8.559402 Weill The Eternal Road

“Barbara Rearick is gorgeous as Miriam and Ruth, Constance Hauman and Ian DeNolfo are wonderful in the big duet for Jacob and Rachel and Karl Dent is the dignified Rabbi. Gerald Schwarz’s conducting is refined and passionate, and there is some electrifying choral singing from the Ernst Senff Choir, above all, in the vast fugue that follows the scene between Abraham and Isaac. Great stuff, much of it profoundly moving – all we need now is the rest.”   - Tim Ashley, The Guardian, 3/12/04

8.559409 MIlhaud Service Sacré

“Gerard Schwarz and his forces warm to Milhaud’s inspiration and their fervent efforts have been cleanly captured by the microphones. Rewarding; comprehensive annotation, too.”   - Andrew Achenbach, The Gramophone, January 2005

8.557276 Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 4

“No longer shocking, it emerges in Paul Daniel’s powerful performance as one of the most vital of Vaughan Williams’s works, at once chilling and lyrical in its forward thrust. The impact of the opening has never been sharper than here, helped by the weighty and atmospheric recording.”   - Edward Greenfield, The Guardian, 10/12/04

“Paul Daniel and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra leave one with little room for doubt about either the strength of the creative urge behind the Fourth [symphony] or the composer’s mastery of his new-found 'modernism'.”   - Stephen Johnson, BBC Music Magazine, January 2005

8.557199 Britten Serenades

“The result is a wonderful bargain, a perfect combination of early, middle-period and late Britten.”   - Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 24/12/04

8.557202 Britten Canticles I – V

“The collection of the five canticles, with Langridge again the link between them all, is well worth investigating too.”   - Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 24/12/04

8.557206 Britten Les illuminations

“In that work [Les illuminations] and in the wonderful Our Hunting Fathers, arguably Britten’s first masterpiece, the orchestral playing under Bedford has exactly the right raw urgency.”   - Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 24/12/04

8.555907 De Salazar Complete Vespers of Our Lady

“Under Cabré’s vigorous direction, Capilla Peñaflorida (18 singers and a continuo group) and the wind players of Ministriles de Marias perform with style, making the most of the contrasts of texture and colour.”   - Stephen Pettitt, The Sunday Times, 5/12/04

8.557585 A Christmas Choral Spectacular

“The singing and orchestral playing are full of good cheer.”   - Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph, 4/12/04

“The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Chorus respond well to the composer’s vigorous direction.”   - David Mellor, The Mail on Sunday, 19/12/04

8.557581 Bethlehem Down

“The mix is both contemplative and joyous, the young voices well projected and co-ordinated while keeping their freshness, spontaneity and sense of seasonal wonder.”   - Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph, 4/12/04

“The Finchley Children’s Music Group is one of the finest kids’ choirs around. Its discipline and blend is superb. The selection of carols is unusually appealing.”   - Stephen Pettitt, The Evening Standard, 17/12/04

8.557396 Maxwell Davies Naxos Quartets Nos. 1 & 2

“They are superbly written for the medium with passages of lyrical beauty alternating with exploration of new sounds. Very good performances and recording.”   - Michael Kennedy, The Sunday Telegraph, 12/12/04

“And the Magginis sound quite magnificent.”   - Peter Palmer, Nottingham Evening Post, 11/12/04

8.557389 LeFanu Music for Strings

“Invigorating music at the cutting-edge of modernity to challenge the listener and performer, immaculately recorded and at super-budget price.”   - David Denton, Yorkshire Post, 12/04

“The performances are authoritative, secure and expressive…the clarity is admirable.”   - Stephen Johnson, BBC Music Magazine, January 2005

8.557499 Stravinsky Oedipus Rex; Les Noces

“With good vocal contributions, the disc is unmissable at the price.”   - Michael Dervan, Irish Times, 26/11/04

8.559135 Barber Capricorn Concerto

“Naxos once-again delivers a premium-quality disc at bargain-basement price, part of the label’s inspired American Classics line. Marin Alsop and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra bring their six-disc survey of Samuel Barber’s complete orchestral works to a thrilling close with idiomatic performances of the sparky Capricorn Concerto and a handful of brilliant miniatures.”   - Music Week, 11/12/04

