Stephen Layton MBE

Reviews

Press notices and interviews, by year.

2007

  1. The TimesStephen Layton: InterviewStephen Layton interviewed by Richard Morrison (The Times, 16 November 2007) Master and Commander Every child…Interview
  2. BBC Music MagazineBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsCD Review
  3. Gramophone MagazineBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsCD Review
  4. The ObserverBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsBruckner lovers will be familiar with his motets, but may not know his glorious Mass No 2, which shares their…CD Review
  5. The ObserverBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsThis recording done in the resonant acoustic of Ely Cathedral has much to recommend it. Polyphony is one of…CD Review
  6. The Daily TelegraphBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsWith its refracted echoes of Palestrina, Bruckner's E minor Mass for choir and wind band stands as a sublime…CD Review
  7. Bay Area ReporterBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsHyperion is on a roll. Its superb new CD of Anton Bruckner's choral music, with the chorus Polyphony under…CD Review
  8. American Record GuideBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsI’ve had nothing but good things to say about Polyphony in works by Rutter, Whitacre, and maybe a few others…CD Review
  9. Classic FM MagazineBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsCD Review
  10. The Evening StandardBBC Proms: PolyphonyBlending is the secret of great choral singing. Stephen Layton's fine chamber choir, Polyphony, has mastered…Concert Review
  11. The Aberdeen Evening ExpressBBC Proms: PolyphonyAlabaster rendered in sound Stephen Layton's choir, Polyphony, have mastered their elusive art to perfection…Concert Review
  12. The Irish TimesIrish Chamber Choir: The Eternal FeminineTwentieth-century music may have a bad reputation, but a few extra chairs had to be put out at the National…Concert Review
  13. The IndependentAldeburgh Festival: PolyphonyMembers of the audience who arrived with cushions, to counter the unforgiving Maltings seats, must have felt…Concert Review
  14. Classics Today.comLauridsen: Nocturnes'This is great stuff, and it's given its best imaginable realization by Stephen Layton and his crack vocal…CD Review
  15. International Record ReviewLauridsen: Nocturnes'This is a spectacular cycle, graced by some sensational singing'CD Review
  16. Classical Source.comLauridsen: Nocturnes' … It is no surprise to learn of the composer’s devotion to music of both the Medieval and Renaissance…CD Review
  17. CNN NewsLauridsen: Nocturnes'You know something's up when two of the highest-profile and most honored American composers of serious…CD Review
  18. Classical.netLauridsen: Nocturnes'Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943) is at present considered to be the brightest star in the American choral…CD Review
  19. Audiophile AuditionLauridsen: Nocturnes'...a disc that is filled with lovely music. Performances are excellent. Anyone who is interested in the best…CD Review
  20. HMV ChoiceLauridsen: Nocturnes'This recording is a fine example of Polyphony's exquisite range and Stephen Layton's skill in maintaining…CD Review
  21. Choir and OrganLauridsen: Nocturnes'Lauridsen's Mid-Winter Hymns unfolds as an astutely constructed choral symphony, with bouncy asymmetrical…CD Review
  22. The Manchester Evening NewsLauridsen: Nocturnes'There could be few choirs better equipped than Polyphony to bring his music to life, with their pure sound…CD Review
  23. The Daily ExpressLauridsen: Nocturnes'This is celestial and spine-tingling stuff. Contemporary choral music really doesn't come any better than…CD Review
  24. The Daily TelegraphLauridsen: NocturnesIt is two years since Hyperion introduced the music of Morten Lauridsen to a wider audience and earned a…CD Review
  25. Fanfare USALauridsen: Nocturnes'Stephen Layton's splendiferous disc - the second of Lauridsen's music by these performers - should be on the…CD Review
  26. The Seattle TimesLauridsen: NocturnesThe Northwest-born composer Morten Lauridsen, renowned for his choral music, is the subject of this sumptuous…CD Review
  27. Stereophile USALauridsen: Nocturnes'I hold these truths to be self-evident: 1) Rainer Maria Rilke was a genius. 2) Morten Lauridsen is a genius…CD Review
  28. Slate Magazine USALauridsen: Nocturnes'Nocturnes creates a complex and strange beauty that doesn't sound like any other composer. Yet for all its…CD Review
  29. Music Web InternationalLauridsen: Nocturnes'This is a superb issue, with the engineers capturing the full sonority of the choir, orchestra and soloists…CD Review
  30. Classic FM MagazineLauridsen: Nocturnes'This second, secular anthology is, if anything finer than its predecessor, elevated by the heavenly work of…CD Review
  31. The Sunday TimesBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsCD Review