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Excellent reviews by David Barker Posted by David Rowe on March 10, 2026, 4:13 pm I wanted to express my thanks for the reviews written by David Barker. He's very thorough and informative, and he concentrates on what's important - the actual performances and recorded sound - rather than spending lots of space on redundant details about the pieces or composers that people probably already know. He focuses on what's important to me, and I find his reviews enlightening. I especially like that he inserts his own personal feelings as well (such as, I'm not terribly fond of Sonatas; or "This piece has never been a favorite of mine and this recorded does nothing to change that.") Very entertaining reading. Thank you, Mr. Barker!

Re: Excellent reviews by David Barker Posted by David Barker on March 10, 2026, 9:51 pm, in reply to "Excellent reviews by David Barker" David Thanks for your kind words. As a trained scientist with no musical background other than 50 years of listening, collecting and enjoying, I can only write how the music and performances make me feel, rather than attempt anything technical. Now back to reviewing another Philip Glass Etudes recording. Previous Message I wanted to express my thanks for the reviews written by David Barker. He's very thorough and informative, and he concentrates on what's important - the actual performances and recorded sound - rather than spending lots of space on redundant details about the pieces or composers that people probably already know. He focuses on what's important to me, and I find his reviews enlightening. I especially like that he inserts his own personal feelings as well (such as, I'm not terribly fond of Sonatas; or "This piece has never been a favorite of mine and this recorded does nothing to change that.") Very entertaining reading. Thank you, Mr. Barker!

Re: Excellent reviews by David Barker Posted by Philip Harrison on March 15, 2026, 9:46 am, in reply to "Excellent reviews by David Barker" I finally managed to hear the Naxos CD of Henrique Oswald's Symphony and Sinfonietta DJB reviewed last month just this morning. As usual I agree with everything he wrote. This is a tremendous disc and I would encourage collectors not to let this one slip by. DJB helpfully gives some composer signposts in the review. I would add Delius to it - not sure why really, but I just would. This is simply gorgous music for wallowing in. I note that on a tour to Brazil in the early 1920s the great Weingartner played excerpts from the symphony with his Wiener Philharmoniker. I can quite see why he did that. Bravo Naxos and thankyou David for bringing it to our attention.

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