Wolf-Ferrari: Orchestral Works

 “A warm welcome to a superb collection of Wolf-Ferrari's sparkling orchestral music...The Suite-Concertino in F is a great rarity - and what a charmer it is, with Chandos's recent find, the superb bassoonist Karen Geoghegan, bringing out all the colour of this score...The Chandos recording is first class, with the deep, resonant bass-drum in L'Amore medico marvellously captured.” --Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“…Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic weight and pace these often featherlight textures to perfection, particularly in the several delightful song-based movements with plucked or strummed accompaniments. But where this disc scores over most comparable compilations is in... a substantial 20-minute bonus in the form of the 1933 Suite-Concertino for bassoon and strings (plus two horns). This is something different, at least in the opening Notturno, where Karen Geoghegan exudes a tender melancholy as the so often clownish bassoon puts on its sad face and wails its lonely lament through the night, even if it awakes more predictably to a bubbliness for the remaining three movements.” --BBC Music Magazine, August 2009 ****

“The Suite Concertino, beautifully played by Karen Geoghegan, is ravishing and original, and the extracts from Il Campiello and L'Amore Medico have a seductive charm. Noseda conducts it all with quiet passion, and the BBC Philharmonic's playing is finely judged in its combination of virtuosity and restraint. A treat.” --The Guardian, 10th April 2009 ****

Tchaikovsky, Saint-Säens & Ginastera: Cello Works

Cellist Sol Gabetta possesses a beautifully singing tone, an evenly warm sound across the range of her instrument, precise intonation, and a large array of colors and techniques at her disposal. Yet her debut album fails to make a tremendous impact on its listeners. While sheer technique and virtuosity shouldn't win out over considerations of musical artistry, works like the Rococo Variations still require at least a little bit of sparkle and dazzle to maintain the excitement. Despite her amply beautiful sound, Gabetta's interpretation comes across as cautious and lackluster. 

The seven variations lack adequate distinction in tempo and character, with the third, fourth, and sixth variations being interminably slow. The Saint-Saëns concerto is slightly more vigorous in the first theme, but by the second theme the tempo once again comes almost to a standstill. Ginastera's Pampeana No. 2, heard here in a version for cello and string orchestra, is the most interesting and vivacious piece on the disc, but is still not as fiery as it should be. 

The orchestra accompaniment is similarly sluggish and the playing in the string section is often imprecise. While listeners will most likely enjoy Gabetta's rich sound, they may wish to look elsewhere for a more lively and varied performance of all the works heard here. --allmusic.com

Smetana & Sibelius: String Quartets

'By the time of the Second Quartet, Smetana's final madness was almost upon him; the Dante's characterise its rapid mood changes with a cold intensity. This is a splendid issue' --BBC Music Magazine

'The Dante Quartet can scarcely be faulted … Each performance is eloquent, intense and emotionally gripping … the D minor Quartet has an entirely appropriate earthiness and the urgency of all the fast movements is compelling' --Gramophone Magazine

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE CHAMBER MUSIC CHOICE

'These performances are superb - the Dante Quartet players really have the ability to bring music alive and sustain the listener through these examples of the quartet repertoire that may still be finding homes. Blessed with first-class sound and excellent annotation, this generous release is a winner' --International Record Review

'The Dante Quartet has developed into a force to be reckoned with … Each player contributes bag-loads of personality, drawing out the chill winds of Sibelius and the earthy rhythms of Smetana's Czech polkas' --Classic FM Magazine

Beethoven: The Creatures of Prometheus

'Full of music which is not only immensely attractive but also highly original … a splendid disc, strongly recommended' --CDReview

'Highly recommended' --The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs

'A dashing performance of unreasonably neglected music … superb' --Classic CD

'This superb account of Beethoven's early ballet is a revelation' --The Guardian

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Sir Charles Mackerras

J.C. & W.F.E. Bach: Sonatas & Duets for Piano Four Hands

«THE piano duo of the younger generation» --Claudio Abbado

Genova and Dimitrov is one of the most internationally sought-after piano duos today. Already as a two-months-young ensemble, the Bulgarian-Greek descended pianists caused a sensation by winning the Grand Slam of piano duo competitions within only two years, namely the ARD (Munich), Dranoff (Miami), Tokyo (Japan) and Bellini (Sicily) competitions, a feat that has not been matched to this day.

Frederick the Great: Flute Concertos & Symphonies

Though royalty and the aristocracy played important parts as patrons of the arts in eighteenth-century Europe, few were as directly involved as Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, who was not only a patron of music and musicians, but also an accomplished performer and composer in his own right.