“Marin Alsop’s Barber "edition" on Naxos is now complemented by this round-up of oddments, which contains some little gems.”   - Robert Beale, Manchester Evening News, 10/12/04

“An enjoyable conclusion to a valuable series.”   - Anthony Burton, BBC Music Magazine, January 2005

“The performance is neat and the singers are convincing.”   - Peter Dickinson, The Gramophone, January 2005

8.559202 Glass Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3

“This continuation of the award-winning American Classics series will certainly please Glass devotees with two symphonies that were commissioned within a year of each other a decade ago.”   - Nick Bailey, Classic FM Magazine, January 2005

“He [Philip Glass] has a devoted following who will snap up these superbly detailed performances from Marin Alsop and the Bournemouth Symphony.”   - David Denton, Yorkshire Post, 10/12/04

“Both [symphonies] are performed with complete conviction and lustre.”   - Kenneth Walton, The Scotsman, 17/12/04

“Her [Marin Alsop’s] Glass is assured, almost relaxed when the score permits, occasionally laconic and shot through with a lightness of spirit which is extremely uplifting.”   - Roger Thomas, BBC Music Magazine, January 2005

8.557266 Sibelius Violin Concerto

“The Norwegian violinist brings a deep understanding to Sibelius and to the rarely heard First Violin Concerto by Kraggerud’s countryman Christian Sinding.”   - Stephen Pettitt, The Sunday Times (Records of the Year), 12/12/04

8.557394 Bliss Clarinet Quintet

“My top chamber music recommendation of the year, Bliss’s scores needing such passionate advocates as the Maggini Quartet to bring him back to his rightful place among the great British composers of the last century. Superb playing, with David Campbell, a fine clarinettist. It would be impossible to improve on the sound quality.”   - David Denton, Yorkshire Post, 10/12/04

8.557322 Saint-Georges Violin Concertos

“Here we have the Toronto Camerata, under its founder-conductor Kevin Mallon, on world-class form, playing with an alertness, precision, sensitivity and stylistic awareness that would put many more celebrated bands to shame. The velvety, gently cushioned engineering is straight out of the Philips mid-1970s copybook: the performances possess a devotional quality in keeping with this voyage of discovery and there are excellent notes from Allan Badley. In short, these are captivating performances of inexplicably neglected repertoire that would come highly recommended at three times the price.”   - Julian Haylock, The Strad, December 2004

8.555201-02 Stanford Requiem

“A fine performance of Stanford’s inexplicably neglected Requiem, a beautifully crafted work, more Gounod than Fauré perhaps, but captivating from first to last.”   - Julian Haylock, Classic FM Magazine, January 2005

8.660146-47 Švanda the Bagpiper

“A joyous performance, well engineered.”   - Julian Haylock, Classic FM Magazine, January 2005

8.110897-98 Humperdinck Hänsel und Gretel

“The combination of Elisabeth Grümmer and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf as Hänsel and Gretel is irresistible. Not to be missed.”   - Michael Kennedy, The Sunday Telegraph, 19/12/04

8.110776 Beethoven Piano Concertos (Moiseiwitsch)

“He stands grander, traditional virtues on their head, replacing thunder and solidity with aristocratic rhetoric. Few pianists have responded to terms such as leggierement with a more winning charm. …nothing can dim the lustre of either performance. We can only beg Naxos for more Moiseiwitsch, especially in Beethoven and Chopin.”   - The Gramophone, January 2005

8.110761 Beethoven Piano Works Vol. 7 (Schnabel)

“Superbly remastered by Mark Obert-Thorn, these five sonatas show that Schnabel’s performances, however deeply considered, emerged fresh and spontaneous with a raciness and eloquence all his own. Volume 8 is eagerly awaited.”   - Bryce Morisson, The Gramophone, January 2005

8.102003 Kathleen Ferrier sings Mahler

“The perfect Christmas present for Mahler or Ferrier junkies: the immortal contralto from Blackburn sings the best of the composer she passionately championed. …Dating from the mid-1940s to 1952, these performances stand up very well in this budget-price remastering.”   - Anthony Holden, The Observer, 19/12/04

8.101201 Enrico Caruso – The Complete Recordings

“Ward Marston deserves a Grammy for his CD transfers of the great Caruso, boxed up by Naxos at a giveaway price to suit the Christmas market.”   - Andrew Stewart, Songs of Praise Magazine, Winter 2004