the mindset of a string quartet. An exceptional ensemble like this one can
bring out nuance and character in the music that only the new instruments are
capable of. This is most
certainly a recording you should add to your collection."
American
Record Guide
~ March / April 2008
"Featuring lovely transcriptions of Dvorák... this disc will be at once familiar and surprising to Dvorák fans. It is also on the short list of the most beautiful recordings of Dvorák's chamber music for winds...The players of Windscape are all first-rate soloists and equally adept ensemble players, blending and balancing with an ease and musicality on par with the best string quartets. Pianist Jeremy Denk and violinist Daniel Philips prove to be superb partners as well. Produced, engineered, edited and mastered in utterly natural sound by Richard Price, this disc is as good as it gets in the woodwind world."
All Music Guide ~ October 2007
SWEET
IRRATIONAL WORSHIP – Chad Runyon & Jacqueline Chew MS1174
"To
all of these songs, Niles applied subtle touches...Chad Runyon...shapes each
song as if it were a miniature tale being freshly recounted...Runyon's attention
to the melding of words and music is sure. He teams seemlessly with pianist
Jacqueline Chew, who points out nuances in Niles' writing with fine control and
vibrancy."
Gramophone ~ Awards Issue 2006
ROMANCE
& CAPRICE – Frank Morelli & Gilbert Kalish MS1172
"...this CD is a
treat all around. [Morelli's]
playing is unimpeachable.
Underneath the elegant phrasing and seamless legato, he still lets the
instrument speak in its own voice and personality; the rustic core happily
remains, rather than being airbrushed into shallow respectability. Kalish
continues to carry the standard for true collaborative pianism, the ensemble
tight but the conversational rhetoric loose and spontaneous."
Sequenza 21 ~ July
2007
"The pieces
Frank Morelli has programmed display the soul of this instrument very well...Morelli
performs [the Schumann Romances] with a spell-binding sotto voce...Morelli's
recording [of Saint-Saens' Sonata] has what is wonderful about American-style
playing: there is
great breadth and expanse to his sound...Morelli's
sound [has]
affectionate warmth and flexibility...Rossini's arias...are
spectacular...[Morelli and Searing] offer a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants
performance....Morelli's [recording of the Weber is] quite the spectacle...The
adaptation of Rachmaninoff's Vocalise is the soul of this recording. Every note
seems to lay bare the music, and each note resonates from the very core of the
instrument...Morelli's sensitive, robust, and warm sound, and Gilbert Kalish's
very fine piano playing breath life and passion into these works. This is music
that holds appeal to a wider audience than bassoonists or wind music
aficionados."
American Record Guide ~ May /
June
2007
"Bassoonist
Frank Morelli and pianist Gilbert Kalish collaborate on a delightful
disc...
Weber’s Andante e Rondo Ungarese is a minor masterpiece. Of the arrangements,
pride of place goes to the Gebauer/Morelli excerpts from the Barber of
Turok's Choice ~ March
2007
CORRETTE:
Music for Solo Bassoon – Musica Franca / Nadina Mackie Jackson MS1171
"The
members of Musica Franca are exceptionally talented musicians...the
music will succeed in drawing the inquiring listener into the performers' world
by way of interpretations that are exemplary in every way...the colloquy is
outstanding and the fastidious attention to the most minute details is
enviable...these are interpretations that sparkle with enthusiasm and showcase
the performers' dedication to the repertoire. No question, this is an
adventurous and outstanding outing and one that is probably not going to be
duplicated by any other label in the near future."
Fanfare ~ July / August, 2007
"Holy
Mackeral! Every time bassoonist Nadina Mackie Jackson comes out with a new CD I
have to 'revise' the standards by which I evaluate bassoon recordings...always
to a higher standard in her case!
This is one of the most delightful recordings
I have ever heard....delightful interpretation, phrasing and ornamentation by
consummate artist Nadina Mackie Jackson...What a delight it is to hear how she
can make the music 'dance' for your ears! ...absolutely perfect ensemble
playing...crystalline harpsichord accompaniments...This wonderful music is
performed with just the right amount of elegance throughout - it is an absolute
thrill to hear...Everything is so beautifully handled in this record, from the
musical interpretation, balance, recording technique, sound presence...Exquisite
programming as well! I simply can't say enough positive about this CD. You must
all get it and enjoy it as much as I have"
RATING: 5
CROWS!!! Ronald Klimko, The Double Reed ~ July, 2006
"The
musicians...provide striking contrasts in timbre and texture. The results are
delightful. The hybrid melding of modern and period instruments works
beautifully, especially give the musicians' scrupulous and imaginative attention
to phrasing, vibrato, articulation and ornamentation...the solo bassoon playing
of Nadina Mackie Jackson...couldn't be more refined, quicksiler or
swashbuckling. [Her] Musica Franca colleagues are sophisticated, animated
partners."
The Gramophone ~
August, 2006
"The
Phoenix sounds gorgeous on this recording, with this instrumentation...this
recording has [warmth and depth] in abundance...The six sonatas are wonderful
little gems of music...They make each of these sonatas their own...The music of
Corrette is comical, energetic and beautiful. This is a very enjoyable
recording, and
I look forward to hearing more from Musica
Franca."
American Record Guide ~
July/August, 2006
"...[a] delightfully
sprightly disc...The CD is cleanly recorded and the players are superb. The
music has a welcome simplicity but plenty of elan.
Highest recommendation!"
John Sunier, Audiophile
Audition ~ June 2006
BOISMORTIER:
Music for Two Bassoons – Musica Franca / Mathieu Lussier MS1170
"[Musica
Franca's] interpretations and instrumentation are exactly what this music needs...Musica Franca has taken these little-known sonatas of Boismortier and
dressed them up with superb technique, great energy, and charming musicianship.
I like this recording very much"
American
Record Guide - July, 2006on"
"[this
disc is a] quite extraordinary recording...The performances are stunning.
Lussier...performs some almost unbelievable stunts, nonchalantly pulling off
lengthy passages of rapid fingering and/or tonguing that require the very
heights of virtuosity. He is joined by Nadina Mackie Jackson, a player of
comparable quality, and possessed of a particularly beautiful singing tone.
These two carol together in the most utterly beguiling way. The
standard of intonation is uncannily good, resulting in many really gorgeous
textures. I urge you to try this – delightful music played with consummate
skill, and recorded to perfection"
MusicWeb International ~ June 2006
CELEBRATION
- Horn Music of Randall Faust MS1168
"Randall Faust is a fine composer
whose many horn works sound both modern and immediately attractive...The
performance are first-rate. Andrew
Pelletier has a very full sound and plays with authority and imagination. All
three keyboard players collaborate expertly."
American Record Guide ~ July /
August 2007
"Faust's
music as presented here searches into the unfathomable,
and unable to be articulated in words, realms of what moves us. In this release,
he has struck, as far as I am concerned, a proverbial chord, and the result is
both joyful and celebratory. Hornist
Andrew Pelletier is phenomenal...he
is undeniably in tune with what he plays, and Faust provides him a fine
showcase. As for the sound on this release, it is in all ways effective...the
organ pedals actually pushed my 800-horsepower sound system almost to its
limits, but did so cleanly and with no distortion whatsoever.."
Fanfare ~ July /
August 2007
"It's hard to
decide whether one should be more impressed by the adventurous but lyrical
writing of Randall Faust, or by the virtuosic but tasteful playing of the young
Andrew Pelletier. Both are very impressive, and this disc is a delight -- one
that should find a place in the collection of any library supporting a brass
curriculum."
