4 June 2022
BBC Record Review, Andrew McGregor
Bolcom: The complete rags
Studio Master: CDA68391/2  2CDs  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘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
Studio Master: CDA68383  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘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
Studio Master: CDA68391/2  2CDs  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘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)» More
1 June 2022

Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No 1 & Moments musicaux
Studio Master: CDA68365  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Osborne works wonders as he renders the monstrously dense textures of the sonata pellucid and lends its meandering melodies direction, meanwhile giving the finale its full measure of infernal madness. Resisting every temptation to overplay, Osborne shapes confusion into dramatic purpose, lovingly enveloping the whole in imaginative insight … one is left wondering where, in the first quarter of the 21st century, one might turn for more idiomatic, more intelligent or more beautiful Rachmaninov-playing’ (Gramophone)
1 June 2022

Schubert: 21 Songs
Studio Master: CDA68169  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘This recital collects 21 of Schubert’s best-loved songs in an attractive bouquet of moods … there is much to enjoy here … every note is delivered with white-hot sincerity in Coote’s rich-toned voice … Drake’s piano similarly glows; he draws an exquisite sound from the instrument, the playing consistently elegant and restrained … the recording quality is clear and warm’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More
PERFORMANCE
RECORDING
30 May 2022
Classics Today, Jed Distler
Bargiel: Piano Trios Nos 1 & 2
Studio Master: CDA68342  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Hyperion’s Leonore Trio raises the bar regarding forceful accents, emotional urgency, and dynamic contrast, especially in their faster, gruffer Scherzo movements. Peter Avis’ informative booklet notes and Hyperion’s superb engineering further tilt this release’s recommendable scales’ (Classics Today)
28 May 2022
The Arts Fuse, USA, Jonathan Blumhofer
Bolcom: The complete rags
Studio Master: CDA68391/2  2CDs  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘These are, on the one hand, unfailingly tuneful and charming pieces. They chart both Bolcom’s unique career—his straddling the worlds of serious and popular musics, as well as his interactions with various luminaries like Eubie Blake and Rudi Blesh—and his natural gift for melodic invention. At the same time, they’re fantastically inventive and rigorous, compositionally and harmonically … throughout, the pianist makes light of the music’s technical demands. These are formidable: Bolcom’s writing is consistently virtuosic. Yet they’re nothing to Hamelin, who sounds as if he were born to play this repertoire. Voicings and balances are excellent. The energy level—especially rhythmically—never flags … the whole album stands as the definitive recording of Bolcom rags, complete or excerpted: a triumph for the pianist and the composer, as well as a grandly spirited, accessible, inventive journey for any who care to join them on it’ (The Arts Fuse, USA)» More
27 May 2022
Ludwig Van, Canada
Hahn: Poèmes & Valses
Studio Master: CDA68383  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘This is the most enjoyable piano album of the year so far’ (Ludwig Van, Canada)

26 May 2022

Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No 1 & Moments musicaux
Studio Master: CDA68365  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Trust Steven Osborne to cast candlelight on the distant voices and supernatural happenings others often miss in Rachmaninov … and when he pulls the full stops out, it’s awe inspiring … the ultimate build in the finale is astounding, too’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

26 May 2022

Vivaldi & Piazzolla: The mandolin seasons
Studio Master: CDA68357  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘The whole album fizzes with energy and spontaneity. The familiar sounds of Vivaldi’s Seasons are rewired with the plucked aesthetic of Reuven’s wildly virtuosic mandolin, the Piazzolla mixed up with quasi-dissonant echoes of Vivaldi, the seasons of each composer interlaced. The Sinfonietta Leipzig (musicians from the Gewandhausorchester) bring spontaneity alongside fastidious clarity and musicianship, underscored by Wellber’s brilliantly improvised accordion/harpsichord continuo … this is Vivaldi half-heard through an early morning mist in a Venice back-street, theatrical, ghostly, out of time, snatched notes from history as if played by a troupe of players from the more distant shores of the floating city’s old empire’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

14 May 2022
BBC Record Review, Andrew McGregor
Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No 1 & Moments musicaux
Studio Master: CDA68365  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘[The Moments musicaux are] played with a winning combination of charm, melancholy, and grandeur … what an excellent recording it is as well, perfectly embracing [Osborne’s] transparent tone and the range of colour and dynamics, which never turn brittle or ugly even under the more rigorous demands of the first piano sonata. Highly recommended, which is why it’s my Record of the Week.’ (BBC Record Review)
11 May 2022
The Times, Geoff Brown
Vivaldi & Piazzolla: The mandolin seasons
Studio Master: CDA68357  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Whatever the season, the result is sunny, cross-cultural and humane: a genuine Mediterranean tonic’ (The Times)» More

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