King Frederick's compositions (almost all for flute) are far from being the works of a dilettante. Predictably, they are modeled on Quantz's compositions, but possess an individuality and gentle charm at odds with the conventional image of a Prussian monarch.

Rubinstein & Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos

“this 24-year-old German pianist may occasionally sound more relentless than giving, though the chill wind he blows through even the most lyrically assuaging passages will seem authentic to some...Less generally, Moog is at his most interesting in the mercurial twists and turns he gives the cadenzas...There may be more affecting Rachmaninov Third Concertos on record...but it is certainly among the most formidable.” --Gramophone Magazine, June 2012

Joseph Moog (piano) · Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland Pfalz, Nicholas Milton

The outstanding young German pianist Joseph Moog makes his debut on ONYX with a superb disc of two great Russian piano concertos that have had very different fates.

Anton Rubinstein’s 4th was once one of the most famous and popular concertos in the repertoire, and many of the major virtuosos performed this work into the early years of the 20th century – when the composer’s other works vanished from the concert hall. He composed 5 piano concertos which can be considered as the models for those of Tchaikovsky and later Rachmaninov. Well written for the piano and the orchestra, Rubinstein’s 4th is the archetypal Romantic concerto – big tunes, big gestures, and plenty of exciting finger - work for the soloist. The neglect of this work today is hard to understand.

Rachmaninov’s 3rd concerto was one of the works that swept Rubinstein’s concertos from the concert platform. Its combination of virtuosity, symphonic structure, plus the hallmark Rachmaninov gift for melody has made this one of the most popular works in the repertoire, from the time of its premiere in the USA, with the composer as soloist and Mahler conducting. It is one of the most technically demanding concertos in the repertoire.

Joseph Moog has already established a formidable reputation as virtuoso and received rave reviews for his recent Liszt Concertos recording.

“Moog makes easy sense of it all, his light, glittering touch deftly partnered by Nicholas Milton and his Ludwigshafen-based orchestra...it comes as no surpise that he chooses the more mercurial of the two cadenzas options, though he can pull out the big guns at the the central climax of the Intermezzo...Moog is a pianist of transcendental technique whose future should be well worth following.” --BBC Music Magazine, June 2012 ****

Romantique

Elīna Garanča Sings Songs of Love and Despair
an Album for Her Fans

“If we needed more evidence that the Latvian mezzo is shaping up to be one of the 21st century’s greatest voices, this superb album of 19th-century arias supplies it in buckets. From top to bottom her timbre is rich and firm and her intonation virtually infallible...Pure vocal bliss.” --The Times, 6th October 2012 *****

Elīna Garanča (mezzo) · Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Yves Abel

In Romantique, Elīna Garanča makes a smashing return to the studio and puts her imprint upon the big Romantic repertory, brilliantly portraying such different heroines as Tchaikovsky’s Joan of Arc (The Maid of Orléans), Gounod’s Sapho and Saint-Saëns’ Dalila

Elīna Garanča’s mezzo-soprano is velvet; she is a stunning figure on stage; her formidable technique encompasses repertoire from Mozart and bel canto to dramatic roles and contemporary music

Conductor Yves Abel’s penchant for the voice and skill at leading an orchestra draws beautiful sound and potent drama from the Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Elīna Garanča’s rapport with this orchestra is deeper than ever.

Brahms: Cello Sonatas, Etc

The very opening of the E minor Sonata gives the clue as to what is in store. Maisky's tone is veiled and gentle, and his phrasing affectingly poetic - especially at 040', where the winding melody line makes way for Pavel Gililov to take over the principal theme. Track forward to 403", and sample the same passage in the repeat (not in itself a common occurrence in performances of this sonata), and the approach is more forthright, appropriately so given the more dramatic incidence that the development section has in store. Maisky holds the line with great skill, 

especially considering that both he and Gililov favour a fair degree of expressive rubato throughout (try the quietly broadened opening of the first movement's recapitulation, from 9'28"). The second movement is conversational and lightly pointed, with a tripping second set, and I loved the way the cello races ahead at 340' into the finale, beckoning the pianist to respond.

The opening movement of the F major Sonata is truly Allegro vivace and the pizzicatos that open the Adagio affetuoso slow movement set in at a brisk pace, with the tempo broadening only when the main melody line enters. Maisky's athletic approach follows through to the last two movements, though the Allegro passionalo's Trio is very lyrical.

