Category: Classical
-
Chris Gekker: Moon Marked
Chris Gekker is one of America’s most acclaimed trumpet players, and currently professor of trumpet at the University of Maryland. This is his second album for Metier, recordings of works by six composers. Given his academic role, this programme of music could come over as dryly technical it does not, thanks to the warmth of…
-
Himlische Cantorey: Johann Pachelbel, Magnificat
Pachelbel was a German composer, organist, and teacher who “brought the south German organ schools to their peak”, says Wikipedia: he composed a large body of sacred and secular music, but today he is mostly famous for one piece of music: Canon in D Major. You’ve all heard it, and Pete Waterman called it “almost…
-
Danijel Cerovic: Silvius Leopold Weiss, Lute Works
Weiss (1687–1750) was a German composer and lutenist, who served at courts in Breslau, Rome, and Dresden, where he died. He was one of the most prolific composers of music for the lute, and one of the best-known, most accomplished and best paid lutenists of his day. He composed more than 600 pieces for the…
-
Bosphorus Trio: Piano Trios (Turkish)
We like a bit of Turkish in the Review Corner. We went to a wedding in Istanbul (as you do, a chum married a Muslim) and did much for Anglo-Turkish relations by dancing energetically to Turkey’s top wedding banger, from Ömer Faruk Bostan. The wedding was just under the bridge on the cover of this…
-
Leonardo Balada, Clarinet Works, Caprichos Nos. 6and7 / Double Concerto
Barcelona native Leonardo Balada’s work has been labelled “Dalí’s surrealism in music”. (According to the sleeve notes, the great artist said of him: “I consider the young composer, Mr Leonardo Balada, to possess a remarkable talent!”). The release notes say this is an aspect of his work explored in this programme “through the technique…
-
Howard Skempton: The Man, Hurdy-gurdy and Me
We sometimes rave about albums but this is 100% wonderful. If we ever send a space rocket into space (in case you wondered where space rockets go), you could send this recording to sum up Britishness: witty, joyful, a bit mad, wildly eccentric and lots of fun. Whatever you want it’s got it, from early…
-
Cilia Petridou: Visions of the Greek Soul
This double CD of vocal music has an other-worldly feel, the second half of the programme being more traditional in sound. Aside from some piano, it’s all vocals (mainly soprano, plus tenor and bass). It’s a double album, in two parts: the first half is 15 songs inspired by the Muses and looking at our…
-
John McCabe: Scarlatti / Clementi Sonatas
An album it’s hard to say much about: John McCabe plays some great piano pieces very well. The music was recorded in 1981. McCabe was approached by Ted Perry, of Hyperion, who suggested some Scarlatti sonatas. McCabe wanted to record sonatas by Clementi, in his view an unjustifiably neglected composer, whereas many fine pianists were…
-
Erik Simmons: Portals, Carson Cooman Organ Music Vol 11
This came out a while back but we overlooked it — Simmons/Cooman are prolific to say the least — so we saved it for Easter, as it’s got a contemplative feel to it, while not being too heavyweight. (Though as Simmons is sat at the pedals of the Sun Organ of St Peter and Paul,…
-
Folk Music of China, Vol 3: Folk Songs of Yunnan
We Are Family is the opening piece but there’s no Sister Sledge in sight on this collection of traditional songs. The CD is the latest in a series exploring China’s diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in this recording are folk songs of three of the minority ethnic groups of Yunnan province — Wa, Blang,…
Review Corner 