Glass, Rutter & Fran�aix: Harpsichord Concertos

�Typically adventurous, Naxos programmes Rutter's pastoral prettiness with Glass's insistent dancing patterns and Francaix's lissom, quirky lyricism.� --BBC Music Magazine, Christmas Issue 2013 ****

�[the Glass] makes for an understated and appealing piece, and one to which Christopher D Lewis is as responsive as he is to the other works here - sensitively accompanied by the West Side Chamber Orchestra under the attentive direction of Kevin Mallon...If the programme appeals, then there is no need to hesitate.� --Gramophone Magazine, November 2013

Attracted by a delightful fusion of early music sonorities with modern expressiveness, the three composers in this amazingly rich and varied programme build on the magnificent harpsichord concerto legacy of J. S. Bach. John Rutter�s beautiful Suite Antique is full of rich and haunting themes, with a significant solo flute part and a jazzy Waltz which is as much Brubeck as Bach. Philip Glass delivers an exciting experience of virtuoso instrumental blending and solo expressiveness, and with typical wit and elegance. Jean Fran�aix�s Concerto is terrific fun throughout.

Fran�aix: Orchestral Music

'Thierry Fischer seems totally attuned to Fran�aix's idiom, and the engineers have captured the excellent acoustics of Belfast's Ulster Hallto colourful effect. The Ulster Orchestra plays with wit, point and vitality: it can rarely if ever have sounded better on record' --BBC Music Magazine

'The playing throughout is sensitive and fully attentive to the varied rhythms, while the sound is clear and bright, bringing out Fran�aix's imaginative writing for individual instruments, especially the woodwind. The CD will not change opinions of Fran�aix; but it will surely suit those who already appreciate his style' --Gramophone

'This is the third Fran�aix CD from Thierry Fischer and the Ulster Orchestra. I'll extend the praise they've already received from other reviewers by saying that these performances are polished and idiomatic. With their rhythmic point and colour, they invite the dance. The engineering is well balanced and not hyped' --International Record Review

'The musicians are excellent, not merely in instrumental sections or as a balanced ensemble, but in their respective solo passages as well. They shine in providing intimate, strongly characterised work that brings the tenements of Les demoiselles de la nuit to life. Combine this with competent liner notes and spacious sound, and you have an album that should please older fans of Fran�aix, and make new ones out of a fresh generation of listeners' --Fanfare, USA

*Reemplaze las car�tulas/Replace the cover

*download booklet: http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/notes/67489-B.pdf

Jean Fran�aix: Orchestral Music

�An hour of pure joy...This album covers 50 years of Jean Fran�aix's droll, deadpan and meltingly lyrical work.� --BBC Music Magazine, December 2008

�What happy work [the Symphony] is!...The whole programme is played with warmth, polish and vitality in equal measure; the recording is first class and this is very highly recommended.� --Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

'Again and again while listening to Thierry Fischer's ebullient performances I smile and wish that I had met Jean Fran�aix' (Gramophone)

'The Ulster Orchestra sound captivated by this music, as well they might � pure pleasure from beginning to end' (International Record Review)

'This collection serves to remind us what 20th-century joys can be found away from the fashionable modernists. The Ulster players may not actually be French, but they fooled me. An utter delight' (The Times)

'The Ulster Orchestra has acquired a deserved reputation for the strength of its sectional work and the quality of its soloists, both aspects of performance that come to the fore in Fran�aix � Highly recommended' (Fanfare, USA) 'thoroughly entertaining and immensely intelligent' ( The Evening Standard)

'Tr�s bien compos�, ce nouveau disque t�moigne parfaitement des influences et des particularismes de l�art clair et spirituel de Fran�aix' (R�pertoire, France)

'Thierry Fischer secures some authentically Gallic character from the Ulster Orchestra � Wonderful' (Yorkshire Post)