Striking Originality
Within Through a Glass Darkly Anglo-Australian composer Roger Smalley displays the all-too-rare gift of calling upon nineteenth century European masters, transmuting their (selected) Romantic elements with a theoretician’s craftsmanship and emerging from the process with three agreeable, up-to-the-minute chamber works of tonal and striking originality.
Moreover, Through a Glass Darkly is yet another triumph for Melba Recordings; the performers’ excellence, peerless sound engineering and refined design-production lend this entire album inestimable added value...If you find that sounds academic and off-putting, let me allay your fears – the music here is intriguing, persuasive, and abundantly more-ish...
Faultlessly engineered with a judicious, intimate balance at all three locations...this stunning Melba release combines the composer’s imprimatur and his glittering pianist’s expertise.In short, Through a Glass Darkly is mandatory ensemble for chamber music aficionados; a win-win release on all counts...