CD Library HotList,
April 2007
HARAMBEE
- Horn Music of Paul Basler MS1166
"[Paul
Basler's music] is attractive, and he
and these horn players are fine musicians,
so this is a very pleasant hour of listening...[The eight folk songs] show great
freedom and creativity on the arranger's part..."
American Record Guide ~
January/February 2007
HE
IS RISEN
- William Neil MS1165
"This
album is just the thing for anyone looking for a traditional organ recital of
Easter hymns...Listeners accustomed to the tradition of organ playing at the
High Church end of Calvinist Protestantism (particularly the various
Presbyterian denominations, but also Episcopalians and Anglicans) are likely to
find the selection and performance of these hymns close to ideal. Neil
is masterful in his use of registration,
which sets just the right mood for each of the hymns. His tempos are also well
chosen and his use of rubato is subtle and appropriate. The introductions to the
hymns are creative, but not ostentatious, as are his altered harmonizations of
the final verses. The sound is clean, with just enough resonance."
American Record Guide ~
January/February 2007
IN
SURE AND CERTAIN HOPE: Choral Music of Nicholas White - The Tiffany Consort
MS1164
" Nicholas White is
a multi-gifted musician of estimable creative abilities. The program opens with
a fresh, invigorating Magnificat and Nunc dimittis [hat exudes] youthful joy...White's
music is in no way derivative [of Rutter's] and to some ears, may even surpass
that of Rutter in its subtlety of expression, melodic and harmonic invention,
and overall effect. In
all of his music, White demonstrates a sure command of an extensive harmonic
vocabulary that is always effective in conveying texts. His melodies are
wistful, soaring, haunting. The Tiffany Consort...form an ensemble of ravishing
beauty. Their sound is vibrant, translucent, demonstrating a limitless array of
dynamic nuance and vocal timbre. An ensemble of five string players contribute
fresh, clear, vigorous, colorful support. This music as performed here offers
quiet consolation, deep joy, and balm for the soul. It speaks to the
heart."
"...gentle
music of surpassing beauty and sacred sincerity...soaring
melody, lush harmony, and tender sentiment...White singers are consistently
superb...they can perform anything with skill, assurance, gorgeous tone...The
string ensemble also impresses...all very nicely recorded."
The American Record Guide ~
September/October 2007
"...a
rich and varied program...[In Sure and Certain Hope is] throughout rewarding to
hear...[Nicholas White's] writing is consistently
fresh and imaginative...The
tone, blend, intonation and diction" of the Consort are exemplary...The
strings play with style and, when used, always integrate sympathetically with
the voices. The production by Richard Price is truly admirable."
The Journal of the
Association of Anglican Musicians ~ May / June 2007
"White is a
talented and tuneful composer...There are many
moments of great beauty and spinal chills on
this recording."
Audiophile
Audition ~ April 2007
FELIX
HELL PLAYS THE RIEGER-KLOSS ORGAN – Felix Hell MS1162
"...his
undoubted talent and old-school American training have left him with a
virtuosic
technique
capable of tackling all the major romantic and 20th century
repertoire"
MusicWeb International ~ July 2006
FLAUTOPIA:
Music for Flute & Piano – Tanya Dusevic Witek MS1161
"This
is all great music, played by highly skilled performers. Flutist Tanya Dusevic
Witek...plays with tremendous power and agility...Her tone is massive but
beautiful and soaring - a perfect match for this repertoire. I am also deeply
impressed with pianist Charles Foreman. He plays with a rich, deep tone, clear
articulation, and impeccable phrasing and style...stellar reading [of the
Schulhoff]..."
American Record Guide ~
March / April 2007
WOMAN'S
WORK: Music for Solo Piano – Charlotte Mueller MS1160
"Mueller has an
easy-going way of presenting these works [and is] very comfortable with the
music, always making sure to bring out the melodies. ... it is great to see some
neglected works and composers get a chance to be heard."
All Music Guide ~ July 2006
VOICES
OF BRASS: Orff: Carmina Burana et al – Washington Symphonic Brass MS1159
"This
spectacular account of Carmina Burana is one of the all-time great brass
ensemble recordings, ranking with or possible ahead of Philip Jones' Pictures at
an Exhibition and anything Summit Brass ever released. The arrangement by Phil
Snedecor is first-rate, and the soloists are outstanding. The group may be the
best sounding large brass ensemble I have heard...Milton Stevens is the dynamic
conductor...Elgar's Nimrod is heartbreaking, the finale of Saint-Saens Symphony
No.3 is stupendous. I applauded WSB's first offering [in Fanfare July/August
2000: 223] but now I'm completely won over."
American Record Guide -
November/December 2006
"The
Washington Symphonic Brass explore [this music] to glorious effect ...Orff's
cantata [is] here in an idiomatic and quite dazzling transcription...The
arrangements are faithful to the original, which adores brass anyway, in
coloration and character, with many instrumental substitutions that surprise and
delight...horn-player Martin Hackleman essays "Che gelida manina" with
fine ardour...trombonist Charles Casey is more than up to the heroic demands of
"Nessun dorma". Conductor Milton Stevens, puts his extensive
experience …to superb practice both in the vocal and the orchestral works.
Snedecor's arrangement of "Nimrod" comes across as a noble reworking,
and his versions of the march from Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique and the
finale from Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony emerge from the ensemble's bells in
gleaming waves of sound. Who needs voices, or the rest of the orchestra, when
a
group of such finesse
is breathing new life into familiar delicacies?"
Gramophone - November 2006
MOSAIC: New Interpretations of Early Music – Duende MS1158
"Here's...nine
pieces of very early music...updated in form and harmony by an incredibly
talented trio.
Hornist Jeffrey Agrell and cellist Gill Selinger are exceptionally talented and
rhythmically fluid classical players, but it is particularly in the playing of
Evan Mazunik...that one hears a true jazz spirit. The result is a fascinating
collection of what Charles Mingus called "jazzical moods". What
delighted me was that these performances...combined structure and freedom; no
matter how far the trio extended itself, the basic thread of the original theme
was always present. Agrell's horn is incredibly fleet technically,.. "
"Modern arrangements
of early music are nothing new, but this fresh new collection of improvisatory
interpretations puts a different face on the practice...The three skilled musicians of Duende
are discovering the future thru the past...bringing back the element of
improvisation which was a central part of classical performance up until the
Romantic era. Their idea is that if they can create music on the spot...why not create completely fresh interpretations of existing old music?"
Audiophile Audition ~
September 2007
ROUMI
PETROVA: ENCHANTED RHYTHMS – Kalin Ivanov; Elena Antimova MS1156
"...
Petrova’s heart is firmly in the right place...The music on this release... is
disarmingly simple and direct, deeply primordial in its affect, and,
paradoxically, subtly sophisticated in its harmonic and rhythmic construction.
The essence of her language can be found in the second movement of Sonata No. 1
[which] gradually and eloquently builds to moments of almost unbearable
poignancy... Kalin
Ivanov plays with impeccable intonation, idiomatically telling phrasing, and
projects a gratifyingly large and variegated tone.
The last offering, Five Ancient Bulgarian Portraits, is for cello solo,
and reveals the full extent of his musicianship. In the other pieces, he and
pianist Elena Antimova are always on the same wavelength. The recording is to my
liking―close up to the point where I can smell the rosin coming from
Ivanov’s bow, but with enough space that the full-throated tone of his
instrument registers fully at the music’s louder moments. His balance with
Antimova’s piano is fine. One can hear the subtlety of her touch, voicing, and
pedaling."
