Reviews

This orchestra of virtuosi plays with the lifeblood sound of a bygone era, burning up with vibrancy and pride. On tour with star cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason they reached the Barbican last night and proved again that they are, quite simply, bloody fantastic. …Catch them anywhere and any time you can.

There was a thrilling impetuosity to this performance, and the Sinfonia’s big, glossy sound gave the [Rachmaninoff] work an almost three-dimensional feel. The way Wilson balanced the middle movements was particularly impressive — driving the music on while letting the players, essentially, show off, whether in the dusky bloom of the strings or the tang of Tom Blomfield’s oboe. The scherzo was as airborne as a leaping prima ballerina, and the finale lusciously, extravagantly painted, while still tight as a drum.

‘Unforgettable excellence..the Prommers [audience] immediately erupted at its triumphant end, a heartfelt response to an unforgettable performance. The musicians gave us a hotline straight to the composer, cutting right to the heart of the piece.’

‘exemplary solo work and Wilson’s sharply etched rhythmic drive flaunted their excellence…a Proms knockout.’

‘An awesome demonstration of why Wilson’s Sinfonia has such a blistering reputation.’

‘This probing, often challenging, exploration of a selection of the most iconic works by some of America’s greatest composers was nigh on faultless’

‘The scope and flair of the playing in this second volume of Fuchs’s orchestral works, and the range of music presented, make it essential listening.’

Orchestral Award – Vaughan Williams, Howells, Delius, Elgar

Opera Award – Oklahoma!

Recording of the Year – Vaughan Williams, Howells, Delius, Elgar

“Pounds’ third symphony as a whole is certainly worth experiencing – especially in a performance as scrupulously prepared and committed as this one… a sumptuously engineered programme.”

“The three composers find their perfect interpreters in Wilson and the Sinfonia of London, who luxuriate in Ravel … and make a persuasive case for Pounds’s third symphony. Berkeley’s Divertimento is the real find … balletic fluidity, astringent strings and skittish inventiveness.”

“Peerless … fast becoming one of Europe’s elite orchestras. Ravel’s Tombeau de Couperinplayed with impeccable virtuosity and a sense of weightless clarity. Chandos’s commitment to Wilson and the Sinfonia of London, and their chosen repertoire, deserves celebration.”

‘Simply Wonderful’

‘The Sinfonia of London could not be bettered, nor could the flawless casting, right down to the smallest roles and the rousing chorus. But Wilson himself – leading, guiding, supporting, controlling it all, with incomparable joy, energy, style, panache and conviction – is the real star here … A landmark in American music theatre, it now at last has, after 80 years, the landmark recording it has long deserved. This is the most important new release of the year, not to mention the best.’

‘Generations will thank John Wilson for this glorious recording. Ravel’s ballet is infused with Hollywood golden age lushness by the conductor’s outstanding hand-picked supergroup. Astonishing detail … playing so tight it seems the whole thing might burst.’

‘Such a powerful, cinematic sound … the sheer virtuosity of the playing. I’ve never heard the choral introduction to part two sung with such projection, focus and discipline … there’s a balletic, propulsive energy to everything … a seriously potent package.’

“Superlatively played, and completely worth its place in the pantheon of recordings entirely on its musical, and not just musicological, merits. [The choir’s] first entry, emerging from a subterranean opening, is immense, and brilliantly recorded: I got it blaring out of my speakers at full whack. They are also hauntingly beautiful in the introduction to Part Two. Enough. I could wax lyrical about piece and recording for another 1,000 words but need actually only say this recording is a must-have for existing Ravelians, or the Ravel-curious.”

‘Wilson truly does have ‘rows and rows of the finest virtuosos’ at his command … his willingness to play the long game and unleash the Sinfonia of London’s trademark swooning string sound only at the very last minute really pays off … A word too for the superb (wordless!) contribution of the Sinfonia of London Chorus in their recording-debut. Yet another feather in Wilson and Sinfonia of London’s now lavishly-accessorised cap.’

