CD, Villa-Lobos (composer)

This is a gleaming and brilliant album that doesn’t fail to awaken the senses to the exhilarating world of un-adulterated acoustic sound. — BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2023, 5 out of 5 stars More…

In his flowing, pellucid interpretations Garcia himself seems to be inspired by Bach’s name, and throughout much of the programme there’s a compelling tension between the rippling enunciation... — Gramophone Magazine, December 2018 More…

Baldini produces an alluring tone that taps into the natural resonances of his instrument, and phrases with a natural instinct for cantabile espressivo. His sensitive and responsive partner,... — BBC Music Magazine, October 2021, 5 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 4 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

the work that really shows the composer at his most potent is the 1945 Fantasia...even when the Amazon jungle seems at its most choking in this latest addition to Naxos’s series ‘The Music of... — BBC Music Magazine, December 2023, 4 out of 5 stars More…

An enjoyable tour of the Brazilian’s concertos and chamber works including the lesser-known, winsome Harmonica Concerto. The guitar Concerto gets a fine advocate in soloist Manuel Barrueco. — BBC Music Magazine, April 2020, 4 out of 5 stars More…

The music is, of course, wilful, fluid, entirely unpredictable, with moments of extreme violence and tremendous beauty...The orchestration is variegated, by turns dense and transparent, lush... — Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2010 More…

I’d rather listen to Ruth Slenczynska playing Chopin than just about anyone else. Three specific characteristics are her rhythmic acuity, razor-sharp precision in chord playing and rapid passagework,... — Gramophone Magazine, March 2021 More…