Fanfare ~ July / August 2007
"...this
collection of works by the talented young composer Roumi Petrova is a real find
and a very pleasant surprise...the native elements [of Bulgarian music] are
wielded with a fine-tipped brush, and Petrova's own melodic turns, fluent
balancing of lines and structural economy are very impressive...[In the
Passacaglia] Ivanov brings a finely differentiated array of expression to this
music...Ivanov produces a big, rich tone, his idiomatic fruity timbre and
astringent edge bringing exciting bravura to the tearaway coda...[In the Sonata
No.1] Petrova displays deft and inventive writing for piano as well as
cello...[The central movement] is compelling and beautifully crafted, artfully
blending the folk essence and elegaic inspiration...Ivanov's dark, rich timbre
is eminently well-suited to the dirge-like expression...[the coda is]
magnificently played by Ivanov and Antimova...[The lullaby of the Second Sonata
is] played with utmost tenderness...The number of memorable works written in
recent years for solo cello is not expansive, but Petrova's delightful,
ear-catching miniatures deserve to be added to that concise canon, gratefully
written for the instrument and hugely communicative...Cellists looking for new
recital material are strongly urged to investigate these new works, as are all
with open ears who will find in Roumi Petrova an intriguing, distinctive and
greatly gifted new voice on the music scene."
Gramophone ~ Awards Issue 2006
LISZT:
The Three Piano Concertos – Joshua Pierce / Paul Freeman MS1154
""...no
one who acquires [this] is likely to be disappointed...[Pierce's] free-wheeling,
heart-on-sleeve approach proves quite satisfying, and he makes of Totentanz
an exhilarating tour-de-force, concluding with a whirlwind fugue and a
blistering closing salvo...Pierce's clarion tone comes
across.."
American Record Guide -
September / October 2006
"Pierce,
Freeman, and the band are hand in glove...Pierce's
prestidigital brilliance...[is] remarkable."
Fanfare - July /
August 2006
"Pierce
has always been an impressive Liszt player...he performs ...with powerful
virtuosity and grand feeling."
Turok's Choice - Issue 177, May 2006
NOEL:
25 Hymns of Christmas – William Neil, organ MS1153
"The
arrangements...show off the capabilities of [Neil's] magnificent Aeolian-Skinner
instrument. Neil's playing is impeccable
throughout, admirably restrained for
the most part, but not without moments of grandeur. MSR's recording is splendid.
Warmly recommended. Let it snow!"
Fanfare
- November/December 2006
AUTOUR
DE MESSIAEN – SF Conservatory / Nicole Paiement MS1151
"Clarity,
both in texture and intent, is...one of the predominant elements that unites all
four works, from the opening of Reverdy's Concerto pour Orchestre, whose
delicate volume level and crisp performance by the San Francisco New Music
Ensemble often belies the music's inner density...Aided here by some splendid
performances, these composers elegantly raise their diverse source material into
a different realm [from Messiaen's] entirely."
Gramophone
- Awards Issue 2006
NIELSEN:
Orchestral Works – Aarhus Symphony Orchestra / Lance Friedel MS1150
"The Aarhus Symphony
Orchestra have a lean, tonal sheen, agile strings
and personality-plus woodwinds...crackling energy...Friedel and his players are
clearly in tune with the bluff confidence of [Maskarade's] opening theme...asrtfully
moulded with inexorable strength...suitably atmospheric...wonderfully vivid wind
playing...fine brassy swagger...the recording provides the proper atmosphere for
Nielsen's nature painting, adding to the pleasures of these exemplary, idiomatic
performances."
The Gramophone - March 2006
"...the Nielsen disc
from MSR is a prize, not only as recorded in the Fricksparken at Aarhus...but as
conducted by young Lance Friedel in interpretations that quite surpass Thomas
Dausgaard, current PC of the Danish State Radio Orchestra. It’s the most
complete collection of Nielsen’s non-symphonic music for orchestra since the
‘60s, on a par ...with Herbert Blomstedt’s
"...Friedel gives the Nielsenian sun its proper arc across the sky...laudable attention to accents and phrasing...Friedel brings the visual image to musical life...Friedel is consistently nuanced...Friedel is alive to these matters, and his Aarhus musicians ...enthusiastic to the task...[a] superior performance by Friedel and the Aarhus SO...a strong recommendation is a foregone conclusion."
Fanfare - January/February 2006
"[Lance Friedel's]
approach is always musical, lively, and intelligent...a vivid recording...the
strings articulate their scurrying figures clearly and joyfully...you really
can't go wrong with this generously filled collection."
Classics
Today
- October 2005
LISZT:
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE Piano Transcriptions – Thomas Otten MS1149
"Thomas Otten
is a scholar-pianist... who wields a palette of power and color... Otten
maintains a transparent, clarion texture throughout... the Petrarch could
compete with the likes of Arrau and Bolet in Liszt interpretation. The “little
bell” of Paganini, with its clever and delicate use of repeated notes, finds
as much charm as bravura with Otten"
Audiophile
Audition
- April 2006
BRAHMS:
Piano Concerto No.2; FRANCK; LISZT – Joshua Pierce / Kirk Trevor MS1148
"Joshua Pierce
possesses an estimable technique...as demonstrated by his forceful and polished
performance...with long reaches and knuckle-busting bravura holding no terrors
and well-dispatched by Pierce with power to burn...Pierce's fizzing performances
make a compelling case [for the Franck and Liszt works]"
The Gramophone - July
2006
"I
kid you not when I tell you that Pierce's Brahms Second puts my long-standing
favorite, Fleisher/Szell, at grave risk...Pierce is one fantastic
pianist...Pierce's
reading [of the Brahms] is about as near to perfect as you are likely to
hear...Pierce is a powerhouse who negotiates Brahms' hurdles effortlessly...what
makes this performance a standout is the rapt and seemingly intuitive engagement
between Pierce, Trevor and the Bohuslav Martinu orchestral forces, the magic of
oneness I've encountered only rarely in readings of this score...Pierce's Les
Djinns is very fine...For all lovers of concerted great music for piano and
orchestra, and for phenomenally fine playing and recording all around, this is
highly recommended"
Fanfare - July / August 2006
"...powerful
playing...Pierce offers an imaginative, poetic, yet rhythmically-driven reading
of the Brahms, fleet playing in the Franck and keen playing of the Liszt. Kirk
Trevor leads the [orchestra] in strong accompaniments."
Turok's Choice - Issue
177, May 2006
SOLOS
FOR THE HORN PLAYER – Gregory Miller MS1147
"The
readings by Gregory Miller...are accurate,
cohesive, and expressive...Pianist
Ernest Barretta collaborates expertly."
American
Record Guide
- March / April 2007
BECAUSE:
THE CHORAL MUSIC OF MARK ZUCKERMAN – The Goldene Keyt Singers MS1146
"The
brief settings [of 'Proverbs'] are striking, the blend of voices often both
intriguing and moving...Also very successful is Kol Dodi, a [in which]
Traditional Jewish idioms and inflections are handled with a thoroughly modern
compositional sophistication...Grant Us Peace [is] intriguing music of
deceptive simplicity...There is much that is subtle, persuasive and – quite
simply – beautiful about these settings...The choral quartet is admirable
throughout...This is a striking collection of choral
miniatures."
