Review of recording by International Record Review
All these performances meet the often considerable challenges of their respective pieces head on. Rupert Marshall-Luck proves as adept in an overtly contemporary idiom as in those of the early twentieth century with which he is mostly associated, while the contributions of Sophie Harris and Matthew Rickard lack nothing in commitment or insight. [Pickard’s] music has a substance and durability which make it, and the present disc, required listening.
Richard Whitehouse
Review of recording by Fanfare Magazine
The Piano Trio is a remarkable piece that particularly spotlights the cello (the lead being Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, apparently). Sophie Harris is the intrepid cellist whose expressive lines and warm tone inform the entire reading. ... Marshall-Luck plays [Chaconne] with intense concentration. The result is magical. ... Marshall-Luck and Rickard give an impassioned account [of the Violin Sonata]. The virtuosic central Presto possibile is a remarkable ride, contrasting in the strongest possible way with the lonely soliloquy of the opening of the finale (a profound eight-minute Adagio). Finally, the 2010 piece Snowbound for bass clarinet, cello, and piano. [An] evocation of a particularly snowy winter in Britain. The explosive beginning is surprisingly violent and speaks of a darkness that seems to refer to the opening of Mahler’s final part of Das Lied von der Erde. Although not all is bleak; the music later sparkles. Pickard’s sense of sonority enchants the ear, while one remains aware that one is in the hands of a master craftsman. The performance is very alert from all parties. The stasis of the work’s final pages results in a haunting close to this remarkable disc. How good it is to know there is some real talent around.
Colin Clarke
Piano Trio; Insomnia for Violin and Piano
Chaconne for Solo Viola; Valedictions for Cello and Piano
Sonata for Violin and Piano; Snowbound for Bass Clarinet, Cello and Piano
Matthew Rickard (Piano); Rupert Marshall-Luck (Violin/Viola);
Sophie Harris (Cello); Ian Mitchell (Bass Clarinet)
TOCCATA CLASSICS (TOCC 0150)
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