Some Press Reviews
|
…showed his
mastery and sense of style.
|
Daily Telegraph |
|
|
|
A
bold approach and musical perception……… a player who can see
compositions in the round and
has
the assured technique to realize well-founded performances. |
| |
Daily Telegraph |
| |
|
…brought out
every resource of the instrument….a virtuoso technique.
|
Daily Telegraph |
| |
|
…a leading
harpsichordist |
The Times |
| |
|
…the
brilliant Richard Lester vitalized his playing of sonatas by Scarlatti
and Soler with much erudition and seeming spontaneity not least in his
treatment of cross rhythms and in the attention
he paid to the works, dances and
folk song origins. |
| |
Daily Telegraph |
| |
|
…virile and
crystalline playing.
|
Records and Recording |
| |
|
Revealing light
on an attractive oeuvre. |
The
Gramophone |
| |
|
Here is a
brilliant and splendid recital…very exciting…a CD I shall
often |
|
return to. |
Hi-Fi News
|
| |
|
With a varied
choice of pieces played wonderfully well, this is a rewarding
issue. |
|
Financial Times |
| |
|
A very
recommendable archive. |
The
Gramophone
|
| |
|
…and there are other good reasons why it should be considered as
first choice for potential |
|
collectors of
the whole oeuvre. |
The Gramophone
|
| |
Richard
Lester
has now established an international reputation as a virtuoso
harpsichordist mainly through his unique recordings of the complete
keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti.
His many solo engagements have included broadcasts for BBC radio and
television, recitals at the Royal Festival Hall Purcell Room, Wigmore
Hall, Bath International Festival, Bruges Festival, many concerts abroad
– and master classes at Dartington Summer School.
His album of Scarlatti sonatas recorded in the early seventies was
chosen as the favourite on Dame Janet Baker’s BBC Desert Island Discs.
More recently, the artist, Sophie Ryder chose his recording of
Scarlatti’s Sonata in B minor K.27 on BBC Radio Three’s ‘Private
Passions.’
He has written extensively for music magazines and contributed two
chapters on Scarlatti to the leading Hungarian book on early music, -
Regi Zene.
In the year 2000, he began a project for Privilege Accord, to record all
of Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas, which have received rave reviews from
recording magazines and are now distributed world-wide. An addition to
this project included some more recently discovered sonatas (referred to
by W. Dean Sutcliffe, author of The Keyboard Sonatas of Domenico
Scarlatti), who kindly furnished copies of the sonatas and wrote the CD
notes. The whole project was completed in 2005 with a personal profile
in Gramophone.
Lester’s reputation as an organist is clearly celebrated and includes
numerous cathedral recitals throughout the UK and several recordings
including Messiaen’s La Nativite and Old English organ music on the
famous Renatus Harris organ at All Hallows church, Twickenham.
He is founder and artistic director of the Cirencester Early Music
Festival, an annual event designed to promote excellence in the
performance of early music - also allowing gifted young musicians the
opportunity to perform concertos with a professional orchestra, - many
of whom have gone on to study at music colleges.