MusicWeb International
- July 2006
LENGTHENING
SHADOWS: Songs for Solo Piano – Philip Swanson MS1145
"...this
material is consistently melodic and concisely made, it is filled with delicate
filigree and sparkling harmonies...several pieces have the unmistakable flavor of Vince Guaraldi...As a
performer,
Swanson displays an easy virtuosity
that adds to the beguiling
character of this CD...."
Fanfare - November/December 2006
LES
CORPS GLORIEUX: Music for Organ, Harp & Cello – Parrella, Drake &
Fiacco (St Ignatius Loyola) MS1143
"This program exudes
a spirit of lovely serenity. The three
performers are seasoned artists and recognized virtuosos on their respective
instruments. Together they produce a unified ensemble. Marcel Grandjany’s
familiar Aria in Classic Style for
harp and organ is given an
exquisite performance.
Lesser-known works by Henri Büsser, Saint-Saëns, Chris DeBlasio, Louie White,
and Massenet feature lovely renditions by harp or cello accompanied by organ. In
Handel’s Concerto in B-flat, Op. 4,
No. 6, the organ and cello provide discreet underpinnings to the harp, producing
a remarkably perfect blend... Messiaen’s “Joie et clarté” from Les
Corps glorieux is performed at a more relaxed tempo than is sometimes heard,
delivering both joy and clarity of musical texture. Every sound of each
instrument is captured
with optimal clarity and balance on this excellent recording.
It is salve to the soul."
The American Organist - March 2007
WONDROUS
LOVE: Music for A Cappella Choir – St Ignatius Loyola / Kent Tritle MS1144
"This outstanding
20-voice ensemble boasts the best of
The American Organist - March 2007
"The
first thing to say is that all the music is extremely well served by what is
evidently an expert choir that has been splendidly
trained. The choir makes an
excellent sound that is bright and forward – which I like – and their
tuning, balance and diction are all first rate. The various solos that crop up
within the recital are all taken by members of the choir and without exception
they are taken to excellent effect...On the whole this is a fine and nicely varied programme that is executed with
skill and élan by a fine choir."
MusicWeb International -
September 2006
VENI
CREATOR SPIRITUS – Philip Swanson & Barbara Bruns MS1137
"This
recording...is worth hearing, both for the repertoire and the excellence of the
performers. Veni Creator Spiritus is an admirable addition to [the
limited repertoire for trombone and organ]... The arrangement of Vocalise
by Bruns works as well as the original... The beautiful and difficult [Distler]
is elegantly played by Bruns... This
CD is first rate in every respect."
"Swanson
produces striking results
[in his Variations]...The harmonizations found
throughout this haunting work are arresting and highly original...many of the
chords work in quite unexpected but always affectively satisfying ways...Barbara
Bruns' transcription [of Rachmaninov's Vocalise] is true to its spirit,
and aptly exploits Swanson's roundly mellow trombone tone...the 1967 Beckerath
organ is effectively captured in its warm, clarifying, and sonically gratifying
space...Hidas' [work] brings this offering to a satisfying close...Barbara Bruns
acquits herself admirably..."
Fanfare - November/December 2006
RECORDANDO:
Remembering the Maestros of Cuban Classical – Elena Casanova MS1136
"For lovers of
Ernesto Lecuona's piano music...this release is an opportunity to sample the
work of two of Lecuona's predecessors and one of his contemporaries... [Touzet]
is cheerfully compelling...[Casanova]
plays throughout with style, sensitivity and obvious enjoyment...A
CD of interest and quality..."
Fanfare, July / August 2007
"Ms.
Casanova has a passion for the music of her native country, and it shows in her
playing. Her joyful playing gives me a renewed sense
of wonder about the unique sound of an acoustical instrument that is sometimes
viewed as just an ancestor to the synthesizer...Listening to this recording made
me happy from the first note to the last. The music is rhythmic, joyful,
exuberant, and beautiful. The playing is fluid and
exciting. The
sound quality is very clear, immediate and full without being too much for the
ears."
Audiophile Audition - October 2006
A.
LOUIS SCARMOLIN: IN RETROSPECT – Vladimir Tsypin / Susan Walters MS1135
"This is a
delightful disc...Scarmolin was a composer of considerable
craftsmanship...[these works] bears evidence of some remarkable gifts...Scarmolin's
earliest compositions...are startlingly expressionistic...The string players on
this well-recorded CD are all regulars in the New York Philharmonic, while the
pianist works at the New York City Ballet. Their committed, sensitive
performances leave nothing to be desired. This rather charming disc is
recommended to all explorers of 20th century American chamber music."
Fanfare
- November/December 2005
"The
performances here are dedicated... the overall impression is that [this MSR
Classics release] successfully represents this fascinating composer, and serves
as a more than adequate introduction to his work.
Recommended to all explorers
of 20th century American chamber music."
All Music Guide - December
2005
HURWIT:
SYMPHONY NO.1 "Remembrance" – BNRSO / Michael Lankester MS1134
"Hurwit
[has the ability to create] an immediately memorable melody...The music is
extremely pretty and very well orchestrated...Excellent sound.
Fanfare
- November/December 2005
"Strikingly
beautiful...glorious and affecting main theme led by a solo
violin soaring ever higher in even more luxuriant waves. The whirling energy [of
Movement 4] conveys the anticipation and excitement of arrival in America...Lankester
draws committed and sumptuous playing from the Bulgarian orchestra.."
The
Gramophone
- September 2005
"The idiom of the
'Remembrance' Symphony is very accessible...Harmonically, it is
a luminous score...The principal melodies tend to be uplifting...Under the baton of Michael
Lankester, the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony gives a vibrant performance
with a real note of triumph at the end..."
Atlanta Audio Society - July 2005
CHOPIN:
Complete Waltzes – Avner Arad MS1133
"A pupil of
Lipkin, Ax and Firkusny, Avner
Arad plays the conventional set of 14 Chopin Waltzes fluidly and elegantly.
His pulsation possesses the natural lilt which Rubinstein communicated in
Chopin, and the scale has an easy, salon grace. The A-flat major, Op. 34, No. 1
demonstrates Arad’s grand, rubato-laden line and sense of flair. There might
be something of Cortot in Arad’s A minor Waltz...The Op. 64 waltzes each
retain a light and suave patina, the C-sharp minor and A-flat bearing the touch
of melancholy without which Chopin’s idiosyncratic style would be lost. The
G-flat major sings with the requisite nostalgia and whimsy as well. The D-flat
adds glitter to its rocking gait, and Arad articulates its left-hand troubadour
part with lyrical care. The E minor plays like an abbreviated sonata movement,
rife with metric and dynamic turbulence. Its bitter-sweet middle section Arad
executes with limpid and fastidious passion."
Audiophile Audition - April
2007
"Israeli pianist
Avner Arad makes each of these waltzes an adventure. Middle sections sound rich
and full, with great attention to inner voices; outer ones dance with elfin
lightness...with Arad, the experience [of hearing these works] is
enchanting...The recording is natural and resonant...[Arad] is a Chopin player
to be reckoned with."
American
Record Guide - July/August 2006."
TCHAIKOVSKY:
THE SEASONS – Eleonor Bindman MS1131
“You will certainly
never tire of the MSR recording by Eleonor Bindman [who] cultivates a
beautifully centered full tone as she conveys to us the essential character of
each of these charming pieces.”
Atlanta Audio Society - February 2005
RAVEL:
Transcriptions for Winds – Windscape MS1130
"Windscape
was formed in 1994 by five renowned first chair woodwind soloists... The
transcriptions by the members of Windscape stay loyal to the essence of
Ravel’s instrumentation and orchestration of his work. The pieces chosen are
lovingly and expertly performed whilst adding a new dimension in trademark
Windscape style...
