Somm

Ian Venables is a curiosity, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Born in 1955, he composes in a style that for many would appear hopelessly outdated...Yet he carries this off without the results... — BBC Music Magazine, February 2011, 4 out of 5 stars More…

This first instalment in the Gould Piano Trio's complete Beethoven cycle has much to recommend it...[the Variations in E flat major op. 44 are] players with a delicate touch that makes each... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2012, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Lawrence Cummings emphasises the music's dramatic quality and generally paces it well… Rosemary Joshua in the title role sings the text as vividly as she does the notes. Christopher Purves... — BBC Music Magazine, January 2008, 3 out of 5 stars More…

The First Concerto was written when Mathias was only 20 and reveals a fascinatingly wiry, acerbic mindset which the composer largely jettisoned in his later style. With a greater sense of direction,... — Gramophone Magazine, December 2011 More…

This charming and generously filled disc, including several first recordings, should help to rectify the neglect of these attractive vignettes since the composer’s death. — BBC Music Magazine, October 2022, 4 out of 5 stars More…

There’s a lovely old-school, almost Ferrier-esque quality to this young Liverpudlian mezzo’s timbre, as evinced by her upcoming Sea Pictures with Vasily Petrenko, and it suits Harty’s pleasantly... — Katherine Cooper, Presto Music, June 2020 More…

the performances on this recording are all unfailingly musical and enjoyable. — BBC Music Magazine, June 2014, 4 out of 5 stars More…