19 June 2022

Early Music Review, Richard Turbet
Mouton: Missa Faulte d'argent & Motets‘The entire performance of the Missa Faulte d’argent, which forms the second half of this programme, epitomizes all that is currently best in the performing and recording of Renaissance choral music. Every note is clear. Every melodic line is audible and can be followed in each part without difficulty by the listener. Every harmonic interaction, be it in the weaving and occasional clashing of melodic lines or in homophonic passages, is perfectly weighted. Tempi and volumes are calibrated to respond sensitively to the text and to the sound made by the music itself, so that there is never bland perfection nor emotional exaggeration, and the music and its text can be expressed as rhetoric or narrative, to inform, edify and delight the listener … we can be grateful for this second recording by The Brabant Ensemble of motets and a mass by Mouton—he has proved more than worthy of their (exceptional) further attention’ (Early Music Review)
15 June 2022
Artamag, France, Jean-Charles Hoffelé
Mendelssohn: Violin Sonatas«Tout le Mendelssohn solaire est enclos en ces pages comme dans le piano vif-argent de Cédric Tiberghien et l’archet passionné d’Alina Ibragimova. Quel duo ! Après leur impressionnant parcours Mozart, complétissime !, pour le même éditeur, voici qu’ils explorent chaque note que Mendelssohn aura écrite pour leurs deux instruments ensemble … album parfait, qui vient régler la question de la discographie» (Artamag, France)
» More11 June 2022

ArtMuseLondon, Frances Wilson
Bolcom: The complete rags‘After his sparkling C P E Bach disc, released on the Hyperion label in January 2022, Marc-André Hamelin, that fearless master of the piano who seems to be able to playing anything (and I mean anything!) moves seamlessly from the precision and clarity of early classical keyboard music to an album of piano rags, written over the last 50 or so years, by American composer William Bolcom … all are distinctive, appealing in their references back to Joplin’s model, but with multiple moods and harmonies, and brilliantly presented by Hamelin, who seems to really relish this repertoire (and if you didn’t know it, listening to him you’d never guess he’s a classical pianist—there’s a natural jazz insouciance to Hamelin’s playing throughout the disc). There’s wit and humour aplenty, tempered, when needed, by tenderness and poignancy, whimsy, much charm and ingenious invention. If you don’t know the music of William Bolcom, this disc should absolutely be your starting point. It’s a wonderful, revelatory, and, above all, really enjoyable listen from start to finish. Recommended’ (ArtMuseLondon)
10 June 2022
Presto Classical, David Smith
Bolcom: The complete rags‘Today’s Recording of the Week—the complete rags of octogenarian pianist-composer William Bolcom, clocking in at a little over two hours—might sound intimidatingly niche, perhaps of interest only to devotees of this particular genre. Nothing could be further from the truth; Bolcom’s twenty-six rags run a gamut from exuberance to introspection, from humour to expressions of deep pain and grief. And who better than Marc-André Hamelin to perform them? … Hamelin responds perfectly to the changing shifts of mood and emotion in Bolcom’s multi-faceted exploration of the ragtime genre, clearly illustrating its variety and adaptability. No wonder Bolcom has never quite managed to kick this particular musical habit!’ (Presto Classical)
» More4 June 2022
BBC Record Review, Andrew McGregor
Bolcom: The complete rags‘Bolcom's notes describe his ragtime journey from beginning to end, and Hamelin's playing is delightful. It's sympathetic, witty, virtuosic—you can almost hear him grinning with delight at Bolcom's harmonic and rhythmic ingenuity … brilliant entertainment’ (BBC Record Review)
4 June 2022
BBC Record Review, Andrew McGregor
Hahn: Poèmes & Valses‘The delicacy, fragility and suspended sound-world of Pavel Kolesnikov’s new recording is special, and his selection of the Rossignol pieces separated by the waltzes works really well. It’s a beautiful experience—subtle, mysterious, sometimes disorientating, abstract, intriguing—a little-known side of Hahn’s music magically presented here’ (BBC Record Review)
3 June 2022
colinscolumn.com, Colin Anderson
Bolcom: The complete rags‘It’s a red-letter day to have William Bolcom’s Rags recorded as an entity, in great sound … Bolcom’s a fine pianist, too, so the writing is idiomatic, gratefully seized upon by Marc-André Hamelin who plays these upbeat, sentimental and whimsical, laidback and scintillating, unfailingly tuneful pieces not only with virtuosity but also insouciance and relish that transmits itself openly to the listener revelling in the sheer variety of Bolcom’s invention’ (colinscolumn.com)
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