The
sound and the performances are all exemplary.
The
album’s major achievement is that Windscape, in true innovative style, capture
the essence of the original despite being performed by the smaller
ensemble."
Jeff
Perkins, Blogcritics ~ January 2009
"...Windscape presents a
collection of transcriptions that are on par with Ravel's own [of his piano
works]. Morelli's transcription of [Valses nobles et sentimentales] is a
substantial contribution to the woodwind quintet repertoire...Windscape is one
of the most talented quintets of today. Their contributions to the literature
are sure not to be lost, and their performance ability is sure to be not soon
imitated.
This collection...is a priceless
gem."
American Record Guide -
March/April 2006
"This unusual MSR disc presents
familiar Ravel fare in a different guise: all the works are in transcriptions
for wind quintet. The readings [are] tastefully arranged
extremely well-played...and exceedingly well-recorded. These transcriptions surely add a
fresh dimension to familiar fare... I enjoyed hearing them."
Fanfare - November/December
2005
"Recordings
of Gallic music don't get any more charming than this. The members of Windscape
are...in top form in this program...The blend and interplay
of the instruments is...commendable"
Atlanta
Audio Society - October 2005
A
LA CARTE: Short Works for Winds – The Borealis Wind Quintet MS1128
2006
GRAMMY NOMINEE
"[In
the Milhaud]
the Borealis Quintet makes its mark...in nuance and
approach...[In
the Briccialdi] the flautist plays with such character and
command, I cannot imagine hearing it any other way...This is a good addition to
anybody's chamber music collection."
American Record Guide - March
/ April 2006
"The
Borealis Wind Quintet are a superb ensemble. Their playing is precise without
ever being merely pedantic; their control of dynamics is masterly and their
internal balance is faultless. All five members are both sensitive and
technically accomplished musicians. - The recorded sound
is excellent."
MusicWeb International -
December 2005
"...a
program of ...gems that will delight music lovers almost as much as it will
woodwind quintet connoisseurs...The virtuosic performances are uniformly sweet
and captivating...the sound has a wonderful warm bloom with an exceptional sense
of space that repays higher volumes making for a good light workout that will
test the timbral accuracy of any music system. The affectionate, authoritative
notes...add greatly to the listening pleasure.
Audiophile Audition -
November 2005
"...a recital of
delectable short pieces...The performances sparkle with unfailing good
humor..."
Atlanta Audio Society - July
2005
GEORGE
GERSHWIN: The Original Manuscripts
- Alicia Zizzo MS1127
"...Zizzo
certainly plays all of this material well. The [new MSR transfer is]
full-bodied in sound... if one is genuinely interested in George Gershwin then MSR
Classics' George Gershwin: The Original Manuscripts is indispensible."
Uncle Dave Lewis,
AllMusic Guide ~ June 2009
JOHN
SOLUM: LIVE IN CONCERT MS1126
"Solum is an
artist catholic taste and heightened sensitivity to stylistic diversity. He
alters weight of tone, vibrato, articulation and other subtleties to suit the
personality of the music he's playing. Aside from an expressive intelligence and
tonal lustre that touch each work, Solum has a chameleon-like way of entering
the specific sonic world that you might think a slew of flautists is performing
the disc's repertoire...a superb artist in action."
Gramophone ~ September
2008
RAVEL:
PIANO WORKS – David Korevaar MS1125
"...David Korevaar's
Ravel has a meticulous clarity...every note heard clearly...Korevaar's Miroirs
glistens with idiomatic touches...This is splendid playing...Korevaar's reading
[of Le tombeau de Couperin] is suitable understated, beautifully
balanced...Korevaar's accounts here...are quite
outstanding. MSR sound is state
of the art."
Fanfare - November/December
2005
"...these seminal
piano works of Ravel display David Korevaar’s considerable facility in French
neo-classicism...Korevaar’s version packs some loving transitions and terraced
dynamics...Excellent, tender piano
sound, engineered by Gregory K.
Squires."
Audiophile Audition, November
2005
"These little gems
require, and receive from Korevaar, the sort of performance they deserve:
chaste, economical, precise, witty and... flavorfully melancholy"
Atlanta Audio Society - July
2005
THE
JOHN BROWNING EDITION – Recorded Live 1950-1965 MS1120-MS1123
"...this
is
a fascinating documentation
of the early career of a major American
musician...it surely does provide plenty of reason to be thankful for the beauty
that he gave us."
Fanfare - January/February
2006
CHOPIN:
Piano Sonata No.3; 24 Preludes – Ann Schein MS1119
"...Schein's
fluid majesty in the Largo takes nine minutes to quietly wipe the floor with
Lang Lang's ill-sustained 14-minute travesty. And although intimacy and poetry
dominate, Schein flexes her muscles when she chooses...Ann Schein has something
to say in this repertoire, and she does so with style and authority."
Classics Today - April
2006
EXPRESSIONS:
The Heart of the Tuba – Kyle Turner MS1118
"What you will hear
in this album is a solid hour of beautiful tuba sound, and if you wonder if
these two words should be used together, then you should hear this album.
Kyle
Turner...never makes anything but a pure, warm, dignified sound. He has plenty
of technique to handle these pieces...Hearing [Turner and Alan Baer] together is
a treat".
American Record Guide - July
/ August 2006
"'Elegance',
'suppleness' and 'grace' ...are all qualities [displayed] on this interesting
disc by Kyle Turner...players and students of brass instruments [hear] a
talented performer in action...I would recommend this disc to any musically
curious listener as one that well repays the listening time...This well-recorded
album provides a revealing insight into the possibilities of an instrument
rarely heard solo. It shows a versatility going well beyond its typical role in
the bass end of the brass section...I enjoyed Mr Turner's playing and hope to
hear more from him."
MusicWeb International - April
2006
BEETHOVEN:
PIANO SONATAS NOS.28, 30 & 32 – Blanca Uribe MS1117
"...velvety
voluptuousness of the playing...Phrases are teased and caressed. Technically,
Uribe is totally in control...[Uribe allows] the music to speak with heartfelt
sincerity and intimacy..."
Fanfare - May/June
2005
"...Blanca
Uribe's Juilliard and Viennese training are beautifully displayed...Her tasteful
playing is infused with maturity, warmth, and loving care. Here is sincere,
disciplined playing and wonderful musicianship, unvarnished by either
self-consciousness or egocentricity. [Uribe's playing is] patrician, intimate,
warm, lyrical, understated, clean."
American Record Guide -
July/August
2005
VON
BECKERATH AT HOME – Shayne Doty, Von Beckerath organ MS1116
"...this
[von Beckerath] has a cosmopolitan character. The organ's sound blossoms in the
ample space. The foundations sing with warmth, sheen and penetration. The reeds
are bold and colorful.
Mr. Doty plays meticulously and with elegance".
The American Organist - January 2005
AN
EVENING AT EDGEWOOD – Stephen J. Ketterer, Von Beckerath organ MS1115
"CRITIC'S CHOICE"
Ralph Blakely, American
Record Guide - January/February 2006
"...the performances
here explore so sensitively every facet of the music's charms and power...[The]
recording is of audiophile standard...the bass purrs and roars, the sweetness
and delicacy of the flute stops...is breathtaking, and hearing the Beckerath at
full bore is a visceral experience.
This is a must not only for organ
aficionados but for all music lovers."
The Gramophone - December 2004
"Throughout,
Ketterer plays with energy, technical competence, control and musicality.