Which leaves the group of 'songs without words' (Maisky's second series based on Brahms - the first was reviewed in 11/97), which work best where the melody line has an instrumental quality, as in Minnelied, for example, and could easily serve as one of Brahms's lyrical second subjects. Feldeinsamkeit and Der Tod, das ist die kühle Nachi respond equally well to Maisky's confidential manner of playing, but a Lied like Die Mainachl - with its aching crescendos -cries out for the presence of a human voice. Otherwise, all goes well and the sonata performances are recommendable.

Good alternative CD versions of the sonatas are plentiful, with Starker and Sebok and Schiff with Oppitz being among my personal favourites, but if overt affection and warmth of expression are among your highest priorities, then Maisky could well be your man. RC, Gramophone Magazine, October 1999

Szymanowski & Britten: Violin Concertos

“…Zimmermann… seems more at home in the Second Concerto, where the ecstatic element is leavened with the folk-influence that Szymanowski adopted later in his life - think Bartók rather than Scriabin. …in the Britten… Zimmermann is again responsive to the music's changing moods, and expresses them with an enormously varied tonal palette, and in the scherzo, with considerable virtuosity. Manfred Honeck steers his orchestra expertly, and the Swedish recording has bite.” --BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2009 ****

“…Zimmermann plays with flawless technique, ravishing pose and subtle range of colour. These are readings of strong personality, gutsy temperament and full-throated ardour. The captivating First Concerto is as passionate, sensuous and poetic as one could wish... The Britten is scarcely less impressive...” --Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2009

“Zimmermann makes light of the difficulties, throwing off the fiendish cadenzas (by Pawel Kochanski, the dedicatee of both works) with effortless ease. It is good to see a German fiddler championing Britten’s youthful work (1939-40), played here with the Swedish Radio SO under Manfred Honeck. Zimmermann’s sweet, intense tone is especially compelling in the concluding Passacaglia — prophetic of Britten’s mature style.” --Sunday Times, 19th July 2009 ****

“The performances are close on definitive. Soloist Frank Peter Zimmermann has the remarkable ability to adapt his tone to each work: he attains a unique level of tragic anguish in the Britten, but the craggy sound he deploys there contrasts sharply with the syrupy decadence he brings to Szymanowski's First and the heavyweight lyricism with which he plays the Second. The orchestral contributions are outstanding, too: the Warsaw Philharmonic under Antoni Wit are match-less in Szymanowski; for the Britten, Manfred Honeck conducts the Swedish Radio Symphony with a searching intensity that matches Zimmermann's own.” --The Guardian, 14th August 2009

“Benjamin Britten's violin concerto has never been among his most approachable works, but Zimmermann's cool, lyrical, crystal-clear style suits it perfectly, especially in the final Passacaglia, which gradually acquires a huge, desolate power. [In the two Szymanowsky concertos], Zimmermann perhaps lacks some rhapsodic warmth, but the gloriously exotic sounds of the First Concerto are magnificently realised, and the more folk-inspired Second blossoms idiomatically.” --The Observer, 26th July 2009

“[Britten's] Violin Concerto is given a forceful account by Zimmerman and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Zimmermann does particular justice to the shimmering, perfumed colours of [Szymanowski's Violin Concerto] No 1.” --The Telegraph, 11th August 2009 ***

Alessandro Scarlatti: 7 Concerti con Flauto

Alessandro Scarlatti, a native of Palermo, made his principal career in Naples, where he was instrumental in the development of 18th-century Neapolitan opera. An important and influential composer, the nature of his compositions – particularly next to changed fashions in opera and less appetite for cantatas, serenades and oratorios of this period – has led to otherwise unjustified neglect, in spite of Scarlatti’s extreme fecundity. Instrumental music includes keyboard toccatas and concertos as well as concerti grossi, trio sonatas and solo sonatas, all in the established style of the time.

Telemann: La Bizarre, Etc

Satire in music: Even in the eighteenth century, Telemann was regarded as the composer who had brought a new light-hearted spirit to German music. This innovation did not always earn him the praise of his compatriots. His suites, full of humour, imagination and impish gaiety, display all the art of a composer who was also capable of writing against the trends of his time. La Bizarre, which gives this programme its tittle, provides an admirable example.

"Telemann at his most light-hearted played with plenty of appropriate energy" --Gramophone Magazine

Not entirely without reason, Georg Philipp Telemann’s reputation today as a “light” composer often has unjustly discouraged would-be listeners from exploring his more challenging, if not extravagant side. And it’s a pity since Telemann, who was recognized in his day as quite the opposite, possessed extraordinary wit, a keen imagination, and a boundless sense of humor–all of which manifested themselves in his vastly prolific oeuvre more often than is generally believed.

