Review
The Tapiola Sinfonietta accompany him with great sensitivity in the Jewish inflected pieces by Bloch and Ravel where the melismatic lines produces playing that is peerless in its heartfelt sincerity. Performance **** Recording ***** --BBC Music Magazine,Nov 2010
A mixed bag,like most collections.The best things(Ravel,Bloch) are very fine,and performed to match. **** --Classic fm magazine,Nov'10
The quiet mood of Steven Isserlis's disc ma be partly explained by the dedication:in Loving and grateful memory of his wife,Pauline,who died in June.But it is also reflects a private project of Isserlis's dating back many Years.he has commissioned four composer friends to make arrangements of works with which he has an association.Sally Beamish's rigorous reconstruction breathes life into Debussy's early, mostly lost Suite for Cello and Orchestra;Richard Tognetti has arranged Ravel's Deux Melodies hebraiques.Christopher Palmer's version of Bloch's From Jewish Life and Vladamir Blok's skilful rescoring of Prokofiev's Concertino complete the line-up.Each commission has a story attached,recounted by Isserlis in witty liner notes. --The Observer,15/08/10
