ESTER MAGI

‘An enjoyable CD which has a deservedly honourable place in the Toccata Classics catalogue… Enjoyed and recommended’

Peter Grahame Woolf

‘Mägical stuff… Have your horizons broadened and be happy about it. Toccata and Martin Anderson score another palpable hit. Mägi’s name will from now on be on your ’to collect’ list.’

Rob Barnett

‘...serenely contemplative… profound and personal, a rich exploration of advanced harmonies and… something of a hit on Baltic radio stations. [… I was] struck by the depth of passionate feeling running through both the music and the performances’

Rick Jones

‘Authoritative performances, glowingly engineered’

‘Mägi has no great concern for public acclaim -- a fact that allowed her to avoid state commissions under Soviet control and remain an independent voice, but she certainly deserves to be heard now.’

Patric Standford

‘The performances are uniformly good, with close attention paid to accenting, firm rhythms, and sectional blending… If this CD is anything to go by, Mägi has far more to offer than the usual East European “picture postcard,” and I hope we’ll hear more from her.’

Barry Brenesal
 

                                    Editors Choice

"...An absolute gem of a disc, strongly recommended." 

Guy Rickards
 

‘...this is ideal territory: this disc devoted to the music of Estonian composer Ester Mägi deserves a wide audience. [...] There are several wonderful orchestral works here showing the vast range and eclecticism of her compositional language, from a powerfully rhythmic Symphony to the rich and indulgent string-writing of Vesper... Pianists especially should seek out this release for the Piano Concerto... wonderfully approachable [and] refreshingly unpretentious... this is fascinating repertoire, beautifully played and recorded, and well worth seeking out’

Nicholas Salwey