Stephen Layton MBE

Reviews

Press notices and interviews, by year.

2015

  1. Music OMHHandel: Messiah“The best bleedin’ Messiah in the country” was Heddle Nash’s self-assessment, and the same phrase is right…Concert Review
  2. Seen and Heard InternationalHandel: MessiahThis performance was the last in the St John’s 13 day-long 30th Christmas Festival. As in the case of the…Concert Review
  3. The Evening StandardBach: B minor MassThe Choir of Trinity College Cambridge is no ordinary Oxbridge choir. Fielding no fewer than 30 choral…Concert Review
  4. Music OMHBach: B minor MassThis is the 30th Christmas Festival at St John’s, and it has been an exceptional one in terms of variety of…Concert Review
  5. Music Web InternationalVarious: Yulefest!A couple of themes run through this attractive Christmas music compilation. One is the presence of a number…CD Review
  6. The Daily TelegraphVarious: Yulefest!The Best Classical CDs for ChristmasCD Review
  7. DiapasonVarious: Yulefest!Le Chœur du Trinity College de Cambridge est l'un de ces ensembles d'étudiants si versatile qu'il parvient à…CD Review
  8. Los Angeles TimesVarious: Yulefest!Sublime singing of the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, under the direction of Stephen Layton, marks the a…CD Review
  9. BBC Music MagazineVarious: Yulefest!Performance Recording Since going to Trinity College, Cambridge nine years ago conductor Stephen Layton has…CD Review
  10. Sinfini MusicVarious: American PolyphonyCenturies of puritanical preaching and religious dogma have worked to supress the eternal human drive to draw…CD Review
  11. The New Zealand HeraldVarious: American Polyphony5 Stars Some Aucklanders have had the pleasure of experiencing the artistry of Stephen Layton in person when…CD Review
  12. The Financial TimesVarious: American PolyphonyTo mark Independence Day here is a disc that makes the mid-20th century in the US seem a pinnacle of choral…CD Review
  13. MusicWeb InternationalVarious: American PolyphonyStephen Layton has come up with a most attractive programme of a cappella choral pieces by twentieth century…CD Review
  14. Classical EarLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobisWakefield-born Kenneth Leighton (1929-88) left us a wonderful legacy of church music (as a boy he sang in his…CD Review
  15. Presto ClassicalVarious: American PolyphonyWith the USA having just celebrated Independence Day, it seems fitting that this week it should be American…CD Review
  16. BBC Music MagazineVarious: American PolyphonyIncandescent choral glory - Polyphony is revelatory in American repertoire Performance: 5 stars Recording: 5…CD Review
  17. BBC Music MagazineVarious: American PolyphonyStephen Layton tells Rebecca Franks how he came up with an all-American programme for his choir Polyphony…Q&A
  18. The Seattle TimesBaroque and Wine: SeattleDistinguished English conductor Stephen Layton led Seattle Symphony players and vocalists in a stellar…Concert Review
  19. Seen and Heard InternationalHaydn: CreationHaydn’s oratorio The Creation, presented here as the finale to the brief BBC season on the subject, was a…Concert Review
  20. BBC Music MagazineLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobisPerformance Recording The text of Kenneth Leighton's cantata Crucifixus pro nobis is the ecclesiastical…CD Review
  21. Gramophone MagazineLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobisKenneth Leighton's remarkably consistent musical style means that his characteristic traits, such as…CD Review
  22. Music Web InternationalLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobis"Kenneth Leighton's music is at the heart of English Cathedral repertoire," so says the introduction to…CD Review
  23. Sinfini MusicEšenvalds - Northern LightsThere’s a perception that classical listeners have to choose between the credible and the enjoyable: liking…CD Review
  24. Audiophile AuditionEšenvalds - Northern LightsLayton's Choir is brilliant, make no mistake; it would also be a lie to suggest that I did not get much…CD Review
  25. BBC Music MagazineEšenvalds - Northern LightsOne of the chief pleasures of this CD is right at the beginning-the silvery duetting of Rachel Ambrose Evans…CD Review
  26. Reutlinger General-AnzeigerECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
  27. Stuttgarter ZeitungECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
  28. Stuttgarter NachrichtenECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
  29. Ludwigsburger KreiszeitungECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
  30. Latvians OnlineEšenvalds - Northern LightsLatvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds has not only become one of the most celebrated composers in Latvia, but his…CD Review
  31. Music Web InternationalEšenvalds - Northern LightsI first encountered the music of the Latvian composer, Ēriks Ešenvalds in 2011 when I reviewed a disc of his…CD Review
  32. Gramophone MagazineEšenvalds - Northern LightsBorn in 1977, Latvian Ēriks Ešenvalds is principally known as a composer of choral music. This album…CD Review
  33. Classical Music SentinelEšenvalds - Northern LightsWhen I initially heard and reviewed the first recording completely dedicated to the music of Latvian composer…CD Review
  34. Allmusic.comEšenvalds - Northern LightsOne critic has dubbed the music of Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds "relentless rapture," and it's true that…CD Review
  35. The Sunday TimesVarious: American PolyphonyThe peerless choir offer meticulously blended and shaped performances of 20th-century a cappella American…CD Review
  36. Choir and OrganEšenvalds - Northern LightsLatvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds goes from strength to strength, if the evidence of this exemplary recording…CD Review
  37. The Northern EchoEšenvalds - Northern LightsThe Trinity College Choir Cambridge under the direction of Stephen Layton give superlative performances of…CD Review
  38. BBC Music MagazineLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobisThe text of Kenneth Leighton's cantata Crucifixus pro nobis is the ecclesiastical equivalent of a snuff…CD Review