Our latest reviews

Walton: Cello Concerto: Pieter Wispelwey

Reviewed by Phil Richards, Readings Carlton

For this new recording, Wispelwey has put together a fascinating collection of post-war works for cello. The disc opens with Walton’s Cello Concerto accompanied by Jeffrey Tate and the Sydney Symphony, and follows it with four works for solo cello…

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Verismo: Renee Fleming

Reviewed by Maurice Smith, Classical Music Buyer for the City of Boroondara Library Service

For this disc of Verismo arias, Fleming has chosen arias, for the most part, from lesser-known operas of the period. They show the beautiful dark, full quality of Fleming’s voice and how she is able to use this quality effectively…

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Chopin: The Complete Waltzes: Ingrid Fliter

Reviewed by Maurice Smith, Classical Music Buyer for the City of Boroondara Library Service

2010 is the bicentenary year of Chopin’s birth and no doubt many discs and compilations will be issued to mark the occasion, but if they are all as good as this recording of the complete waltzes, then Chopin devotees will…

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Pirates of the Baroque: Red Priest

Reviewed by Kate Rockstrom, Readings Carlton

I saw Red Priest live almost ten years ago and I have never forgotten them. This new recording has reminded me that they truly are some of the most amazing musicians I have ever heard.

This is recorder playing unlike…

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Shimmering Light: Film Music Of Nigel Westlake

Reviewed by Kate Rockstrom, Readings Carlton

This collection has been lovingly put together by Westlake to commemorate the sudden death of his son Eli in 2008. Spanning almost 20 years of work in the film industry, there are excerpts from well-known movies like Babe: Pig in

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La Dolce Fiamma - Forgotten Castrato Arias of JC Bach: Philippe Jaroussky, Jérémie Rhorer, Le Cercle De L'Harmonie

Reviewed by Catherine Koerner, Readings Hawthorn

Philippe Jaroussky, the outstanding French countertenor, is about to set foot on Australian shores for a keenly anticipated concert series with Paul Dyer’s Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. In this timely CD release, Jaroussky sings rarely performed arias of J.C. Bach from…

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Under Stones: Bob Franklin

Reviewed by Tony Martin

First up, a bit of ‘full disclosure’: I have been a massive Bob Franklin fan for fifteen years, and have been lucky enough to work with the man on several projects (only two of which have been described as ‘ill-fated’)…

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Stripping Bare The Body: Mark Danner

Reviewed by Jo Case, editor of Readings Monthly

Mark Danner is one of the world’s best foreign correspondents – in my mind, a peer of Robert Fisk. His reportage combines sharp, formidably well informed analysis and background knowledge with a clear, direct, intensely human way of communicating what…

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The Group: Mary McCarthy

Reviewed by Jo Case, editor of Readings Monthly

This 1960s classic has been on my ‘to-read’ list for ages – and the appearance of this new Virago edition, with an introduction from Candace Bushnell and a rave from Sarah Waters, was the impetus for me to finally strike…

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The Imperfectionists: Tom Rachman

Reviewed by Jo Case, editor of Readings Monthly

The Imperfectionists is an absolutely winning novel – funny, sad, affecting and sharply observational. It’s set in the office of an English-language international paper, based in Rome, each chapter telling the story of a different employee on the paper, from…

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