Hindemith - Complete Piano Concertos
https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.573201-02
For Hindemith fans, this…collection of the composer’s complete works featuring a solo piano in combination with various instrumental ensembles will make an excellent addition to your collection, even if you already have some of these works on other recordings. For Hindemith novices and the curious, at Naxos’s bargain prices, this new two-disc set offers much very attractive and enjoyable music in excellent performances, and it may just inspire you to explore more of Hindemith’s output. Recommended. © 2014 Fanfare Read complete review
These are highly worthy works, quite deserving of the thoughtful and refined treatment they are given here.
All of these works are first-rate Hindemith…A big surprise is the undergraduate Yale Symphony Orchestra under Shimada. They play their parts as if they were born to them, with the needed elan that a Hindemith performance stands or falls upon. Their youthful zeal comes through wonderfully. Clearly they are confirmed Hindemithians!
Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is the Piano Music with Orchestra (for Piano Left Hand)…it is something new to me (and no doubt many others), a beautiful work.
Then too all of this is excellent, a righteous melding of the right scores with the right performers. It is a treasure-trove of Hindemith at his best, something someone new to the composer will find an excellent introduction, and the confirmed Hindemithian will greet with no small amount of joy. That’s how I feel. © 2013 Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review Read complete review
Paul Reale - Cello Concerto / Piano Concerto
https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.559898
Cook is magnificently expressive [in the Cello Concerto]… The percussionists glisten beautifully, especially in the final movement; they seem like the soloist’s shadow, even venturing into the early parts of the cadenzas. William Boughton marshals the forces of the Yale Symphony brilliantly. Strings have a silken sheen when required; rhythms are everywhere precise. This is a major piece. © 2024 Fanfare Read complete review
Both the Cello Concerto and Piano Concerto No. 1 are vibrant, sonically arresting, entertaining works. The performances by cellist Kim Cook and pianist John Jensen, along with the Yale Symphony Orchestra and conductor William Boughton, are excellent.
This is a most rewarding disc; highly recommended. © 2024 Fanfare Read complete review
Phillip Scott
Fanfare, November 2024
The performances are excellent. …William Boughton is a well-regarded and highly experienced conductor, especially of unfamiliar music, both in the UK and the U.S. The Yale Symphony Orchestra does a sterling job… © 2024 Fanfare Read complete review
The soloists in both of the concertos were the original performers. They play with the dedication and passion for the music that one would expect, and the Yale Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of the esteemed William Boughton, carries off the orchestral part with focus and vigour. In all, this release is a fine introduction to music that is exceptionally thoughtful and expressive, and really should be better known. © 2024 Fanfare Read complete review