He is
highly successful in his stated desire to '[provide] the listener with some
sense of the joy I derive from this glorious instrument' "
The American Organist - June 2005
A
COLLECTION OF MY FAVORITES – Jeanne Baxtresser MS1114
"[This
is] a sincere and loving offering to the world... Flutists and non-flutists
alike will enjoy this remarkable playing and varied repertoire. Her
effortless technique still makes my head spin.
The Gershwin arrangements...are played with great passion."
American Record Guide -January/February
2007
"The whole programme
is a joy from beginning to end
and shows Ms. Baxtresser’s prowess in a
diversity of styles...What most of all characterises her playing is balance and
aristocracy, which doesn’t exclude intensity and emotion...."
MusicWeb International -
October 2006
TELEMANN:
Six Concertos for Two Flutes – The Hanoverian Ensemble MS1113
"...these are
delightful works. This is another fantastic performance. Every phrase and every
note comes alive with grace, elegance, and precision. Once again, I cannot stop
listening.
Another must buy from stellar, dedicated
performers."
American Record Guide -
January/February 2006
"John
Solum and Richard Wyton, the excellent flute soloists, are ably supported by
[The Hanoverian Ensemble]. The period instruments...lend a certain enchantment
to the music.
The verve and brilliance of Telemann's music is superbly captured
in these recordings"
Atlanta Audio Society -
September 2005
A
FESTIVE PROCLAMATION – William Neil, Aeolian Skinner organ MS1112
"This thrilling
recital showcases the power and versatility of the John Jay Hopkins Memorial
Organ and the musical talents of William Neil...Neil rips into [Bach's] Toccata
and Fugue [on a ] grand performance which exploits both the mighty instrument
and the resonant space...Gregory K. Squires sumptuous recording qualifies this
CD for
audiophile demonstration
purposes."
The Gramophone, Awards Issue
2005
"This instrument is
one of the finest and last creations of the Aeolian-Skinner firm...William Neil
offers a scintillating performance of Adler's Festive Proclamation...spirited...finely
played...imbued with tender affection..."
The American Organist - September 2005
"This collection
provides a striking cross section of William Neil's interpretive prowess...The
Bach pieces are given atmospheric and loving performances...particularly
moving...a fine
performance...Ewazen's A Hymn for the Lost and the Living is
alone worth the price of admission...[the Widor excerpts] are done with
requisite panache..."
Fanfare - May/June 2005
"William Neil
fulfills his duties brilliantly...[This is a] varied and incessantly diverting
program...Gleaming and lifelike recorded
sound adds immeasurably
to the experience"
Tim Page, The Washington Post - December 2004
BASSOON
BRASILEIRO – Frank Morelli / Orpheus Chamber Orchestra MS1110"
"Recommended
to bassoonists? Yes, thanks to the repertoire, to Morelli's tone and technique,
and to MSR's
really fine recorded
sound. Recommendable beyond that? Yes again,
because the music is good, heartwarming Brazilian fodder, and the orchestra is
still sharp. [Morelli] shows superb legato control..low notes are smooth, full
and fruity...midrange sings..."
Fanfare - May/June 2005
"The
bassoon playing in this recording is as good as it gets.
Morelli’s sound is
the consummation of stability, Flexibility and sensuality. This is the best
engineered recording for a solo instrument…that I’ve reviewed. The balance
between Morelli and the orchestra should be a benchmark for future
recordings."
American Record Guide,
January/February 2005
"Frank
Morelli…brings out [the] lyrical nature very pleasingly, and his tone is plush
yet still characteristically reedy…[his] playing is a joy to
hear."
The Gramophone - January 2005
BAROQUE FIREWORKS – Frank Morelli
& Friends MS1109
"an attractive
program of sonatas...Morelli swings through a 69-minute program in which you
cease to be aware of the passage of time while the gorgeous music pours into
your ears. Kudos also for the recorded sonics...They have a nice spatial quality
that allows us to hear all the instruments in true perspective..."
Atlanta Audio Society - December 2004
O MAGNUM MYSTERIUM – The
Tiffany Consort MS1108
2006
GRAMMY NOMINEE
"...pure tone [and]
textural transparency...This disc makes for an impressive introduction [to The
Tiffany Consort].
The choral sound is bright, well blended and finely
tuned...there's a sense of rhythmic unity to the singing...the singing is
intimate, rapt and wondefully alive...A promising debut...the recording is
flattering."
The Gramophone - September 2005
"...a handsome
anthology...[Nicholas White's 'Magnum Mysterium'] is delightful as is the
concluding 'Alleluia' and 'Hodie'...The eight voices [of Tiffany] are youthful,
bright and clear, and the conductor has them modifying vocal color, arching
phrases and milking suspensions with the best of them..."
American
Record Guide
- July/August 2005
"The
purity of tone, clarity of diction, and blended ensemble are worthy of
established groups that have sung together much longer. This is more than just a
Christmas disc, an impressive debut"
Fanfare - May/June
2005
ALPIN
HONG PIANO DEBUT MS1107
"Pianist Alpin Hong
certainly has plenty of facility to spare...an exciting and intelligent
performance, well worth seeking out...Hong invests [the Debussy] with all the
colors the piano can produce...a warmly expressive artist..."
American
Record Guide
- July/August 2005
"Alpin
Hong...plays this material with brilliance and no little insight. His approach
is crisp and contemporary...Hong's Scarlatti is dazzling...All of Hongs
strengths come together for his riveting performance of the Stravinsky. His
playing here bristles with energy and razor sharp precision. Hong is a striking
young artist."
Fanfare
- May/June 2005
STANTON:
A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN – Amabile String Quartet MS1106
"These
engaging works for string quartet come from...Sarah E. Stanton...a trained
cellist with a gifted ear for the sonorities of the quartet format...[the pieces
possess a] serene mood...rhythmic freedom, and harmonic inventiveness...There is
a marked spiritual component...which provides unity to the pieces. They evoke
moods from playful to intense, but the sequence is never jarring and they seem
to flow into one another without losing a sense of individuality. It's quite an
accomplishment... these are daring compositions that speak to the heart without
mawkishness".
Classical
Music Review, 2005
CELTIC CARAVANS – Julianne
Baird & Linda Burman-Hall MS1105
"Julianne Baird has
never been in lovelier voice
as she spins out the lines with subtle elegance,
responding warmly to the hints of local colour, Scotch snaps and the like, in an
entirely natural manner...the Lux Musica ensemble excels...'Celtic Caravans'
provides almost indecent pleasure. Gregory K. Squires has captured the colours
in an intimate, demonstration-class recording."
The Gramophone - February 2005
"A gorgeous,
generous recital
of music that I love deeply...The amazing Baird’s
exceptional, lightly nuanced voice is naturally reproduced (and has never
sounded younger or fresher)...The small Lux Musica ensemble (flute, violin and
cello) enhances the sensual pleasures of the music."
Laurence Vittes, Audiophile
Audition 2004
A
SENSE OF PLACE – Triple Helix Piano Trio MS1103
"The Triple
Helix...reveals first-rate artistry here...the players provide each score with
an individual 'sense of place', as their programme aptly proclaims...Mystery
abounds in the group's performance of Ravel's Trio...Triple Helix pays keen
attention to the [Shostakovich's] expressive contrasts...[Bayla] Keyes, Rhonda
Rider and Lois Shapiro find wonder and suspense in this ethereal eastern journey
[in the Sheng], as they do wherever they travel musically on this cherishable
disc."
