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 good to hear the arrangement of the quirky yet voluptuous Concerto Leggiero in its scoring for two pianos, sympathetically played by Callaghan and Shanahan. Another jewel from SOMM!”
—Jeremy Dibble, Gramophone (Critic’s Choice)
“The past quarter of a century has brought steady reappraisal of George Dyson, and while an extensive choral output remains his main legacy, his orchestral, chamber and piano pieces should not be overlooked, as Simon Callaghan’s intégrale of the latter confirms. … Callaghan renders these and other solo pieces with a conviction not merely in their technical mastery but their musical worth. Also included here is the two-piano reduction of Concerto leggiero (1951)… Nor is the absence of strings a real loss, given the alacrity with which Clíodna Shanahan tackles the second piano part. Sound and annotations leave nothing to be desired, so making this a desirable purchase for Dyson devotees or those wishing to try out some unfamiliar, yet rewarding music.”
—Richard Whitehouse, Gramophone
See the full review on Gramophone.co.uk