My initiation began years ago with an LP recording of Telemann’s Suite for Hunting Horns and Orchestra, a riotous work setting the ensemble Rallye Louvarts de Paris’ dissonant blaring brass against the suave, seamless strings of the Jean-Francois Paillard Chamber Orchestra (briefly available on CD in an Erato collection titled “Telemann in Hambourg”). For the uninitiated, this new Harmonia Mundi offering by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin appropriately titled “La Bizarre” should do the trick. It’s a wonderfully inspired, intelligently conceived, expertly performed program guaranteed once and for all to put to rest Telemann’s stereotype as a strictly “light” composer.
Read more...

Mozart & Beethoven: Quintets for Fortepiano & Wind Instruments

Robert Levin and the Academy of Ancient Music Chamber Ensemble provide a look back through time. These pieces are now quite familiar to listeners who, for the most part, have heard them played with only contemporary instruments. Levin's fortepiano and the period instruments of the Ensemble give the music a much different feel. It seems fitting to a smaller room--a more intimate performance.

Mozart's Quintet for Fortepiano and Wind Instruments (K. 452) is structured much like a concerto and was one of the composer's own favorites. Levin and the Ensemble strive for consummate authenticity in performance, and the effort is well-rewarded.

The included Beethoven pieces may have similar orchestration, but the difference in style is apparent. They take on regal airs, contrasting with Mozart's lyrical serenity. Even with period instruments, Beethoven's compositions fill the room with sound, swelling with pride and enthusiasm.

Levin's reputation as a master of the fortepiano is well-earned. His performance is studied, yet full of personality. The Academy of Ancient Music Chamber Ensemble excels as well.

Ravel: Orchestral Works

“…the Daphnis et Chloé Second Suite is given a gem of a performance, the opening dawn sequence unravelling like a luxuriant carpet, the principal climax truly momentous. This is a sultry, insinuating Daphnis, stronger on seduction than on translucency, a performance steeped in a sense of theatre, very dynamically recorded. It's the crowning glory of a fine and compelling programme...” --Gramophone Magazine, December 2009

Gramophone Magazine
Editor's Choice - December 2009

“Nézet-Séguin’s ear for Ravel’s evocation of the twilit moments before dawn, and the spectacular sunrise, are fabulous...I’ve not heard a more gorgeously played orchestral disc all year.” --Sunday Times, 29th November 2009

“Four of Ravel’s orchestral scorchers — what’s not to like? Certainly not the sensuality with which Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdam Philharmonic pour over much of Daphnis and Chloe or the instrumental felicities of Mother Goose.” --The Times, 14th November 2009 ***

“[Nézet-Séguin] is attentive to the subtle rhythmic flexibilities of Ravel’s music and builds up the sonorities in delicate layers. Above all, he understands that the key to Ravel is not haziness but clarity.” --The Telegraph, 13th January 2010 ****

“Yannick Nézet-Séguin elicits disciplined and virtuosic playing from the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, with the superb. Recording enabling all sorts of details to be heard in Daphnis et Chloé. The muted string playing in La valse is delicious, with veiled tone and sighing portamentos.” --BBC Music Magazine, January 2010 ***

“This is sensational: Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Rotterdam will surely be one of those partnerships that magically adds up to more than the sum of its orchestral parts....I defy you to not gasp with sheer pleasure at the build-up of the Daphnis suite...Brilliantly played and superbly recorded.” --The Observer, 31st January 2010

Bohemian Rhapsodies

The sound Philips has captured is vibrant and extremely detailed. The solo instrument's distinctive color and richness of tone--it is a Guarneri del Gesú--come right across, while the orchestra's playing is captured with great accuracy and clarity. They play pretty well, too.

Kabalevsky: Concertos

The quirky fun music of Kabalevsky.

Kabalevsky's Violin concerto is a jaunty affair full of the same vibrant energy that characterizes his ballet music--particularly the finale, which in its rollicking gaiety is reminiscent of the composer's ever-popular The Comedians. The solo part is playful and virtuosic, with rapid runs that require substantial agility and dexterity, of which Lydia Mordkovitch provides both in ample measure. Neeme Järvi leads the Scottish National Symphony in a boisterously rendered accompaniment.

