Reviews

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DAVID BAKER
CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN & JAZZ BAND


"There are two compositions on this CD by Dave Baker. The work that was written for James Pellerite is the Concerto for Flute, String Quartet, and Jazz Band. The opening is a little reminiscent of Gil Evans, because it starts with tone clusters that resolve outwardly by half-steps into 9th chords and 13th chords. The band that plays on this recording is the 27 member Indiana University Jazz Band and String Quartet, so there is a wonderful, full, big band sound. When Pellerite makes his entrance in the first movement it immediately brings back many of memories of hearing him play simply because of the incredible sound that he gets from a flute: it is warm and full and round with amazing breath control. He plays remarkably long phrases without ever taking a breath. This is an absolutely excellent piece of music: it is definitely jazz but it is also unmistakably a “classical” work of the 20th century that uses jazz harmonies and rhythms. The art of this work is immediately noticeable, as is the art of James Pellerite. Those two elements go hand-in-hand. I have never heard octave overtones and fifths on the flute (think double stops on a violin).

...but this recording cements the fact that he is one, as Baker says in the liner notes, of the greatest flutists of all time."

Robin McNeil OpusColorado.com November 4, 2011

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ERNEST BLOCH
QUATUOR A CORDES & PIANO QUINTET No. 2


"There have been few recordings of this work over the years, and fewer still that are able to meet its emotional and technical requirements. In 1982 Laurel released a stupendous performance of the work on LP, played by the Pro Arte Quartet, the first of several extraordinary recordings featuring this ensemble in Bloch's chamber music. Most of these recordings have made their way onto compact disc, but only now is this recording of the First Quartet thus available.

Then why would one be interested in Laurel's reissue now? The chief reason would be that the latter offers full, rich ADD sound quality. Bloch's Quartet No. 1 is post-Romantic in style and symphonic in scale, and benefits greatly from the sonic breadth thus afforded.

The Piano Quintet No. 2 makes for a fascinating companion piece, as it is the composer's last major work, composed in 1957, more than 40 years after the First Quartet. Bloch's Weltanschauung--with its savagery, passion, and sober introspection--remains largely unchanged, but the means of realizing it are now much tighter and less rhetorical. When the reading at hand first appeared on LP in 1984, it was the work's first recording, and set an astoundingly high standard. It was then reissued on CD in 1991 with an equally powerful performance of the Quintet No. 1. Heard today, these performances have not lost their primacy ..."

Walter Simmons FANFARE 30:5 May/June 2007

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ERNEST BLOCH
VIOLONCELLO MUSIC


"These, [cello suites], are gorgeous works that communicate an end-of-life sorrow and resigned finality. They are also ferociously difficult; yet so consummate is cellist Parry Karp’s technique that one is barely aware of the difficulties. Instead, he brings to all of the works on this disc a tone of glowing warmth and profoundly felt emotion. His able partner in the duo pieces, Frances Karp, is also well equipped technically and in full sympathy with Bloch’s muse. Also quite exceptional is the recording, which allows just enough ambient space around the instruments to give the impression of openness but without the cavernous reverberation that afflicts some recordings of solo instruments.

Jerry Dubins FANFARE 31:1 p.68 Sep/Oct 2007

"The recording, which was proudly made on analogue tape, is gripping and of almost forbidding immediacy and impact...
... These performances are uniformly magnificent with Parry Karp giving every sign of having learnt and known these suites from the inside. The playing of Frances Reiche Karp in the first two pieces projects equal commitment and communicative passion. "

Rob Barnett MUSICWEB-INTERNATIONAL

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ERNEST BLOCH
VIOLIN CONCERTO & SOLO VIOLIN SUITES


"(Bloch, himself a violinist... knew how to extract striking sonorities - novel yet idiomatic - from violin, viola, and cello; and so does Lefkowitz). Its vigor and intensity, coupled with the brilliance of Lefkowitz's technique... suggest what a wonderful vehicle this Concerto might make for just the right kind of virtuoso; and clearly Lefkowitz is that kind of virtuoso... Lefkowitz's white-hot performance should still appeal to aficionados of violin literature and of Bloch...

