Gramophone Critics have released their 2020 Critic’s choice in the December issue and Jeremy Dibble has selected Simon Callaghan and Clíodna Shanahan’s Dyson: The Open Window! “We do not generally associate Sir George Dyson with the piano, but this 101-minute album demonstrates that he was very much in touch with its repertoire… It is also […]

MusicWeb International critics have released their list of recordings of the year, and two have selected SOMM releases! See the full list and links to full reviews at MusicWeb-International.com. Façades: Music by William Walton and Constant Lambert “A typically excellent disc from SOMM. Skilfully programmed, wonderfully played and beautifully presented. A disc that combines listening […]

“For a few years in the 1840s, the Schumanns and Mendelssohns crossed paths in Leipzig. Both lived in the city only a short walk from each other. it’s easy to imagine them playing their new pieces to each other after dinner, discussing works-in-progress, criticising a first draft. That feeling of a shared musical culture comes […]

“[The] Three Winter Poems trilogy of 1948 provides an unusual example of [William Alwyn’s] flair for pictorialism (which he had learnt through his composition for the big screen) combined with the sparer textures of the quartet. … The Tippett Quartet should be congratulated for their sympathetic interpretations of a neglected repertoire, though one that should […]

“this is a recording by a very versatile wind and string group, Emma Johnson directs, and they perform and record in formations ranging from little trios right up to octets as well. …what people particularly latch onto in these performances is the obvious pleasure that they take in working as a team. There is such an […]

‘SOMM enchanted evening!’ Just a small selection of gems from our extensive catalogue. To view all our playlists please click here to follow us on Spotify.