rha
Richard Hanlon
Hynninen: Ratsut (Alba)
Colourful extended harp fare from Finland, a slightly underwhelming follow-up to Hynninen’s marvellous Otilia album [RHa]
Thomazeau/Baudimant: Errer (Claves)
Smoothly arranged, expertly performed, yet utterly saccharine, stumbling awkwardly into New Age territory [RHa]
Kuwabara: Sounded Voice, Voiced Sound (Kairos)
Yu Kuwabara’s frequently beautiful work projects both delicacy and vigour, and harnesses ancient and modern influences to thrilling effect [RHa]
Aho: Guitar Concerto & Horn Quintet (BIS)
A worthy addition to BIS’s monumental Aho edition [RHa]
Lou: Near Distant (Kairos)
Three and a half hours of challenging new music, most of which deserves further investigation [RH]
Linde: Chamber Works for piano and for piano trio (dB Productions)
Further evidence that Linde’s untimely passing deprived us of a major talent [RHa]
Corrado: Works for Ensemble (Kairos)
Agreeable new music from Italy which flows, floats and flourishes [RHa]
Maguire: Dystophilia (Neuma Records)
A pair of apocalyptic electroacoustic realisations; intriguing in their conception but not for listeners of a nervous disposition [RHa]
Glojnarić: Pure Bliss (Kairos)
Yet more contemporeana that’s been somehow touched by the pop world – fascinating and unclassifiable [RHa]
Hellstenius: Public Behaviour (BIS)
Two riveting and provocative vocal works which muse upon modes of communication in modern life. Virtuosic and entertaining [RHa]
Torvund: A Walk into the Future (Aurora)
Unusual orchestral fare: the final pair of pieces convince more than the first two [Rha]
Cikada Live – Huddersfield / Donaueschingen (LAWO Classics)
Klaus Lang’s stately Parthenon is the must-hear item here [RHa]
A Room of Her Own (Chandos)
A handful of unfailingly accomplished, virtually unknown trios, in handsome performances and ideal sound [RHa]
Devenish & James: Alluvial Gold (Huddersfield Contemporary Records)
Immersive, colourful, ecologically compelling fare [RHa]
Smith: Dark Flower (Redshift)
The magnificent quintet which gives this exceptional release its title is a must; the couplings are hardly less compelling [RHa]
The Brodsky Album (IBS Classical)
A niche issue which disappoints on a number of levels [RHa]
S Jones: Three Concertos (BMOP Sound)
A warm welcome to a trio of Samuel Jones’ finely wrought concertos [RHa]
Ruby Hughes (soprano): End of My Days (BIS)
An outstanding recital; elegantly conceived, ideally recorded and beautifully performed [RHa]
Cage: Music for Three, Music for One (CAvi-Music)
Cage’s ‘thing’ advocated by three superb musicians, in sympathetic sonics [RHa]
Bedford: In the Voices of the Living (NMC)
Bedford’s music is adventurous, exciting, humane and quite devoid of blandness or the easy option. Terrific performances and sonics [RHa]
Recharged by Nature – Contemporary Nordic Works (Alba)
Two magnificent, distinctively folk-tinged concertos are vividly brought to life [RHa]
Ewa Jacobsson: Hearbaricum Fields (Lawo)
The audio for a pair of audio-visual projects, one distinctive, the other less so [RHa]
Corradini: Canzonas & Sonatas (Brilliant Classics)
A splendid calling card for a largely forgotten Cremonese master [RHa]
Maderna: Serenata per un satellite & other works (Dynamic)
An important Maderna monograph seems to fill some gaps in the catalogue. One for the specialist, however, rather than the general listener [RHa]
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