Lefkowitz plays these brief works [the suites] with a dedication matching his elan in the Concerto."

Robert Maxham FANFARE

CD image STARKER PLAYS BAKER
Singers of Songs/Weavers of Dreams" for Cello and 17 percussion instruments


"... a dazzling release; altogether extraordinary."
- THE NEW YORK TIMES.

"Starker metamorphoses in delightful fashion from concert artist to a bebop and blues musician and back again in delightful fashion. His associates (George Gaber and Alain Planés) are of high calibre and provide fine performances. Final praise is for the recording and for the production generally. My highest recommendation."
- THE NEW RECORDS

CD image JILL TIMMONS PIANIST
The Complete Piano Music of William Bergsma


"The first Fantasy is a wild, virtouso piece in which Timmons soars with the eagles; Tocatta is another technical challenge conquered by this impressive pianist. Timmons plays with the vitality and élan through the first two works, and she is equally at home in the calm waters of the variations. This Laurel disc upholds that company's traditions of fine music, well played and superbly recorded."
- James H. North, FANFARE.

CD image MUSIC BY ERNEST BLOCH
Concerto Symphonique for Piano and Orchestra


"The nineteen-year-old pianist Micah Yui whose blazing enthusiasm, power and technical assurance are expended...a handsomely recorded disc."
- Herbert Glass, LOS ANGELES TIMES .

"The new Yui/London Symphony Or. performance is excellent, a brilliant and persuasive recording. This is an important new release indispensable for all admirers of Bloch's music, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the works included."
- Walter Simmons, FANFARE.

"Yui handles both Concerto & Scherzo with a degree of polish and maturity rare in a pianist so young."
- Robert Everett-Green, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, EDMONTON, CANADA.

"Yui is in superb control of the dramatic tension of the work throughout eliciting the dark and delicate chords with a powerful grace."
- Roger Levesque, THE EDMONTON JOURNAL.

"The music has been performed with obviously deep commitment and affection. Pianist Micah Yui reveals a mastery of the late-Bloch angst-ridden idiom. The power of this 19-year-old's technique is clearly revealed despite the subordinate role her instrument plays compared to the typical piano concerto of earlier eras. Although Yui's playing is bold and brash, it never oversteps the bounds set for it within the context of the score. In the slow, evocative calmo section of the second movement, Yui also reveals an admirably graceful and fine lyrical touch. Conductor David Amos sets a fitting mood for the piece eliciting crisp phrases and great esprit from the superbly polished London Symphony Orchestra. As good as these performances are, the sound quality is every bit their equal. This disc is worth seeking for its outstanding recorded sound alone, let alone for its long-overdue repertoire selection and inspired performances."
- Robert Hesson, STEREOPHILE.

"This disc is worth seeking for its outstanding recorded sound alone, let alone for its long-overdue repertoire selection and inspired performances."
- Robert Hesson, STEREOPHILE.

"Each year, this disc is among the few I consider as 'one to die for'. All three works are rarely recorded, and the clear, robust sound is absolutely magnicifent. 1995 Critic's Record of the Year."
- Robert Hesson, STEREOPHILE.

CD image ERNEST BLOCH - 2nd String Quartet; Prelude; Night; 2 Pieces for String Quartet

"In view of the peerless performance here, this release must be considered an indispensable document of 20th-Century chamber music."
-Walter Simmons, FANFARE.

"The Pro Arte Quartet is a first-rate quartet that serves composers well."
John Rockwell, -THE NEW YORK TIMES.

"The Pro Arte reaches climaxes of truly blazing intensity and awesome grandeur."
- H. Halbreich, HIGH FIDELITY.

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NIKOLAI LOPATNIKOFF
Works for Solo Piano and for Violin and Piano.

"The presentation could hardly be better. Solomon plays with authority and conviction. The two works for violin are expertly negotiated. Warmly recommended."
- J. Rabinowitz. FANFARE.

"Instead of buying some Romantic or Classical warhorse, seek out this remarkable collection. You won't regret it..."
-Robert Hesson, STEREOPHILE.