‘Everything is played with such energy and purpose … brilliant precision … the reflective moments of the score are treated with equal care.’

‘this exceptional, hand-picked ensemble has already won its spurs both live and on recordings, and the players do not disappoint.’

‘Sinfonia of London and their conductor were born for this music and they execute it with aplomb. The recording, like the playing is immaculate…Highly recommended.’

‘The Sinfonia of London has become one of the hottest tickets in town…Wilson has a thorough understanding of how to make this [Walton] symphony thrill, and his musicians were right there with him, every note of the way, in a high-stakes, electrifying performance.’

‘Possibly the most exciting and gifted conductor working in Britain today…Wilson’s genius as a conductor consists in the utter confidence he inspires in his players, but also in his intense attention to detail.’

‘Wilson’s concerts were structured around two orchestral monuments, Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances and Elgar’s Symphony No 2. Each showed the dazzling quality of this orchestra. The strings have a solid, powerful energy, each player bobbing up from their seat with exhilaration as they play, bows lifted high….The lyricism and individuality of the woodwind, the potency of the brass, the commitment of every player, combine to make this orchestra one of the best ensembles anywhere, with Wilson the catalyst.’ 

‘yet again I must express my amazement at the quality and beauty of the string sound that Wilson achieves with his orchestra. The initial chord of the Vaughan Williams shimmers in a way that few other recordings can match… The thought that Wilson puts into programming these albums is quite remarkable.’

‘In recent times, the musicologist and conductor John Wilson and his hand-picked studio orchestra, Sinfonia of London, have emerged as one of the world’s outstanding recording ensembles…just a few weeks into 2023 Wilson is back with another tip-top issue, this time of British string music.’

‘this lovely celebration of classic Hollywood film scores is delivered with deep care and affection by Wilson and his dependably excellent players…many gems.’

‘All blaze to life in these performances from Wilson and Sinfonia of London, silver-screen heroes for a new generation of film music lovers’

‘Beyond doubt the best executed and most insightful recording that Ireland’s music has ever received…to be greatly admired.’

‘What a fine and stimulating recording this is….Perhaps nobody since Barbirolli has been able to make strings sing like Wilson. Schreker’s Intermezzo here has a sheen to it that is intensely delicate one minute and impossibly sumptuous the next. Strauss’s Metamorphosen has rarely had such an agonizingly drawn out, lovingly burnished performance as this.’

‘The victory is due to the conductor and string players’ panache, both in the Strauss and its well-chosen companions….the musicians soar with passion through the most aching of long-limbed melodic lines…whatever the mood, the Sinfonia’s tone stays full-blooded and refulgent, just like Chandos’s recording.’

‘…the eloquence of Wilson’s performances – subtly nuanced in the more reflective pieces and rhythmically incisive elsewhere – are unmissable. Another absolute winner for these artists.’

‘Wilson’s crack, handpicked orchestra responds to his refined, meticulous baton with playing of ravishing textural beauty, rhythmic elan and, in the repeated refrain of Bolero, cumulative power. An outstanding collection leaving the listener wanting more.’

What’s not to like here? John Wilson’s orchestral anthology boasts incredibly alert and refined orchestral playing, plus vivid SACD sound. It’s superb…this radiant score is performed with heartfelt affection and an irresistible sense of fun. The effect is thrilling.

This is just ravishing, marvellous and truly captivating…one of the finest Ravel albums of recent years. Everything about it is good: the repertory, the new editions, the playing of John Wilson’s hand-picked Sinfonia of London and Wilson’s own understanding of the composer, based on his work as a musicologist, as well as his exceptional gifts as a conductor….I’m only giving it five stars because I’m not allowed to award ten.

‘This music will delight all who hear it – both the ballet and the woodwind pieces. The orchestrations in the woodwind pieces are masterful and I think they add significantly to the colour of the original works. The soloists and orchestra are as fine as you could ever want to hear. This is a fantastic disc.’

‘It’s outings on disc are rare, so Wilson’s recording is more than welcome. As one might expect, it’s flawlessly done, scrupulously paced and played, with Dutilleux’s often extraordinary colours and textures beautifully explored…The [soloist] performances, digging deep into the subtleties of Hesketh’s instrumentation, are first-rate.’

