Classic FM Magazine
October 2011

The Music French music seems more susceptible than most to broad brush generalisations about style and tone, but whilst all four composers featured here are late-Romantics, the music is more varied than you'd expect from the wistful Pavanes to the outrageous brashness of lbert and the principal work, Poulenc's Piano Concerto.

The Performance live concert recordings aren't always successful, but with this programme of combined charm and exuberance, the London Chamber Orchestra deliver a crowd pleaser. Pascal Roge has become something of a Poulenc expert, and his sympathetic yet witty playing makes sense of Poulenc's profusion of ideas in the centrepiece Piano Concerto, getting the right balance between fun and musical sophistication.

The works Ravel and Faure—both takes on the Pavane benefit from the warm and expressive orchestral playing before everyone gets into the spirit of lbert's crazy chaotic world.

Here's a recording guaranteed to put a smile on your face! Enthusiastic and fun, yet with touching, tender moments and a clever awareness of the music's irony, the London Chamber Orchestra delivers a witty, exuberant collection.