Anglo-German composer Sherwood (b.1866) has slipped through the cracks of history—his impressive output of orchestral, chamber, choral and instrumental music is only now beginning to be discovered. Once an important figure in his native Dresden, in WWI he faded from view and by the time of his death in London (1939) his music was as good as forgotten.

REVIEW:

Percy Sherwood (1866–1939)—who is he? Well, Toccata is starting a Sherwood collection, and the liner notes give us much detail complete with some fine illustrations and footnotes. Sherwood was English but was born and grew up in Germany, moving to London during WW II. He was well thought of in both countries.

This program of his cello music reveals a romantic composer of verve and originality, lively to listen to and by no means boring. Spooner and Norris play him with passion and accuracy. There are two fine sonatas from 1891 and 1900 and three pieces, Op. 14 of considerable originality. The early set of Little Pieces is less unusual, but quite lovely. This is a composer worth following up, certainly when played as well as he is here.

-- American Record Guide

Antonio Salieri’s (1750-1825) catalog of instrumental music is not particularly extensive. +The symphonic works known from available recordings include two symphonies, several concerti, serenades and the like. +There is, also, a small body of chamber works, including those present on this disc. +Oboist Paolo Pollastri (b. 1960) has been first oboe of numerous orchestras and performs often as a soloist. +The Canadian Amati Quartet made its international debut in 2005 and indulges in a diverse repertoire.

The Avalon String Quartet, “a remarkably fine ensemble” (The Strad), makes its Cedille Records debut with an irresistible and richly varied program of captivating works by Claude Debussy, Benjamin Britten, Osvaldo Golijov, and rising American composer Stacy Garrop. The ensemble presents the world-premiere recording of Garrop’s String Quartet No. 4: Illuminations, a tantalizing, Pictures at an Exhibition-style tour of spectacular illustrations from an ornate medieval manuscript. Debussy’s lush, exotic String Quartet in G minor unfolds through iridescent quasi-orchestral textures. Golijov’s lyrical, deeply moving Tenebrae (Latin for “shadows”), written for the Kronos Quartet, pays tender tribute to the earth, depicted in its remote celestial beauty, haunted by undertones of human discord. Britten’s youthful, energetic Three Divertimenti and Alla Marcia are alluring, rarely recorded studies in inventiveness and perpetual motion.

The Avalon is quartet-in-residence at the Northern Illinois University School of Music. “…an ensemble that invites you — ears, mind, and spirit — into its music.” (Chicago Tribune)

REVIEW:

The folks at Cedille seem to have mastered the art of putting together classical music collections that make good musical sense. Debussy’s String Quartet is, of course, standard fare, and it usually appears in tandem with the Ravel and something else French. Not here. Instead, we have two Britten rarities, the entertaining Three Divertimenti and the lone Alla Marcia (the first of the Divertimenti is also a march, so you can see the logic), a self-described “Pictures at an Exhibition” type piece by Stacy Garrop, and a moving conclusion in the form of Osvaldo Golijov’s single-movement Tenebrae. The entire program provides consistently interesting and entertaining continuous listening, and the sonics are drop-dead gorgeous.

So, for that matter, is the playing of the Avalon String Quartet. The group’s corporate sonority is warm and mellow, but with just a touch of “rosin” in the tone. They attack rhythmic moments such as the scherzo of the Debussy, the Burlesque and the marches in the Britten pieces, and Garrop’s musically impossibly named “Mouth of Hell” with plenty of guts and precision, but no unpleasant hardness in the tone. The slow music is simply luminous. I am not generally a fan of pseudo-religious programmatic stuff such as Garrop offers here, but it’s awfully well done, and the booklet provides well-produced, full-color reproductions of the illustrations from the late medieval Book of Hours that Garrop took as her inspiration. They are exquisite, as is much of Garrop’s writing more generally.

Here, in short, is another excellent program that chamber music fans looking to venture off the beaten path will surely relish.

- ClassicsToday.com (10/10)

The composer Fernando Lopes-Graça (1906–94) was something of a Portuguese Shostakovich: as a committed socialist, he faced repression from Portugal’s rightist military dictatorship; his works were banned and he was stripped of his official positions. Lopes-Graça responded in music, evolving a feisty, wiry Bartókian style that drew on Portuguese folk-music. This recording features Lopes-Graça’s own Bechstein piano, played by Olga Prats, who worked closely with him. Reviewing Vol. 1, Fanfare stated: “… the disc should be heard by 20th c. music lovers… a strong, individual voice”.

REVIEW:

Lopes-Graça’s First String Quartet won the Rainier III Composition Prize in 1965 and the composer then began to receive some of the public recognition he deserved. Eventually, some of his symphonic works were recorded. In the 1970s his writings were published and he was honored for his contributions to Portuguese culture. He composed a great many pieces during the last 20 years of his life, one of which is his Second String Quartet. The second movement contains a folk dance that extends into a rhythmic dialogue with dramatic overtones and a propulsive undercurrent. The third movement, “Cavatina,” is an aria with a long melodic line but without the cabaletta that would follow it in a bel canto opera. The finale includes material from the first movement as well as new music in a memorable whirl of interesting textures. This disc is a must for connoisseurs of 20th-century music and those who love unusual string quartets. I really enjoyed it and expect others so inclined will too.

-- Fanfare

Brahms originally wrote the Piano Quintet, Op. 34, for string quintet before recasting the work as a two-piano sonata. However, the sheet music has not ever been recovered. So, finnish cellist Karttunen set about its reconstruction. The result has all the vigor and power of the music we know but now recast in a different sonority.

REVIEW:

Another triumph for a small independent label. Brilliant thought provoking re-evaluations of ‘standard’ works by Brahms. The double viola version of the clarinet quintet in Brahms’ own arrangement is especially rewarding featuring some of the most beautiful viola playing I have ever heard from Steven Dann. Life-enhancing stuff.

-- MusicWeb International