Compelling...
spell-binding... exquisite... masterly... Just a
few of the words used by reviewers to describe Elinor
Bennett's playing -- in the live recitals she has
given to audiences around the world as well as in
studio recordings. In fact her twelve solo albums
and her collaborations with other artists have all
impressed the critics, with one of her most recent
albums, Sea of Glass, receiving a BBC Music Magazine
5-star rating.
|
|
Elinor
Bennett's Purcell Room recital was so interesting and
unfailingly musical that I, for one, would have very willingly
heard more, as could, no doubt her large and appreciative
audience. ...These four works (the Harp Sonata by Hindemith,
Britten's "Suite for the Harp", Malcolm Williamson's
"Day that I have Loved", and Alun Hoddinott's
"Sonata Notturna") received definitive performances
from this wonderfully gifted player. The programme was
completed by Elinor Bennett's strikingly apt transcription
of Arvo Pärt's brief memorial "Pari Intervallo".
Musical
Opinion, Spring, 1994
Sea
of Glass (Lorelt) LRT 105
Hooray
for a harp recording which breaks out of the mould of
the limited range of familiar harp repertoire. Elinor
Bennett and Lontano Records have compiled an imaginative
selection of both original pieces and transcriptions of
contemporary music made by Bennett herself. Perhaps the
most attractive pieces on the recording are the original
works by John Metcalf, Grace Williams and Jeffrey Lewis,
which indulge in the textures and resonance of the instrument,
while the post-modern and minimalist transcriptions work
because their spare textures focus on the quality of the
sound. Bennett's cool and dispassionate control and clear
articulation enhance this
*****
Excellent Performance
*****
Excellent Sound
From
BBC Music Magazine
Throughout
Elinor Bennett maintains an admirable control of sonorities,
allowing inner melodic lines to gentry emerge and disappear
and ethereal bass notes to resound without clouding the
overall texture of the music. Particularly lovely is the
short and elegiac "Hiraeth" (Longing) by Grace
Williams, which is performed with a simple but poignant
lyricism. The transcendental quality of Arvo Pärt's
music is captured particularly well... and creates a meditative
serenity of which Pärt would surely approve. the
two works by Philip Glass convey a feeling that we are
not just hearing transcriptions of pieces for harp, but
music that uses the sonorities and techniques of this
instrument to create performances with true style and
depth.
From
CD Review
Images
and Impressions
Nimbus NI 5247
There
is no more intoxicatingly sensual an instrumental combination
than flute and harp, as this enchanting recital from Judith
Hall and Elinor Bennett amply demonstrates. Opening with
a spell-binding performances of Alwyn's "Naiades"
and the pair of exquisite Debussy transcriptions which
follow (Le Petit Berger and Premiere Arabesque), I was
able to put my Beckmesser slate safely to one side and
listen captivated by the rest of the programme. With Elinor
Bennett's masterly reading of Tournier's "Vers la
source dans le bois", and Jolivet's "Alla Rustica"
given a headily evocative account, this is clearly a most
desirable collection.
Highly
recommended.
***
Excellent
From
CD Review
Judith
Hall and Elinor Bennett play beautifully... gently evocative
and compelling.
From
Fanfare, USA
Comme
il s'agit de deux excellents musiciennes, le plaisir est
sans melange.
From
Diapason, France
...a
wide range of music impeccably handled by the performers.
From
The Age, Melbourne, Australia
The
Welsh lady absolutely fascinated her audience with her
virtuosity which was never exploited to promote herself,
but rather to convey the music through her intensity and
great solistic mastery. The artiste was exciting and imaginative
in Faure's "Impromptu" and in Britten's "Suite
for Harp".
Kleine
Zeitung, Graz, Austria
Elinor
Bennett, often referred to as the 'harpist's harpist',
was just that and more on this occasion as she charmed
her audience with her totally professional, yet equally
warm demeanour.
From
Y Drych, Minnesota, USA
Mae
perfformiadau Elinor Bennett yn llawn disyblaeth a theimlad
yr un pryd -- gwaith artist sy'n deall ac yn parchu gofynion
y cyfansoddwyr a'u hoes.
From
Golwg
|
