Kaleidoscope

GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE
SUNDAY TIMES RECORD OF THE YEAR
10 DE RÉPERTOIRE (FRANCE)
CANNES CLASSIQUE AWARD

'Hamelin's performances are a wonder of brilliance and refinement. The recordings are superb, Jeremy Nicholas's notes a mine of informative titbits. In Marc-André Hamelin Hyperion clearly has a pianist to turn other record companies green with envy'  --Gramophone

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream

"On this CD, Previn's performance—which I rate the best of all counts—sounds wonderfully fresh. The strings in the Overture are deliciously clean and transparent and throughout the recording is clear and natural without losing its bloom, the overall enhancement and tangibility almost startling when compared with the LP. Moreover Previn not only includes the Melodramas—flimsy little bits of orchestration, that are nevertheless quite charming—but makes them seem structurally essential, in most cases. The singing of his soloists and choir is delightful and altogether this can be welcomed as leading the field on CD by a clear margin. Congratulations to Christopher Bishop and Christopher Parker for the excellent balance of the original recording, to whoever made the CD transfer, and most of all to Previn and his artists for some engaging fairy magic." --Ivan March, GRAMOPHONE

Biber: Violin Sonatas

"Romanesca ... is simply stunning; virtuosity so effortless as to be unnoticeable and a sense of capricious fantasy so vital to the convincing projection of such highly personal music, veering from mind-blowing complexity to artless simplicity, often in the space of a few seconds." –-BBC Music Magazine

Andrew Manze plays violins by Joseph Gagliano, Naples, 1783 and Hieronymus Amati, Cremona, 1663; bows by Gerhard Landwehr, Heemstede, 1986.

The Renaissance album

Söllscher manages to imbue his playing with the two conditions to which all great art should aspire -- clarity and mystery. No mean feat, given the modest nature of some of the material. How does he achieve this? By combining a historically informed attitude with a critical awareness that he is in fact a recreative artist looking back, with a certain wistful nostalgia perhaps, to a time that's very much a part of our collective subconscious . . . Söllscher shows how a sensitive and intelligent musician can use a modern guitar to encourage rather than restrict the listener's imagination. --Gramophone

Consonanze Stravaganti · Vol. I

Venetian & Neapolitan Music for Consort of Viols of the 17th century

Il Concerto di viole tra scuola veneziana e napoletana Arte dell'improvvisazione e retorica degli affetti - Vo.I

Seconde Stravaganze, Vol. II

Russian Works for Violin & Viola

“This is music in a vacuum (if burning to be released); both musically and emotionally it makes for compelling listening. With fine work from the pianists, airy focused and well-balanced sound, and an enlightening essay by Calum MacDonald, this is an outstanding release to those it might concern.” --Gramophone

“Lydia Mordkovitch, … has programmed some Russian music that deserves wider exposure, and the Volkonsky would be a valuable addition to the viola repertoire. Excellent sound.” --International Record Review

Mahler: Kindertotenlieder, Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen, Ruckert-lieder

'she sings them as beautifully as any contemporary female interpreter, with her smoky vocal colouring, her careful enunciation of the texts and her feeling for the heart-rending pathos of the music...there is a unity of purpose in these readings that makes them a must-hear for dedicated Mahlerians.' --Sunday Times, 31st July 2011 ****

Flute Moments

This CD presents an enjoyable selection of music by Alfven, Bach C P E, Bach Johann Sebastian, Boccherini, Elgar, Giuliani, Gluck, Grieg, Hofmann, Mozart, Nielsen, Wilhelm, Piazzolla, Rodrigo, Satie, Sköld S and Vivaldi.

Mostly Mozart

“The two arias from Zaide show off Erdmann's strengths: the outer sections of 'Tiger!' are full of fire, and 'Ruhe sanft' is delicate without being merely pretty...Erdmann's spirited, impeccably tuned soprano is a delight to hear, and this unhackneyed recital is richly enjoyable.” --Gramophone Magazine, July 2011

“Erdmann is certainly an interpreter of major gifts, most obvious in the more regular Mozart assignments, which all possess dramatic individuality as well as musical and vocal distinction...But contributing just as much to the disc's success is the orchestral playing under Andrea Marcon. The Basel-based period-instrument ensemble maximises the characterful elements of the writing throughout.” --BBC Music Magazine, July 2011 ****

Bach: Sonatas For Violin And Piano

For a recording that makes the best possible case for hearing these works with piano, listen to this disc. Here pianist Richard Kapp and violinist Mela Tenenbaum offer performances of uncommon clarity--performances that, owing to the bright, clean-edged timbre of the modern violin and to the sparkling, pearly tone of Kapp's piano, spring from the speakers with an ear-catching immediacy and freshness while remaining absolutely faithful to Bach's score. (Don't be thrown off by the incorrect listing of BWV 1014 as "A minor" rather than "B minor" on the disc's back cover.) No excessive liberties are taken with ornamentation nor do any other self-indulgent mannerisms intrude, but there's an overarching ease of delivery, a dancing playfulness to these performances that bespeaks mature, thoughtful artists at work--artists who also are having fun in the process.