CD Reviews
‘Grzegorz Nowak's Brahms cycle with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a reliable standard-issue set… the playing is first-rate and wonderfully clear without sacrificing any of the richness of Brahms' textures… in common with Arturo Toscanini or Bruno Walter’
Blair Sanderson, allmusic
‘Performances are of the highest professional caliber and the recordings are excellent… Tuning is exemplary… Nowak turns out consistently good, solid, musically satisfying performances one can enjoy on repeated hearings. Definitely recommended’
Jerry Dubins, FANFARE
'very well executed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of which Nowak is associate conductor… Not a member of the orchestra is left without challenges, and this venerable group shows that it's still capable of bringing you to your feet.
James Manheim, AllMusic
‘Judiciously played… tenderly phrased… beautifully… every delicate nuance detectable… excitingly-paced… thrilling… brilliant… ensemble is immaculate… crisply punctuated to thrill… expressively warm’
Christofer Feifield, MusicWeb International
‘the warmth and full sound of Nowak’s performance are winning. His rendition strides forth strongly and features a warm and lovely violin solo in the Romanze, a well-contrasted Scherzo, and a very effective finale with excellent pacing and flow.’
Mark J. Estren, Washington Post
‘outstanding… In every way this matches and even outshines the superb account which Sir Georg Solti recorded with the Chicago Orchestra on Decca’
Edward Greenfield, Gramophone, London
‘uncommonly rewarding… passionately involved…exhilarating… This is quite simply one of the finest imports I’ve ever been fortunate to run across… 67 minutes of pure gold you’ll be thrilled to have in your collection.’
Haller, American Record Guide
‘you must get this disc… Had this collection been issued by Hyperion, music-lovers outside Poland would have been snapping this up in hundreds. Don't let this collection slip past.’ Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International
‘The music sounds superb, thanks to the fantastic interpretation… Grzegorz Nowak and the Sinfonia Varsovia have worked wonders... It is one of the best and most surprising recordings I have heard’
M. Tokarska, Studio, Warsaw
• CD of the Year Award
• Bronze Bell Award, Singapore
• Fryderyk Nomination
‘delightful… marvelously colorful… very memorable… you probably will be shocked at just how good the whole thing is… finely made music… these ebullient, fizzy, well-engineered performances by the clearly energized Kaiserslautern orchestra under Grzegorz Nowak make the best possible case for Czerny.‘
David Hurwitz, Classics Today
‘Nowak is that rarity… The music has color, style and verve in his hands’ Amazon
‘great musical discovery’
Musical Heritage Society
« indispensable… un must »
Diapason, Paris
‘Penderecki conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in Mutter’s premiere recording; but, despite that stamp of authenticity, many listeners may feel that Nowak brings more sonorous drama to the orchestral part and Baek a more extroverted and raw-boned approach to the solo part’
Robert Maxham, FANFARE
‘a fantastic performance here; Robert Davidovici's full-blooded tone is just what the work deserves, and Grzegorz Nowak's Royal Philharmonic are fearlessly accurate’
Graham Rickson, theartsdesk.com, 2014
‘Robert Davidovici gives a strong, confident performance of all three works… and he’s very well supported by the RPO. The orchestral sound is splendid and, inspired by Nowak, the players give an air of eagerness and enthusiasm.’
Duncan Druce, Gramophone, 2014
• CD of the Week - The Guardian
‘this is the finest recording of The Seven Deadly Sins currently available… simply marvelous… tremendous recording’ Classics Today
« l'orchestre… mené avec un grand sens des timbres et des atmosphères par Grzegorz Nowak est impeccable. »
Cristophe Huss, Classics Today France
‘das Orchester aus Kaiserslautern bringt unter Grzegorz Nowaks beschwingter und feuriger Leitung auch die klangsinnlichen Qualitäten der Partitur zu schönster Wirkung.’ Ekkehard Pluta, klassik-heute.com
• Classical Internet Recording Award
• French Classical Internet Recording Award
‘judiciously paced by Nowak… comparing Yang with Rostropovich’s famous DG account with Karajan did not seem so far away… this is a disc to treasure’
Gerald Fenech, ClassicalNet
‘Superb. Evocative.’ Amazon.ca
’Nowak and the Edmonton Symphony do a very good job’
Steve Schwartz, ClassicalNet
‘compelling and assured.’
American Record Guide
• Juno Award
‘An intimate yet well-balanced recording… The conducting is incisive and expressive, with considerable attention lavished on inner orchestral detail.’
Joanne Talbot, The Strad Magazine
« l’Orchestre… est mené de main de maitre par le grand Grzegorz Nowak » Classiqueinfo-disque
« le dynamique et consciencieux Orchestre de Bretagne, dirigé par un chef d’un grand métier et de grand talent, offre un véritable écrin à la soliste romantique. »
CDpresto
« un disque plein de panache qui confirme tout le talent des musiciens » Florence Michel, ResMusica
‘by far the best’
American Record Guide
‘Unmatched interpretation of Chopin concerti by Olejniczak and Nowak - perfect in every aspect’
M. Kominek, Studio
• CD of the Year Award
• Fryderyk Award
‘hauntingly beautiful… just lovely… dashingly passionate’
eclassical
‘interpretations match and even surpass the best performances… excellent quality of the recording”
M. Tokarska, Ruch Muzyczny
• Fryderyk Nomination
‘The orchestra and the conductor are in the outstanding form and are so sensitive to the requirements of Verdi and Puccini’
Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International
‘idiomatic interpretations’
James L. Zychowicz, Opera Today
‘Mario Galeani… and Grzegorz Nowak, a photogenic conductor with long hair and very impressive career, are two very effective and worthy musicians… Galeani, with rich sound and Nowak, a conductor and violinist from glorious Polish city of Poznan… are young, blessedly young, but with the maturity… convincing and poetic expression… a realization of classical happiness, recommended for clarity of Galeani’s polyphonic pianism and Nowak’s impeccable conducting.’
Umberto Padroni, Suono.it
UN CHOPIN DE PREMIÈRE CLASSE
Jan-Lux Caron, ResMusica
‘Sinfonia Varsovia prove themselves an attentive and flexible ensemble. Argerich’s playing has a delicacy and poetry.’
Robert Hugill, MusicWeb International
• Fryderyk Award
Classical Album of the Year:
Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment
“This new release from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is an exciting new interpretation of emotional works by Karlowicz. The vibrant playing on this release lingers long in the memory after the music has ceased sounding.”
ArkivMusic
