“ The fine playing of Watkins, the sensitive singing of Murray in the lute song from Glorianna, and the sensitive and exciting playing of Gardner and the BBC Philharmonic contribute much as does Chandos’s beautifully balanced and rich-sounding recording the imaginative programming here matches the unusually fine production in all aspects.”
D Moore – American Record Guide – July/August 2011
*****
Musica magazine - May 2011
“A deeply felt account for Britten’s symphony for cello and orchestra a valuable addition to the composer’s discography.”
Matthew Rye – The Strad – June 2011
“This well-programmed disc of Britten orchestral works gives Edward Gardner the chance to build on previous experience with the composer’s music in the opera house The BBC philharmonic is on fine form ”
Ben Hogwood – classicalsource.com – 4 April 2011
Recording of the Month
“Gardner and the BBC Philharmonic do Britten proud.... The whole orchestra outdoes itself throughout the disc and the engineers have provided state-of-the-art sound It’s early in the year, but I am quite certain that this will be among my top recordings of 2011!”
Leslie Wright – musicweb-international.com - May 2011
Artistic Quality 10 Sound Quality 10
" These are outstanding performances, as good or better than the composer’s own ..."
David Hurwitz - ClassicsToday.com - April 2011
“Gardner’s operatic experience tells in a truly theatrical suite from Gloriana a highly recommendable addition to Chandos’s extensive Britten catalogue.”
Richard Fairman – Gramophone magazine - May 2011
“Edward Gardner’s conducting of Peter Grimes at the London Coliseum was one of the highlights of his music directorship with English National Opera, and his atmospheric, emotional and musically detailed accounts of the four Sea interludes from that great opera are a fine souvenir of his theatre performances. The BBC Phil responds excitingly and with rhythmic verve to the rarely recorded suite from Britten’s Coronation opera, Gloriana “
Hugh Canning – The Sunday Times 27 March 2011
“ it’s [Gloriana] full of wonderful music. Gardner and the BBC Philharmonic bring out the melancholy undertow and the textural subtlety lurking under the Music’s ceremonial surface. The performance of the Cello Symphony with Paul Watkins is similarly sensitive.”
Ivan Hewett – The Telegraph 26 March 2011
“... all the orchestral playing is of such a high standard that one notices the other instrumental solos almost as much as Watkin’s own fine-grained contributions” ****
Andrew Clements - The Guardian - 18 March 2011
Disc of the Month
Performance ***** Recording *****
“Gardner draws from his forces a gleeful, biting precision.”
Helen Wallace - BBC Music Magazine - April 2011
“... Gardner really seems to relish Britten’s orchestral writing, and the BBC Philharmonic is on superb form throughout the recorded sound is pretty much ideal. I hope that Gardner and the BBC Philharmonic will record more Britten: this is one of the best discs of his orchestral music to have come my way in recent years and I recommend it warmly.”
Nigel Simeone - International Record Review - March 2011