The Gramophone - December 2004
FOOL'S GOLD Music for Male Vocal Quartet – Songfellows
MS1102
"[The members of Songfellows] come exuberantly
to life in [this] material."
Fanfare - November/December 2004
"The
Songfellows is an exuberant and highly musical male vocal quartet...These gents
have both the soul and the swing to bring ["Honey Brown"] off
beautifully...Their blend is quite smooth for such a small ensemble...their
sound pleases, and their infectious spirit captivates. This is singing for the
sheer and simple joy of it"
American Record Guide - March/April 2005
"[Amaize's
performance of Shostakovich's Op.62 settings evoked]
a real sense of
atmosphere...I relished the long, unfolding lines... through the final number in
Mussorgsky's Sunless Cycle"
Fanfare - May/June 2005
MUSIC
FOR LORD ABINGDON – The Hanoverian Ensemble MS1099
"This
is an outstanding release. All of the pieces on this recital are of the highest
calibre, and quite enjoyable to hear...The Hanoverian Ensemble plays this
music... with elegance, grace, and precision. Flutists John Solum and Richard
Wyton deserve high praise for their beautiful phrasing and polished style. I
cannot stop listening to this. Anyone who appreciates elegant music played with
great dignity and remarkable attention to detail should buy this."
American Record
Guide, September/October 2005
"The Hanoverian
Ensemble provide benchmark interpretations...each work glows with tonal beauty
as well as an innate feeling for the music...a historically informed set of
readings that will please the most selective of listeners, even those who are
not firmly in the period-instruments camp."
Fanfare
- June/July 2004
"the Hanoverian players are cohesive partners whose vibrant
period-instrument skills animate the music's vivacious and lyrical aspects. John
Solum and Richard Wyton meet the challenges of the flute parts with woodsy
grace, and they collaborate nimbly with cellist Arthur Fiacco and violist Monica
Gerard".
The
Gramophone, March 2004
SOUND
DREAMS – Sue Kyung Song MS1098
"The
program is simply beautiful."
American Record
Guide - January/February 2004
"[the]
Bach pieces come across with
fine sensitivity to phrasing, style and
sonority."
The Gramophone - February 2004
ERIK SATIE: VISIONS – Linda Burman Hall MS1097
"Linda
Burman-Hall plays this familiar music with the proper mix of subtle
humor and naive expression...The unique timbre of [the]
vintage Érard works well in this material...the effect is charming...something
of [her Baroque] sensibility informs her smart performances. [Patrice Maginnis]
conveys the charm and direct expression of the songs without...pretension."
Fanfare
- June/July 2004
FROM BACH TO BERNSTEIN – Gregory Miller, horn MS1096
"[I
give this]...a favorable review"
Fanfare
- November/December 2004
"The
sonics are super, the balance is quite fine, and the nuances are very
satisfying... Mr. Miller's tone and projection fill the hall quite nicely, and
Mr. Barretta's accompaniments are sympathetic to the solo line at every
juncture... Mr. Miller lends us a fine palate of dynamics and timbres throughout
this disc"
The
Horn Call, May 2004
MASTERS, MONSTERS
& MAZES – Trefoil MS1095
"From
the first notes of "Le basile" (Solage, fl. 1390), the ensemble
Trefoil re-creates the exotic and mysterious world of late 14th-century French
music... Subtle indeed, and beautifully wrought in this very attractive
recording... Each work is a gem... Trefoil's sensitive interpretations and
choices of performing medium revel much of the logic in this music...the sheer
beauty of sound is reward enough."
Early Music America Magazine,
Vol. 12 No. 2, Summer 2006
CHRISTO E NATO
Lauding the Nativity in Medieval Italy – Trefoil MS1094
"A
very pleasing collection of Medieval songs for celebrating the nativity...this
new program is an excellent addition to the catalog. I enjoyed hearing the three
members of Trefoil - all veterans of the early music scene."
American Record Guide -
November/December 2005
TRUMPET & STOPS – Edward
Sandor & Andre Lash MS1093
"Performances are fine."
Fanfare - November/December 2004
"Sandor and Lash undertake an
intriguing program...There is...glorious musicianship displayed in this program.
Recommended for the adventuresome listener"
Atlanta Audio Society - November 2004
SOUTHERN
QUILT – Greg McCallum MS1092
"...an imaginative
recital...well worth hearing. McCallum makes strong claims for the music,
showing himself to be equally adept at the sweet lushness of the Still and in
the mechanistic drive of the Rzewski...warmly recommended."
Fanfare - November/December 2004
SENKU
- William Chapman Nyaho MS1091
"...There
is much wonderful music to be discovered here, and William Chapman Nyaho plays
it all with beauty of tone and consummate artistry...The sound on this CD ...is
superb. This disc is highly recommended."
Fanfare -
May/June 2004
"...played
with superior expressivity, rhythmic vivacity and kaleidoscopic shading...The
humanity of the music and Nyaho's gripping performances kept my ears glued to
this disc"
The Gramophone - March 2004
HANDEL: LOVE
LOST AND FOUND – Patrice Djerejian
MS1090
"In
the singing of the young Patrice Djerejian...there is much to admire. The
voice...is rich and warm, the technique more than adequately clean and
flexible...the singer and her collaborators achieve many touches that are
beautiful and moving...This is clearly a singer to watch"
Fanfare - March/April 2004
"...an
obviously very talented and serious singer....she has a secure virtuosic
technique as well as a fine dramatic spirit to go with her rich vocal color. She
is able to dig into the emotional content of each piece to fine theatrical
effect."
American Record Guide - March/April
2004
TAKE 9 – American Horn Quartet & Horns of the New York Philharmonic
MS1089
"
...the playing is great...this CD should be an inspiration to hornists
everywhere. Fine engineering..."
Fanfare -
April/May 2004
"Horn
playing throughout is positively dazzling, particularly in the Candide
Overture, a tour-de-force of horn virtuosity...the sound is
outstanding, brilliantly capturing the glistening sound of massed horns.
[Producer and engineer] Gregory K. Squires...has done a magnificent job."
Classical
CD Review - 2004
PIANO MUSIC OF AURELIO DE LA VEGA – Martha Marchena
MS1088
J.S.BACH: TWO
FACES OF GENIUS – Linda Burman-Hall MS1086
"...
its easy to praise this new disc by Linda Burman-Hall. She is technically
skilled, as we hear in her bravura performance...She plays the familiar
concerto...with zest and with a lyricism that makes one want to sing as well as
dance... Her rhythms are secure, her tempos perfect, and she manages everywhere
to demonstrate the joy of Bach's melodies. This is an excellent addition to the
vast canon of recordings of Bach's keyboard music."
Fanfare -
May/June 2004
"...this
is one of those recordings whose intent transcends simple enjoyment...Burman-Hall
can let loose staggering feats of virtuosity...her stormy performance of the
Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue [is] seething with ferocious improvisational
energy."
The Gramophone - February 2004
"[An]
attractive program...The performances shine...[because of] her excellently
conceived and executed ornamentation and virtuoso additional passagework - the
lightning fast 16th notes she adds...in the Concerto's third movement...are the
most memorable...Burman-Hall is an exciting and imaginative artist"
American Record Guide - March/April 2004
THE
POETESS SINGS – Carolyn Heafner MS1085
"She
simply, respectfully, and very lovingly, gives us a few thumbnail bits and
pieces of Dickinson's life, and then electrifies us with 28 of the poems, set to
music...."