‘bewitchingly played and imaginatively directed by Wilson…this disc of early works by the fastidious French composer Henri Dutilleux succeeds beyond expectation.’

“Wilson’s handpicked band play with a depth of sonority and variety to challenge the greatest ensembles … an original and fabulously well-played album, dazzlingly recorded.”

“Wilson and his hand-picked band of musicians continue to strike gold with almost anything they turn their hands to. In taking on this oft-recorded set of orchestral favourites, they set a new benchmark. Wilson’s handling is full of nuance, resulting in performances of light and shade, but mostly joyful exuberance.”

“Right from the determined opening bars of Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, it’s clear that this too is an exceptional album. What most impresses is not only the effortless manner with which the players dispatch their flurries of notes, but how they respond just as magnificently to every nuance of dynamics and articulation: I can’t recall many other ensembles who, like a flock of birds moving as one in the sky, are able to adapt and adjust so quickly and single-mindedly.” 

“I have never heard string orchestral playing of this quality for many years – either on or off a record. It is of a quality that goes beyond virtuosity (of which it has, in spades) but is suffused with that element of commitment to the music – a belief in its inherent value – that is wholly exceptional in music-making today. Wilson and the Sinfonia of London deliver here far and away the greatest performance I have ever heard … no other performance – not Karajan with the Philharmonia or Britten himself with the English Chamber Orchestra – is as good as this one.” 

“Astonishingly good … bold, confident and extrovert, this is thrilling.”

“The strings rear up, there’s a flash of steel from the trumpets, and ten seconds into Respighi’s ‘Feste Romane’, you can already tell that things are about to get physical. It’s the heft of the sound that floors you — the gut punch of a 100-piece orchestra darting through Respighi’s Technicolor sonorities with the silken grace of a puma  … The quiet passages have a tactile, perfumed softness that you won’t hear from any other orchestra.” 

“There are dozens of versions of Respighi’s ‘Roman Trilogy’ available, but I’ve heard none better than this. The orchestral playing is magnificent, and its joy and exuberance are a tonic.”

“I have never heard this music presented with such power and detail and sheer visceral excitement but also with such control and sophisticated balance – it is literally revelatory…. this might just be one of Chandos’ finest feats of engineering ever, showcasing the superlative and sophisticated playing of John Wilson’s Sinfonia of London. A genuine triumph.”

“Deprived as we are of big orchestras, this disc is a joy: massive, audacious and vividly played… Respighi’s best known work – Roman Trilogy – is brought to dazzling new life by John Wilson and his historic recording orchestra.”

“Fritz Reiner’s improbably lush Chicago Symphony version on RCA should be on all shelves, along with this John Wilson disc with Sinfonia of London. You hear stuff that you’ll struggle to notice in other performances. …Sumptuous sonics and good notes, too. Go on – treat yourself.”

“With dazzlingly inventive dashes of orchestration and demandingly intricate writing across all sections, these three pieces are the perfect vehicle to showcase the sensational virtuosity on offer from this ensemble. …A thrilling culmination to yet another phenomenal album from John Wilson and Sinfonia of London.”

“All the performances are beyond praise and superbly recorded. This is undoubtedly my best disc of the last 12 months”

“All of the music requires refined, stylish playing, and Wilson and his orchestra can certainly supply that. Their performance of Debussy’s Prelude lays down an early marker of their subtlety.”

“Ravishing – a performance that balances fragile beauty and fulsome passion. It’s easy to imagine this will be one of my top 5 recordings of the year – urgently recommended.”

“Delicious from beginning to end, and the performances from Sinfonia of London and John Wilson are wonderful.”

“This first album is a promise of great things to come. The Symphony emerges as a near-masterpiece in [Wilson’s] flexible hands, fabulously played by the musicians. More, please.”

“The playing of the Sinfonia of London is astonishingly brilliant, with Hollywood-dream glories in the string tone.”