Borletti-Buitoni Trust
French Reflections CD on Linn Records
“…one may feel the poetic “mysteriousness” of the instrument is inseparable from sheer meatiness of technique.”
Paul Driver, The Sunday Times, 20 September 2015
“This recording is laudable for including two contemporary works of the highest rank: Mantovani’s ferocious Tocar barrages us with fiery virtuosity and pounding rhythm. In short, both this album and this artist have it all: intellect, refinement, virtuosic skill and sensuality.”
Alex Rider, Sinfini, 8 September 2015
“This is lovely, French harp music… [Tournier’s] Sonatine is stunning. The last movement requires great virtuosity, but that’s not a problem for the player who’s been called a magician when it comes to playing the harp. Here is Sivan Magen…the star of the harp world…glorious, glorious music, beautifully played.”
Jamie MacDougall BBC Radio Scotland Classics Unwrapped, 20 September 15
Romantic Impressions CD on Genuin
“This is chamber music of the finest, in which the pianist and violinist search for – and achieve – a discerning dialogue.”
Kulturemagazine Applaus
“Two alert musicians whose playing together is precise … and yet always with the right amount of freedom.”
SWR 2 Kultur
“Byol Kang’s slender, but full-bodied sound proves to be practically ideal.”
Rondo
Alessandro Scarlatti: Con eco d’amore CD on Harmonia Mundi USA
“The music is fascinating, often revelatory… while the mingled grace, brilliance and intensity of Watts’s singing could hardly be bettered”
Richard Wigmore, Gramophone, October 2015 & Editor’s Choice
“Watts, Cummings and the English Concert make an ideal partnership in what is one of the most thrilling albums of its kind I’ve heard in recent years; I can’t recommend this recording highly enough.” Adrian Horsewood, Early Music Today, September 2015
“…this is exciting music, revealing an enormous range of colours and emotions through both scoring and vocal line. Watts grabs every opportunity with a voice of perfect weight, pliancy and line, offering a solid middle balanced with an exciting top.”
Francis Muzzo, Opera Now, October 2015
“Her glowing timbre is perfectly suited to the intensely expressive pieces…and the brilliance of her coloratura in the virtuoso numbers thrills.”
Stephen Pettitt, Sunday Times, 4 October 2015
“She’s come up with a delicious selection – some… dangerously difficult; others sweetly placid and beguiling.”
Stephen Pritchard, The Observer, 4 October 2015
BBT co-commission* of Nico Muhly’s Lorne ys my liking
World premiere, 4 December 2015, Wigmore Hall London
Photos: James Baillieu with tenor Allan Clayton (BBT Fellowship, 2008) and with countertenor Iestyn Davies, Wigmore Hall 4 December 2015. © Clive Barda
“Last night’s Wigmore Hall recital by conter tenor Iestyn Davies and tenor Allan Clayton, accompanied by James Baillieu, was an all-round triumph: brilliantly programmed, superbly sung and very thought-provoking.”
David Nice, The Arts Desk, 5 December 2015
“James Baillieu was instrumental in the commission [Nico Muhly’s Lorne ys my liking] and it was funded partly from his Borletti Buitoni Trust Fellowship funds. His reward was to help bring to life a remarkably striking new work, and one which rewarded Baillieu with a dazzling piano part which was far more than accompaniment.”
Robert Hugill, Planet Hugill, 6 December 2015
“Plaudits should also go to the excellent pianist, James Baillieu, who contributed much to the make-up of the programme and accompanied with an unassertive sensitivity and imagination that illuminated every aspect of both music and text”
Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph, 7 December 2015
“…these wonderful singers and their excellent accompanist James Baillieu turned [Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac] into white-hot drama.”
Michael Church, The Independent, 7 December 2015
“Baillieu gave us some gorgeous iridescent modulations at the beginning of the first song and imaginative tone painting in the final song.”
Robert Beattie Seen and heard International, 7 December 2015
“There was keen intelligence in the programming, an ear for subtle literary and musical connections and significant personal investment … There was also some of the most sheerly beautiful singing and playing to be heard from this generation of musicians.”
Anna Picard, The Times, 7 December 2015
* Co-commission with Wigmore Hall with the support of André Hoffmann, president of the Fondation Hoffmann, a Swiss grant-making foundation, and anonymous donors