The six quartets that comprise Haydn's Op.76, are the work of a man who had perfected his ... more
art. He had already composed more than 70 string quartets, a form which he developed over the course of his lifetime, and the sublime Op.76 quartets (as well as the two Op.77 quartets and Op.103) represent the pinnacle of his achievement. The Lindsays have long been considered as being among our finest Haydn interpreters and this latest release is no disappointment, particularly to those who enjoyed their critically acclaimed recording of Op.76 nos 1-3. The playing on all three quartets is intelligent and intensely musical. The fact that the Lindsays perform and record Haydn on a regular basis is strongly evident--ensemble work is slick and intuitive throughout, and the four string players seem to have no problem conjuring up the quartets' distinctly contrasting moods. To point out highlights would take up too much space, but the radiant playing from first violinist Peter Cropper at the opening of Op.76 no 4 illustrates exactly why this quartet has been nicknamed the "Sunrise", while the ensemble playing in the relentless closing movement of Op.76 no 5 is white-knuckle stuff. --Rebecca Agnew
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Advantages: Excellent backing tracks, competent vocals, a couple of strong pop hits Disadvantages: Not much in the way of soul, some dull tracks, all rather dated now
mind that in 1972 "The Black & White Minstrel Show" was still one of the top rated TV shows, which tells you something about the era.
The Pearls were signed to the Bell label ? which had some hugely popular acts on their roster including the Bay City Rollers, Barry Blue, David Cassidy and Gary Glitter. The UK arm of the label focused mainly on commercial pop and the Pearls fitted into this perfectly. Interestingly the US arm tended to focus more on soul music.
A String of Pearls
Going back to my dad?s old Sanyo radio cassette recorder there was a song which was oft played by myself back in 1974 called ?Guilty?. Performed by the Pearls I loved it and have vague recollections of a Top of the Pops performance which incorporated judges? wigs. I have hunted high and low for this clip on the internet and sadly can only conclude it was ...
Advantages: The writing, the setting, the music Disadvantages: The characters are not sow ell defined or likable
I bought this book, An Equal Music by Vikram Seth, for the grand sum of one penny on the basis of a review written by Floon. I was enchanted by his description of the storyline and the author?s writing style. I was not disappointed.
The author, Vikram Seth states, in an author?s note located on the last page of the book, that, ?Music to me is dearer even than speech?. To convey this, he focuses his novel on the world of music and its performance.
The central character, Michael Holme, is the second violinist in a London-based stringquartet. His life has settled somewhat into a rut. He plays his violin; teaches the violin; makes love to one of his students, Virginie; rings his father; all as a matter of routine.
His comfortable lifestyle is suddenly disturbed by a series of events each connected and occurring in parallel ...
Advantages: Fantastically realised world, focused plot Disadvantages: Minimalist detail, not a cohesive collection
The Earthsea Quartet compiles Ursula Le Guin's first four novels set in the Iron Age styled world of Earthsea. The first three books of the original trilogy were published over four years, from 1968 to 1972. A fourth book was released in 1990, erroneously subtitled the last tale of Earthsea but it ended up being the springboard for further tales.
The four books are set in the known lands of Earthsea; made up of a central archipelago encircled by four polar reaches and the Kargad Lands. Areas outside the provided map are unknown; however a land of the dragons is speculated to exist in the far west.
Earthsea is mostly populated by a dark-browned skinned people. The white Kargs are given a slightly more barbaric presentation than other races, shown to be less literate and superstitious of the practise of magic. Different characters from ...
