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Ivor Gurney: Sonata for Violin and Piano in E flat Major (World Premiére recording)

Lionel Sainsbury: Soliloquy for Solo Violin, Op.21

Sir Edward Elgar: Sonata for Violin and Piano in E Minor, Op.82

Rupert Marshall-Luck (Violin); Matthew Rickard (Piano)

EM RECORDS (EMR CD011)

EM Records is the recording arm of the English Music Festival

Please click here for more information on the music of Lionel Sainsbury

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“First-rate release. More please”

British Music Society

“Marshall-Luck and Rickard display passion and poise in a deeply-felt reading”

MusicWeb International

“Gurney’s Sonata could hardly find better and more convincing exponents than Marshall-Luck and Rickard”

BBC Music Magazine

Review of recording by MusicWeb International

Elgar’s Sonata is not exactly a rarity on CD, with rival versions existing by Nigel Kennedy, Lorraine McAslan, Tasmin Little and Daniel Hope. This new version more than holds its own in this illustrious company. It is a splendid performance which underlines the wistful nostalgia of Elgar’s late masterpiece more than any other account I have heard. Hope’s version is perhaps more assertive, but Rupert Marshall-Luck and Matthew Rickard get closer to the heart of this piece, combining glorious playing with a real understanding of the emotions behind the notes. If the Gurney and Sainsbury works appeal, this will be a self-recommending first choice.

This is a superb new release. The sound is rich, yet clear, as one would expect at the Wyastone Concert Hall. The documentation is excellent – extremely informative and a model that other record companies should follow.

David Jennings

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Review of recording by MusicWeb International

The conviction [of the performance] is the result of not just Gurney’s inspiration and craftsmanship but also stems from the skill of the performers. Rupert Marshall-Luck’s violin soars effortlessly and his tone is warm, drawing the listener in, while Matthew Rickard is an exemplary partner. ... The performance could hardly be bettered: both musicians play with fine feeling and sensitivity and truly bring out the poetry behind the notes. ... Marshall-Luck and Rickard display both passion and poise in a deeply-felt reading [of the Elgar]. ... The performances of all three works out on this disc are out of the top drawer. ... EM Records has already issued several excellent and important discs of neglected English music. However, this disc, which unveils Gurney’s Violin Sonata to a worldwide audience, may be their most important release to date, I fancy.

John Quinn

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Review of recording by BBC Music Magazine

Gurney’s Sonata could hardly find better and more convincing exponents than Rupert Marshall-Luck and Matthew Rickard. The disc concludes with a deeply sympathetic and highly competitive account of Elgar’s Violin Sonata that stresses the lyrical nature of this late masterpiece. The recording is very warm and perfectly balanced.

Calum MacDonald

Review of recording by the British Music Society

Continuing their excellent series of English Violin Sonatas for The English Music Festival’s label, EM Records, Rupert Marshall-Luck and Matthew Rickard have teamed up once again to give us a stunning recording of works that juxtapose the previously unknown with the familiar, in this case with two sonatas both written within in year of each other in the aftermath of the First World War. ... [This is a] first-rate release. More Please!

Rodney Foord

Review of recording by Gramophone

The Elgar Sonata - one of the works of the composer’s “Indian Summer” - makes an apt coupling, dating from exactly the same period [as the Gurney]. It’s good to be reminded what a powerful piece it is, helped by the concentration of Marshall-Luck and his pianist, Matthew Rickard.

Edward Greenfield