CD image KABARETT KURT WEILL

"Songs, and the up-to-date instruments manage a period sound."
Richard Traubner, - AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE.

"Alexander sings her chosen repertoire with the most patent devotion, with a good deal of expressive intensity, and with an attractive lyric soprano voice. Ivan Rosenblum effective. The recording is well balanced, admirably clean, and sufficiently colorful. The songs themselves offer an entertaining conspectus of Weill at work in Berlin, Paris and New York."
- Bernard Jacobson, FANFARE.

CD image 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN 4-HAND PIANO MUSIC

"I know that a lot of music is described as indispensable in this magazine, but Persichetti's Concerto for Piano, Four-hands really is. The concerto is an enormously challenging work, particularly challenging to the four-hand team. I would place Elson-Swarthout's performance asexcellent, well coordinated, technically adroit, expressively informed. Like most of Corigliano, the music is sheer entertainment, although the slow movement has some touching moments. Elson and Swarthout perform the dances with expert artistry."
- William Simmons, FANFARE.

"Margret Elson and Elizabeth Swarthout present all the music convincingly, with adept handling of some very treacherous terrain. And sonics are vintage Laurel open, spacious, immediate, smooth and quite unlike the sound of any other label's engineer I know of. Herschel Burke Gilbert is unquestionably one of today 's greatest practitioners."
- Robert Hesson, STEREOPHILE.

CD image THE BIRTH OF THE WARGOD

"This is the most exciting... astounding... truly American music I have ever encountered. This is vocal writing of an intensely original sort. Very few could handle this as well as Western Wind. Good notes, full texts, fine sound."
- John Ditsky, FANFARE.

"The Birth of the War God from Charlie Morrow, sung by the Western Wind is a strange, evocative, a cappella choral disc. "
- John Rockwell, THE NEW YORK TIMES.

CD image HENRI LAZAROF - MUSIC FOR STRINGS

"One of America's best kept secrets is the music of Henri Lazarof. This CD is full of rich compositions."
- Stephen Ellis, FANFARE.

CD image MUSIC BY ERNST TOCH

"It's a pleasure to see these fine chamber works, so beautifully crafted and ineffably Viennese, now on compact disc. The Mendelssohn Quartet captures Toch's style perfectly, and play very well."
- Mark L. Lehman, AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE.

"These performances are all extraordinary; the players are committed virtuosos who obviously understand the music as one and have unbounded resourcers for recreating it. Laurel Record has always made superb recordings of chamber music on LP and on CD. This disc is alive with music... a lovely, warm sound, well suited to this highly personal yet large scale music. This is great chamber music, deserving a place in everyone's repertoire."
- James H. North, FANFARE.

CD image PERSICHETTI & SCARLATTI HARPSICHORD SONATAS

"Elaine Comparone plays each sonata with great technical finesse and a deep understanding of the music... and complemented by vivid performances of a lovely and varied group of seven sonatas by Domenico Sarlatti, making this a highly desirable new release."
- Walter Simmons, FANFARE.

"This collection shows us the unusual side of Vincent Persichetti who spent a surprising amount of time writing for the harpsichord. The sonatas all combine, as he puts it, the graceful and the gritty. These words could be used also to sum up Domenico Scarlatti's approach to the instrument, and Comparone's playing does excellent justice to both ends of the spectrum. These sonatas are immensely entertaining little jewels and I am most grateful to Comparone and Laurel for recording so many of them. Comparone's Scarlatti is also execellent; Her lucid fingers and clear voicings make this a disc I shall return to often."
- D. Moore, AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE.

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MIKLÓS RÓZSA
String Quartets; Rhapsody for Cello & Piano

"The Pro Arte is an extraordinarily cohesive group. This recording reminds you that stereo means solid. The image of the quartet is simply astounding in its three-dimensionality. For the sheer illusion of having musical instruments in your listening room, this disc has no peer. The NEA grant used in the production of this recording was money well spent. The music is capivating, the performance intense and the sound superb. Look for this one; it's worth it."
-R. Hesson, STEREOPHILE.

