American quintets

"Recording of the month: This newly released disc from Chandos features two female American composers who had much in common. Both had their talents nurtured by their mothers and went on to become gifted pianists and composers ... The Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective offer compelling performances. They've been marvelously captured and balanced by the Chandos recording engineers. The recording is a delight from beginning to end and it gets my warmest recommendation".

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"Recording of the week: If Ohlsson and the Takács emphasised [the Beach's] lush Romanticism, this new recording highlights its latent modernity, with an attractively lean, spare string sound matched by Poster's luminous approach from the keyboard ... The major attraction on the album, though, is the world premiere recording of Florence Price's Piano Quintet in A minor, which was discovered only twelve years ago ... In between the two quintets, Samuel Barber's Dover Beach acts as a sombre palate-cleanser, with bass Matthew Rose delivering Arnold's text with immaculate clarity and a brooding intensity that's matched by the strings. But it's Beach and Price who steal the show: do investigate".

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"Recommended: It seems that during the lockdown, Chandos have turned their attention, in part, to recording chamber music, with some terrific results. This present disc is just the latest in a string of magnificent recordings ... The Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective plays excellently throughout. They offer a cooler, more agile approach to Beach's music. while their performance of the Barber, where they are joined by Matthew Rose, gives a strong and impassioned alternative to the usual baritone recordings. However, it is the Florence Price, which is the standout work; its strongly rhythmic music is highly attractive and the performance alone makes this disc worthy of recommendation".

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"Editor's choice: If the aim of a debut is to captivate, showcase talent, lend insight into a curatorial perspective and leave the listener curious about future potential, then the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective's first album certainly delivers. How refreshing - and timely - to highlight the work of women composers experiencing a renaissance ... I'd be delighted to listen to more Beach and Price performed with this courage, erudition and aplomb, and keenly anticipate the Collective's next offering".