Cello Concerto No. 2 comes from another world entirely, opening in a dark and somber atmosphere not dissimilar to the first movement of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1. The cello offers a grim pizzicato statement of the work's main melody, a plangent tune touched by intimations of the Dies Irae. The music becomes brighter and more frenzied for the bristling scherzo, only to darken again for the powerful finale, which ends with resigned restatement of the opening melody. Raphael Wallfisch launches boldly into Kabalevsky's challenging solo writing, and his vivid projection of the music's troubled emotions is skillfully aided by Bryden Thomson and the London Philharmonic. Chandos provides sonorous, dynamically realistic recordings for both works. --Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Adagio · Music for Relaxation

This individual compilation taps into the spiritual mind and soul of relaxation. "Adagio" refers to the meaning "at ease," and this particular album exudes many moods in song for an alluring sonic adventure. Twelve selections of some of classical music's most innovating composers and musicians are included -- Albinoni, Mozart, Debussy, Grieg, Handel, Bach, Mussorgsky, Barber, Saint-Säens, Schmidt, Rodrigo and Khachaturian.

Alfvén: Swedish Rhapsodies

“Petri Sakari gives us the most natural, unaffected and satisfying Midsummer Vigil to be heard on disc. He's light in touch, responsive to each passing mood and every dynamic nuance, self-effacing and completely at the service of the composer. Moreover, in the Upsala-rapsodi and its later companion he's fresher and more persuasive than any of his rivals on record. Even the Wagnerian-Straussian echoes from the skerries sound convincing.

The only reservation concerns the Elegy from the incidental music to Ludwig Nordström's play about Gustav Adolf II, which might have benefited from greater reticence. Unusually for Sakari, he doesn't tell the tale simply or let the music speak for itself. The recorded sound is refreshingly free from analytical point-making; everything is there in the right perspective, although listeners whose first response is to find the recording recessed will find that a higher level of playback than usual will produce impressively natural results on high-grade equipment.” --Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

Duo

"Put on your headphones, close the door and soak in these direct-connection performances of Schumann, Brahms, Debussy and Shostakovich by pianist Grimaud and cellist Gabetta. This is terrific." --Mercury News, September 2012

". . . the duo's playful work on Schumann's "Drei Fantasiestücke" bears out both Grimaud's assessment and the pair's shared sensibilities. Brahms' Sonata for Piano and Cello No.1 in E minor, though possessed of more gravitas, is more lightly dealt with than I've heard before, while they bring a questing spirit to Debussy's Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor,

Gabetta's robust pizzicato work in the second movement and Grimaud's animated runs in the closing section both evoking the early jazz influence of the late Romantics." --Independent, October 2012

Helene Grimaud (piano) & Sol Gabetta (cello)

Two of today's most passionate and inspirational artists join forces in the recital programme that brought audiences to their feet at the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad in Summer 2011. The chemistry between Hélène Grimaud and Sol Gabetta left critics and audiences nothing short of euphoric and this first duo recording captures the revelatory magic of their collaboration

The album reprises the same programme the duo performed in Gstaad:

Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Claude Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor, Johannes Brahms Sonata for Cello and Piano No.1 in E minor and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Sonata for Cello and Piano.

Hélène’s recordings have been best-sellers on the Yellow Label with more than 800,000 units sold altogether to date. Sol is also a best-selling, chart-storming artist, who is regarded as one of the great cellists of our day.

Stanford: Violin Concerto, Suite

‘Here’s a real find: a major Romantic violin concerto by a British composer. Anthony Marwood is an inspired choice of soloist, with a silvery tone and immaculate intonation. Prepare to be enchanted, by both piece and performance’--BBC Music Magazine)

'Both works are irresistable, winsome and charming. It won me over instantly; my guess is that you'll surrender just as quickly' --Fanfare, USA

'A discovery of major importance. First class' --Gramophone

GRAMOPHONE 'RECORDING OF THE MONTH’
GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE
GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE (chosen by three critics)
CD REVIEW DISC OF THE WEEK 

'Rarely have I heard intonation so ringingly true, nor such an affecting chamber-like response with an orchestra in music of this period. This is the kind of playing that one can listen to for pleasure simply because of its ravishing, jewel-like tonal quality…an outstanding release' --International Record Review

'This masterful work speaks with a distinctly beautiful voice and has a perfect advocate in Marwood and the BBC SSO' --Gramophone

'A real find … Anthony Marwood is an inspired choice of soloist, with a silvery tone and immaculate intonation. Prepare to be enchanted, by both piece and performance' --CD Review

Saint-Säens: Piano Concertos 1-5, Etc

As a tourist, Camille Saint-Saëns felt compelled to climb every mountain and ford every stream. As a composer, however, Saint-Saëns felt perfectly comfortable staying at home with the most conservative of late nineteenth century composers. Indeed, in his piano concertos, Saint-Saëns sounds less like a late nineteenth century composer than like a Gallic Schumann, a composer of tuneful, virtuoso works that delight and beguile by rarely soaring and never challenging.