"The Pro Arte ensemble is most impressive and captures the spirit and energy of the works, and defines the contrapuntal textures with pinpoint clarity. The Rhapsody receives a sonorous, very committed performance from Parry Karp, the cellist for the Pro Arte Quartet and his father, pianist Howard Karp."
S. Brown, FANFARE.

"This essential release is another crown in the jewel of Laurel Record's owner-producer Herschel Burke Gilbert... and deserves the full support of all lovers of string quartet repertoire as well as the always growing band of devotees of Miklos Rozsa."
- Paul S. Snook, FANFARE.

CD image MUSIC BY ERNEST BLOCH - PIANO QUINTETS; CELLO SUITE NO. 1

"The Pro Arte group... more body, visceral power and attention to contrapuntal detail (than the Koch and Arabesque CDs), plus Laurel's bonus of an impassioned performance of Cello Suite #1 by Parry Karp that underlines the fact that the work was composed by Bloch, not Bach."
-Walter Simmons, FANFARE.

"Pianist Howard Karp and the Pro Arte Quartet ultimately satisfy the needs of the score (the 1st Piano Quintet) in a powerfully cohesive reading, all the more compelling for being faithful to Bloch's indicated tempos... (and) Bloch's somber 1956 Suite No. 1 for Solo Cello, played with commanding intensity by the Pro Arte's Parry Karp."
- Herbert Glass, LOS ANGELES TIMES.

CD image MUSIC BY ARNOLD ROSNER

"Gripping and hypnotic music, as passages of slashing violence are suddenly interrupted by moments of striking purity."
- Walter Simmons, FANFARE.

"This CD is an unheralded gem."- David Stein, STEREO REVIEW.

"This is incredibly beautiful music. Donald Vroon; and Undeniable strength, character, and excitement: a worthwhile discovery." - David W. Moore, AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE.

"Deeply felt, intensely personal and moving expressions." - Martin Bookspan, PRODIGY.

"Outstanding...an inventive and original voice." - H. Trotter, BUFFALO NEWS.

CD image THE STANFORD STRING QUARTET
Plays: Bolcom, Johnston, & Neikrug


"The playing is assured, vibrant & technically brilliant. Highly recommended."
- R. Hesson, STEREOPHILE.

"Entire disc is distinguished by the Stanford's forceful, cogent interpretations and by its keenly blended ensemble."
- SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE.

"Impeccable playing of these three works."
- FANFARE.

CD image THREE CHAMBER WORKS BY HENRI LAZAROF

"We are in good hands with Henri Lazarof. His abstract but not particular dissonant style and unerring feeling for instrumental color and technique has attracted the attention of some excellent players over the years, and I see that this trend shows no sign of abating."
- AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE

CD image CHAMBER MUSIC BY HENRI LAZAROF

"The piano trio is a vibrant piece making great demands on all three players. The cellist per forms his virtuoso work heroically. Solow is the easy-going hero."
- Daniel Cariaga, LOS ANGELES TIMES.

"Lazarof's chamber music grows in esteem with repeated hearings. Performance and recording are warm & immediate... all aspects of this prodution live up to Herschel Gilbert's high standards, which are always a model for chamber-music recordings."
- James North, FANFARE.

"The playing is impassioned and technically unblemished throughout; this is an impressive gathering of musicians. Equally brilliant is the recorded sound. From disc to disc, Herschel Burke Gilbert's Laurel recordings are characterized by a consistently unique sonic signature which Gilbert attributes to his three-decades-old Neumann SM-2 microphone. The sound is immediate, warm without becoming bloated, detailed without being etched. And, of course, another Gilbert specialty is finding repertory few other labels would touch, then presenting it with extraordinary dedication and skill. Very nice work."
- Robert Hessen, STEREOPHILE.

CD image HENRI LAZAROF - MUSIC FOR CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, VIOLA, & ORGAN

"Music to be treasured and eagerly sought out." - Stephen Ellis, FANFARE.

"Lazarof's music speaks with an urgency that transcends labels."
- Daniel Cariaga, LOS ANGELES TIMES.

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