The Globe-Times - Bethlehem PA
"This
is a worthy project...nicely conceived and executed"
Fanfare - March/April 2004
HAYDN
RECITAL – Thomas Sauer MS1084
"Sauer's
technique is impeccable but never in evidence for its own sake. From the opening
phrases, one feels a friendly warmth and welcoming lightness of spirit,
punctuated by gruff cadences; all of this seems true to the composer and to the
music...Sauer has a keen sense for balance, at the keyboard as well as
interpretively...[he] would send each member of [an] audience home
smiling".
Fanfare - March/April 2004
FLUTE
MUSIC of ROBERT BAKSA –
Katherine Fink & Elizabeth DiFelice MS1080
"...the
flute music of Robert Baksa...with its lucid structure and effusive and natural
melodic content...is easy to enjoy...ingratiating without being overly
simplistic. Baksa has superby sympathetic performers at his disposal here.
Katherine Fink is a delightful flutist, producing a voluptuous tone with fine
gradations of color. She maneuvers through Baksa's many virtuoso passages with
great agility, but nary a hint of showiness, and she is elegantly supported by
Elizabeth DiFelice on the piano.
Fanfare - June/July 2004
"This is
optimistic music...Fink and DiFelice are fine collaborators... DiFelice [uses]
a fine, lyrical touch...Fink shapes melodies with breadth of color and clear
direction. She has a crystal-clean sound and a nice light vibrato."
American
Record Guide - March/April 2004
"As
performed by Katherine Fink and Elizabeth DiFelice, Baksa's music...conveys the
freshness of sunlight and limitless space as it explores the expressive
capabilities of [the flute, and] always with a tonal frame of reference. A
charming recording."
Atlanta Audio
Society -
Spring 2004
HAYDN
RECITAL – Todd Crow MS1078
Todd
Crow plays...with great elan, illuminating every note and delivering
breathtaking bursts of sheer pianism...everyone who loves the piano should hear
this disc"
Fanfare - March/April 2004
PIANO
RECITAL – Alexandre Dossin MS1072
"It
is doubtful if listeners will be able to resist [Dossin's performances] once
they have listened"
American Record Guide -
January/February 2004
DIALOGUES –
Marianiello-Reas Duo MS1069
"The performers
make a fine team. They achieve flawless ensemble and
perfect balance, in which
both the similarities and contrasts between
the two instruments are evident. Linda Marianiello ...plays with
a full-bodied and colorful tone, liquid, yet articulate. Keith
Reas['s] .....playing is rhythmic, controlled, and sensitive. The
registrations are always appropriate, achieving the proper balance as
well as variety of color and dynamic."
The American
Organist -, September 2004
LISZT
RECITAL – Nadejda Vlaeva MS1063
"...one
of the best [Liszt recitals] I've heard in years...Vlaeva shows a rare
sensitivity to every nuance"
Atlanta Audio Society - February 2004
PIANO
RECITAL – Victoria Mushkatkol MS1057
"[She
produces a] gorgeous tone...one of the best accounts I've heard of JS Bach's
French Overture in B minor...She takes the opening of Ballade No.2 ...as softly
and beautifully as we are likely to hear" - –
Classical
CD Review - 2004
SCHUBERT
RECITAL – Todd Crow MS1033
"Crow's
playing is exquisite in its silken tranquility...[he plays with] utter
grace...Crow's delicate touch, his great sensitivity to the terracing of
dynamics, make the reading pellucid, even visionary...utterly delightful to the
ear...dynamics are beautifully nuanced but never precious. Sound quality [is]
excellent...highly recommendable"
Fanfare
- November/December 2000
MOZART:
COMPLETE PIANO SONATAS – Heidi Lowy MS1026
"Ms. Lowy is a poet and a communicator par
excellence. Her technique displays impressive power and passion...but she is
also capable of gentleness and tranquility...Phrases are shaped with much
care...She is capable of producing a near kaleidoscopic array of colors and she
successfully captures the minutest details of Mozart's scores, bringing them
forth with an enviable and natural ease absent in some of her competition...The
sound quality is excellent, expertly juxtaposing both intimacy and immediacy in
a way that should make some of the larger record companies green with envy."
Fanfare - May/June 2005
J.S.BACH:
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II – David Korevaar MS1021
TOP 25 RECORDINGS
American Record Guide -
July/August 2005
LISZT:
Sonata in B minor et al. – Timothy Smith MS1018
"[Smith] may be said
to have gone on a mighty virtuoso tear with these warhorses...He is an
impetuous, powerful player who rises to their grandeur with rhetorical
grandiloquence...his rubato has the flair of a great actor making the dramatic
most of a soliloquy that, without sounding forced or calculated, lends the
overly familiar a series of jolts that keeps one's attention on the qui vive...this
is impressive and towering...it yields one of the more gripping accounts of the
Sonata in recent memory. Sound is transparently immediate."
Fanfare - July/August 2000
"[Smith] offers a committed, often majestic reading." American Record Guide - July/August 2000
ZENOBIA:
Music of Cordero – Lawrence Del Casale MS1017
“Del Casale plays this
music admirably, with clean technique and with an ear for bringing out the
music's contrasts. Producer/engineer Gregory K. Squires has solved a perennial
puzzle: how to record the guitar intimately, without losing detail and warmth,
and without picking up extraneous noise. In terms of engineering, Zenobia is an
unqualified success." Fanfare
--
2001
A
TREE IN YOUR EAR – Stephen Caplan MS1014
"An interesting disc
offering so many differing styles of music that my imagination began to run
riot...[Caplan employs a] very comfortable approach to this diverse range of
music, his complete command of the instrument providing the many diverse
techniques and colors...the sound quality is crisp and well-balanced"
Fanfare - July/August 2000
RAVEL
& BRIDGE Sonatas – Charles Libove & Nina Lugovoy MS1012
"I
am really grateful that [Libove and Logovoy] are sharing these readings with us.
They fill their thrilling, extroverted Tzigane with huge amounts of energy
harnessed in a solid rhythmic framework, which makes for an extraordinarily
exciting performance. Their reading os the Sonata is tremendous. I love Libove's
singing sound. Don't miss this recording"
Fanfare
- July/August 2000
THE
NEGRO SPEAKS OF RIVERS – Odekhiren Amaize MS1011
"Odekhiren
Amaize brings his wondrous vocal instrument and his probing intelligence to bear
and, along with accompanist David Korevaar, ably maintains a venerable and still
evolving tradition."
Fanfare
- July/August 2000
PORA!
Russian Romances – Odekhiren Amaize MS082098
"Amaize
has a solid bass-baritone voice...I would be thrilled to encounter him in
recital and hear a program like this one...His sharply focused sound, the strong
high notes, and his comfortable generalized feel for the shape of the music are
all assets. The recorded sound is quite good, natural and well-balanced."
Fanfare
- July/August 2000
J.S.BACH:
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I – David Korevaar MS082198
TOP 25 RECORDINGS -
"...command of large-scale structure, tonal variety, and welcome rubato"
American
Record Guide - July/August 2005
"David
Korevaar's interpretation deserves to win attention...Bach's musical thought and
spirit come through purely and simply...it makes for rewarding listening."
European Piano Journal
- Summer 1999
"...Korevaar's
plays Bach mellifluously and fluently...[he] has the skills to reproduce this
music without strain...there are real charms in [his] graceful approach..."
Fanfare -
November/December 1999
"Korevaar's
performance is singing and reassuring..."
American Record Guide
- July/August 2000
MSR MUSIC LLC
INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL
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203.304.2486 PHONE
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