SPONSORED: CD Spotlight. A Very Joyous Disc - Brahms arranged by Kenneth Woods impresses Alice McVeigh.
All sponsored features >>
PROVOCATIVE THOUGHTS:
The late Patric Standford may have written these short pieces deliberately to provoke our feedback. If so, his success is reflected in the rich range of readers' comments appearing at the foot of most of the pages.
Spotlight. Outstanding Virtuosity and Style - Geoff Pearce is impressed with Telemann cantatas from Bergen Barokk. '... a very fine result ...'
Spotlight. Virtuosic Flair - Gerald Fenech recommends dance music played by Daniel Hope and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. 'Daniel Hope's fiddle-playing is just phenomenal ...'
Ensemble. Polish Style in the Gardens of Rome - Giuseppe Pennisi listens to sixteenth and seventeenth century Polish Baroque music
Ensemble. The Magical Countertenor Voice - Giuseppe Pennisi listens to Raffaele Pé
CD Spotlight. Innermost Tenderness - Gerald Fenech listens to arias by Johann Joseph Fux. 'Maria Ladurner is an inspired and impassioned advocate of Fux's music, and her supreme performances have a thrilling realism that brings out all the contrasting timbres of this fragile yet gravitas-filled music.'
CD Spotlight. Merriment and Joy - Music by Nicola Matteis, John Banister, Gottfried Finger, Matthew Locke and Johann Schop, warmly recommended by Gerald Fenech. 'Elegant and full of warmth, these dances are imaginatively orchestrated and extremely well crafted, and the playing is wonderfully affective.'
CD Spotlight. A Stupendous Disc - Roderic Dunnett listens to countertenor duets by Purcell and Blow. 'The music is sensationally beautiful and touching - and so are the performances.'
Ensemble. Breathless Excitement - In the last of his reports from the 2019 Buxton Festival, Mike Wheeler listens to music by Jean-Féry Rebel, Telemann, Marco Ucellini, J S Bach, and an improvisation on 'La Folìa', played by Improviso
CD Spotlight. Fascination and Influence - Gerald Fenech is impressed by Lucille Boulanger and friends. 'The talented foursome heard here rise brilliantly to the hurdles presented and performances are consistently full of charm and warmth, wrapped up in an aura of unmitigated sensitivity.'
Ensemble. Santa Fe, The City Different - Maria Nockin enjoys the summer opera fare in North America's oldest capital city
Sex and Absolute Power - Handel's 'Giulio Cesare in Egitto', reviewed by Giuseppe Pennisi
Ensemble. A Rich Sound - Handel's 'Samson', enjoyed by Robert Hugill
Ensemble. A Very Unusual Evening - Monteverdi's 'L'incoronazione di Poppea', reviewed by Maria Nockin