Berlioz: Harold In Italy; Paganini: Sonata Per La Grand Viola

�Carpenter rises to all the challenges with great dexterity, preserving fine tone and pure intonation in the most (for the viola player) alarming situations...the performance of Harold, too, has much to recommend it - a fine-toned soloist, rhythmic, well-balanced orchestral playing and clear, bright recording. There are some especially imaginative touches of tone-painting� --Gramophone Magazine, December 2011

�the undisputed star is the first recording of the more virtuosic, original version of Harold in Italy which is fully exploited by Carpenter's beguiling, beautiful tone and thrilling technique. The orchestra is no bit-part player here; Ashkenazy's ensemble throughout makes this an outstanding collaboration.� --Classic FM Magazine, December 2011 ****

�Carpenter is the eloquent viola soloist in Berlioz�s Byronic symphony...[Ashkenazy and the Helsinki orchestra ] reveal the music�s narrative heart compellingly. Paganini�s own Sonata for viola and orchestra, scarcely on a par with Berlioz, nevertheless allows Carpenter to demonstrate his lyrical musicality and bravura.� --The Telegraph, 22nd September 2011 ****

�The excellent violist David Aaron Carpenter has reinstated a virtuoso passage in the opening adagio, originally sketched for Paganini. With Ashkenazy and the Helsinki PO, he gives a masterly account of the work, glowing and incisive.� --Sunday Times, 16th October 2011