“Alsop and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra prove worthy interpreters if Bartók’s psyco-drama. Alsop bathes the score in an impressionist glow, dark and glistening. She gives her excellent soloists… ample room to define the drama, while tightening the screws where appropriate, making for a suitably chilling climax. A bargain at £5.99.” Andrew Clark – Finaicial Times review 4 stars (10 November 2007)
“[Veronique Gens] makes a lovely sound, cool and fresh as spring water. The disc is collectable for the rarely heard Chants de France and Triptyque… This is sumptuous vocal-orchestral music…” Hugh Canning – Review in The Sunday Times (11 November 2007)
“Alsop’s triumphant cycle of Brahms symphonies with the LPO comes to a climactic end with this hugely impressive account of the Fourth. She has that ability, vital in music as dense as this, to hurry nothing, to make the most of the moment, yet always to maintain a sense of impetus.” Stephen Pettitt – Sunday Times Review 4* (23 September)
"This is the best new budget-price Brahms 4 for a long time, and Alsop’s cycle as a whole… is by any measure and impressive achievement." Calum MacDonald - Review in BBC Music Magazine October 2007 Perf 4*/Sound 4*
“…structurally, Alsop knows where she is going, and the playing has huge warmth and flair. A selection of seven Hungarian Dances makes an enjoyable filler.” Andrew Clark – Review in Financial Times (8 September)
“…Alsop’s unmanicured ways are refreshing. There is brooding beauty, and a nice range of autumn colours.” Geoff Brown – Review in The Times 3* (8 September)
“…everything on this very enjoyable disc is of high quality... Much to be recommended.” Calum MacDonald - Review in BBC Music Magazine October 2007 Perf 4*/Sound 4*
“Grab this irresistible opportunity to explore Bax’s two-piano output… I need merely confirm that Ashley Wass and Martin Roscoe are outstandingly idiomatic and breathtakingly secure interpreters of all this attractive material and they have been recorded with notable fidelity. A peach of a disc, no question about it.” Andrew Achenbach – Review in Gramophone (November 2007)
“Sullivan fans will welcome this recording…lovingly conducted by David Lloyd-Jones.” David Cairns – Review in The Sunday Times 3* (30 September 2007)
“Vigour, elegance and happiness all combine in this benchmark performance.” David Denton – Review in Yorkshire Post (7 September)
“A welcome coupling, with the ballet as starter for the splendid symphony… Lloyd-Jones has the edge… in the natural unfolding and emotional contrast of [the Irish Symphony]. There’s a more inherent urgency to the outer movements and a greater attention to instrumental details throughout. The second movement is beautifully done. Even for those who have an earlier version there’s a strong case for this inexpensive newcomer. For those who don’t, the recommendation is a clear one.” Andrew Lamb – Review in Gramophone (November 2007)
“These performances are first-rate, and vividly recorded, which pay tribute to David Lloyd-Jones’s abilities to rehearse and record unfamiliar music to a very high standard. John Gardner’s music demands to be heard and this Naxos release makes this ridiculously easy.” Colin Anderson – Review in Classical Source (21 September)
“This excellently presented disc shows Gardner to be a distinctive and perhaps unjustly overlooked figure.” Andrew Clements – Review in The Guardian 3* (7 September 2007)
“A brilliant birthday tribute to a shamefully neglected composer… This coupling of two of John Gardner’s major works could not be more welcome… a performance brilliantly backed by David Lloyd-Jones and the RSNO… most attractive music.” Edward Greenfield – Review in Gramophone (November 2007)
“splendidly conducted”. Paul Driver – Review in The Sunday Times (9 September 2007)
“It would be hard to imagine a more sumptuous disc…This is Naxos’s fourth Stokowski disc and is the finest yet.” Edward Greenfield – Review in Gramophone (Awards issue)
“A Stanford CD premiere and a convenient grouping of the three chamber works with solo clarinet, in excellent performances. Bargain of the Month.” Christopher Howell – Review in Music Web (September 2007)
“There is much to admire in these four chamber works for clarinet… British clarinetist Robert Plane plays their mellifluous themes with grace and affection.” Jeremy Nicholas –Review in Classic FM Magazine 3* (October 2007)
“Plane’s clarinet has an eloquent and expressive voice.” Rick Jones – Review in The Times 3* (4 August 2007)
“Plane [is] even more responsive to the music’s raw emotion and beaming fantasy than eith [Thea] King or Emma Johnson… Indeed, it’s hard to imagine more sympathetic music-making… the performance is absolutely first-class.” Andrew Achenbach – Review in The Gramophone (Awards 2007)
“Koukl has a clear vision for each [work’s] expressive language and there is a huge amount to enjoy on this richly satisfying and well-recorded disc.” Jan Smaczny – Review in BBC Music Magazine Perf 4*/Sound4* (October 2007)
“…Expressively performed by the composer’s crisp-fingered countryman. ” Rick Jones – Review in Classic FM Magazine 4* (October 2007)
“[Madeleine Mitchell] produces a sound of blemishless purity, exquisitely coloured by myriad shades of vibrato and ear-ringingly true intonation.” Julian Haylock – Review in The Strad (September 2007)
“Performances throughout reflect great credit on all concerned in their scrupulous preparation and unquenchable conviction. Sound and balance, too, give no real cause for complaint. Alwyn’s growing band of admirers needn’t hold back.” Andrew Achenbach – Review in Gramophone (October 2007)
“The performances on this CD are – as usual from Naxos – of a very high standard and the various performers sound as if they have been playing this music all of their lives…” Review in Music Web by Ewan McCormick (September 2007)
“Violinist Madeleine Mitchell and a distinguished company of musical friends unlock the romantic richness of works such as the Sonatina and the gorgeous Ravel-like Ballade for a viola and piano. Outstanding.” Andrew Stewart – Review in Classic FM Magazine 4* (October 2007)
“…lovingly performed by accomplished British artists.” Anthony Holden – Review in The Observer (1 July)
All Naxos Historical, Naxos Classical Archives, Naxos Jazz, Folk and Rock Legends and Naxos Nostalgia titles are not available in the United States and some titles may not be available in Australia and Singapore because these countries have copyright laws that provide or may provide for terms of protection for sound recordings that differ from the rest of the world.
