|
REVIEWS: TRIOS AND SONATA
"Both the Op 115 Trio and Sonata for solo viola, Op 87, adopt a formal structure where the final movement’s bipartite design telescopically conflates the mood and tempo of the previous two movements. This works especially well in the sonata, where the preceding trios’ animated chatter has given way to an internal musical dialogue at peace with itself. The performance by members of the Rest Ensemble is accurate and assured throughout."
Gramophone
"This is quick-witted music, nicely captured by the lively playing of the Rest Ensemble."
"The Trio for Oboe, Violin and Piano is more traditional in outline, sparer in language, but engaging in its keenly argued craftsmanship."
Richard Fairman - Financial Times 8/7/18
"The single movement Trio for clarinet, viola & piano, Op. 79 constantly ebbs and flows from tonal to atonal, basic to complex rhythms, old logic to new logic. But despite these schizophrenic or contradictory elements, it's Robin Holloway's fine weaving of the various motivic aspects of the work that forms a binding... thread. The Rest Ensemble present an engaged and convincing account of this challenging music."
Jean-Yves Duperron - Classic Sentinel 7/18 |
REVIEWS: MUSIC FOR HORNS
"...when the works are performed as dazzlingly as they are here, the result is simply a joy. Ondřej Vrabec’s virtuosity is certainly put to the test here but he does not put a finger – or tongue! – wrong..."
"Holloway’s moving Lament, a fine example of an occasional piece (for two horns, 2013) rethought as a more substantial composition (2019)."
Gramophone
"Ondřej Vrabec's gift is that one simply forgets the textured limitations and appreciates his virtuosity, always at the service of the music. This is very audible in his interpretations of Holloway's two Partitas, both written in 1985... the music is anything but baroque or quasi-neoclassical."
Horn Magazine
"Holloway’s two Partitas for solo horn are sequences of short movements modelled on Bach’s cello suites. He writes so idiomatically for the horn... Holloway wrote the [first] for Barry Tuckwell, and the Czech virtuoso Ondřej Vrabec brilliantly impersonates Tuckwell’s huge, bold sound when it’s called for. ... The central “Sarabande” is the work’s eloquent heart, before Holloway rounds things up with two fiendish, extrovert dances. Playing, engineering and documentation are consistently impressive."
Arts Desk
REVIEWS: MOMENTS OF VISION
"The performances are well shaped, finely balanced and lively. The Avant Trio is used to dealing with modern pieces, so that the music is easy to handle for them. With two Italian artists, violinist and pianist, they present interpretations that are as well formulated as they are life-affirming. Benjamin Harris, himself a composer mainly of works that involve words, gives the text a life of its own even though remaining close to the music, making Moments of Vision attention-grabbing and thought-provoking."
Pizzicato
"Piano trios seem relatively unusual in contemporary music, perhaps burdened with memories of florid 19th-century works. However these trios by Robin Holloway and Peter Seabourne escape the problem, using sharp, and often beautiful textures and unexpected groupings within the trio. Superbly played and vividly recorded, these recordings offer new takes on the form."
John Hawkins, composer
"An important addition to the piano trio medium: Holloway's is intricate and exploratory, with a wealth of wonderful textures; Seabourne's broader in layout but with a clarity of idea and purpose that is deeply impressive - with a delightfully light-hearted finale. Excellent committed, perceptive performances throughout."
David Collins, composer (ex-pupil of Robin)
