Anthony Goldstone died in January 2017 and in a review of one of his more “serious” collections, we lamented on lost talent. This new CD is more a cause for celebrating a life as he plays (with his wife Caroline Clemmow) some tunes that will bring a smile if not some tapping of toes. The […]
Maria Lettberg: Zara Levina, Piano Concertos
Zara Aleksandrovna Levina died in 1976 and, as you might guess, was a Soviet pianist and composer, now sadly languishing in relative obscurity. This new CD from (mainly) pianist Maria Lettberg aims to put that right, and it’s a pleasingly varied programme of music; you wouldn’t necessarily guess it was all the same composer. The […]
Piano-a-Deux: Porgy, Preludes and Paris – Gershwin arrangements for piano duo
Husband and wife Robert and Linda Ang Stoodley have a wide repertoire from “the pops” (as the release notes say) to major classical works. They’re virtuoso performers. They are also accomplished arrangers. For this new CD they play arrangements of George Gershwin, with works from the serious Porgy and Bess, to tin pan alley songs, […]
Mariko Terashi: Piano
We perhaps were not expecting too much from a Japanese pianist playing a Portuguese (Carlos de Seixas) composer, never having heard of either, but that just shows you should never judge. José António Carlos de Seixas (1704–1742) is described as a composer during the “golden age” of Portugal, an accomplished virtuoso of both the organ […]
Anna Szalucka: A Century Of Polish Piano Miniatures
This is a pianists’ piano album, as Szalucka is an exceptional pianist and can play both softly and very intensely; a couple of moments on this CD are incredibly fast. She’s won more prizes than you can shake a metronome at: 1st prize together with the Eller, orchestra, recital and Estonian Museum Awards at the […]
István Kassai / György Lázár Széchényi: Piano Music From A Hungarian Dynasty, 1800-1920
We can find little original to say about this entertaining and jaunty collection of music, and we don’t want to resort to copying the sleeve notes. The Széchényi dynasty were at the heart of Hungary’s political and musical life in the 19th and 20th centuries, and they excelled at vibrant, melodious dance-patterned music. István Kassai […]