Even in these warmly affectionate performances by pianist Jean-Philippe Collard with André Previn leading the Royal Philharmonic, Saint-Saëns sounds like a stay-at-home composer. The works are superbly crafted and the performances are brilliantly effective with Collard's impressive playing and Previn's sympathetic accompaniment. But while they are charming enough as they happen, they are forgettable once they are over. No one who listens to these discs will regret it but few will want to do it more than once. EMI's remastering of the early digital originals is warmer but clearer and more detailed. --allmusic.com

Favourite Harp Concertos

Favourite Harp Concertos by Handel, Mozart, Eichner,
Boieldieu, Villa-Lobos, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Rodrigo

Ursula Hilleger, Osian Ellis, Annie Challan, Catherine Michel, Hubert Barwasher.
I Musici, London Symphony Orchestra, Antiqua-Musica-Orchestra
Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
Sir Colin Davis, Marcel Couraud, Antonio de Almeida.

Dussek: Piano Concertos

"Jan Ladislav Dussek…was one of the very first touring virtuoso pianists and a composer of works for his instrument. One of the most fascinating aspects of his piano concertos is their remarkably close kinship to Beethoven…Dussek seems to have absorbed Beethoven’s penchant for dramatic outbursts and flourishes while retaining individual touches of his own…The Adagio of the second concerto is pleasant…the finale, also in the minor key, reveals the composer’s Czech roots. 

Andreas Staier’s performance in this concerto is appropriately dramatic and lyrical in turns, and Concerto Köln works hand-in-glove with him. It is an exceptionally good period orchestra, playing with an outstanding sense of musical line and a fine control of dynamics. This is an interesting and welcome rerelease." --Fanfare, July 2012

Parry: Symphony No. 1, Concertstück

Parry’s First Symphony is a tautly constructed large-scale symphony written for Hans Richter. It is the work of a young man and evinces the broad bow-waved mastery and ebullience of youth. Schumann was, on this evidence, Parry’s hero and object of adoration. The Andante is lissom, smooth and calms the savage breast. The Scherzo skims and sprints along, full of the constant dialoguing mediation of youthful confidence and stormy power. It’s a commanding performance of a work the grandeur of which has not slowed its winged mercurial heels. It’s well worth hearing.

“Bamert proves a masterly interpreter and takes us convincingly through the symphonic terrain of a highly influential composer....The sound is rich and full to match the outstanding playing.” --Penguin Guide, 2011 edition [Parry: Complete Symphonies]

Sibelius & Khachaturian: Violin Concertos

“This new coupling confirms Sergey Khachatryan as among the most compelling players of his generation. … He moves around the [Sibelius] score with what seems like comparative ease, always intense though with a mode of attack that stops short of roughness.” --Gramophone Magazine

Gramophone Magazine
Editor's Choice - January 2004

“Sergey Khachatryan is among the most compelling players of his generation. Being the youngest- ever winner of the Sibelius Competition (2000) he was bound to record the Sibelius Concerto.

Interestingly, his conductor, Emmanuel Krivine, had already recorded the work with a star player of a slightly older generation, Vadim Repin. Common to both is a mellow, fairly softcore approach to the orchestral score, the new Sinfonia Varsovia recording, probably using a smaller band, warmer overall and with superior sound quality. Khachatryan's approach is smoother and more flexible, especially in the first movement's first cadenza, which he accelerates by stages, and the great leap that launches the second cadenza, which he edges into on a finely calculated crescendo. He moves around the score with comparative ease, always intense though with a mode of attack that stops short of roughness.

His sound in the lower registers is rich and fulsome, yet even at piano or thereabouts, he still manages to sustain a full-bodied tone.

Similar qualities inform the Khachaturian Concerto with a crisp, lightly articulated opening and seductive handling of the first movement's second set. In the finale Khachatryan knows how to coax a workable ebb and flow, ease his tone, lighten tension to facilitate a change in musical current. Again, Krivine and his team are sympathetic collaborators for a highly commendable performance.” --Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010