
A high water mark for listening experiences - Live In Ostrava - Album Review
More great press from Midwest Record, this time for McEncroe's newest release, LIVE IN OSTRAVA. Chris Spector of Midwest Record online writes: A welcome recording for those who want to get into contemporary cats that have a great respect for tradition. Playing like a work from the existing classical canon despite being newly written, McEncroe would be at home in any era with his grand, sweeping thoughts. Expertly realized by Janacek Philharmonic, this is a high water mark fo

An Incredibly Fine Album - My Symphonic Poems review
My aim, in all compositions, is to paint images and evoke emotions in the listener. So it's gratifying to read an album review like Darren Rea's, in Review Graveyard; to see my compositions are not just greatly enjoyed, but stirring the heart and soul. It just makes me want to keep on writing and producing more works. "This double album contains so many rich and varied themes that it's difficult to know where to start singing its praises. This is a methodical, beautiful album

Unassuming, Honest Works - My Symphonic Poems review
More press! Jim Westhead has published a well-considered review of MY SYMPHONIC POEMS at musicweb-international.com. "McEncroe has a pleasant melodic style... Tchaikovsky he isn’t – but the pieces are nice, quite unassuming works, honestly composed and presented. Incidentally, I am in awe of anyone who starts to study piano at 37 (I tried briefly, and failed miserably) and then goes on to study composition for over a decade. This speaks of an intense love of music, and so Hu

Evocative and Gripping - My Symphonic Poems review
Having never heard McEncroe's work before, Mel Martin at Audiophile Audition, is now keen to hear more of his work. In this month's online review of MY SYMPHONIC POEMS, Martin writes: "From the spry energy of That Old Indian Summer, to the majestic dignity of Movements in the Night, McEncroe’s talent for creating compositions that evoke both image and emotion is on vibrant display. This is a very nice and listenable collection of music from a talented composer that has eluded

Nostalgic Symphonic Poems by McEncroe - Album review
"A Romantic, filmic flow with a style that seems to be a parallel to Howard Shore’s scores with touches of English Impressionism and mid-20th Century orchestral style", writes Steven A. Kennedy at Cinemusical in his November review of McEncroe's album "My Symphonic Poems". The double album offering comprises 10 works in which the Janacek Philharmonic orchestra, conducted by Anthony Armore, explores purely orchestral music. Describing the pieces in turn as "an interesting comb

Music Pared to its Essence - My Symphonic Poems album review
In their November review of McEncroe's latest album "My Symphonic Poems", Textura.org describe Mark's composition as splendid, "presented without unnecessary ornamentation, the music pared to its essence to communicate without obfuscation and with clarity and immediacy... "McEncroe's gift for melody regularly surfaces, from the folk-like motif voiced by multiple instrument groups in “That Old Indian Summer” to the wistful theme that flows so gracefully through “Movements in t

Musical Discourse Built from Pure Sensitivity - My Symphonic Poems album review
Sonograma online have just published another great review of McEncroe's latest album "My Symphonic Poems". "Everything is subjective, real and forceful. Mark John McEncroe has a well-defined style. The musical discourse of the Australian composer is built from pure sensitivity. The conductor Anthony Armore plays the music with an orchestral palette full of colors and shades. Armore transforms this interpretation of the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra into a prodigy of balance,

Grand string themes and lyricism - My Symphonic Poems Album review
Here's another review of McEncroe's album "My Symphonic Poems" from the InfoDad team:
"All 10 of the symphonic poems by Mark John McEncroe heard on a two-CD Navona release show the composer’s ability to craft effective music for a large instrumental group, and all look to the past in the sense in which they are emotionally evocative rather than mired in compositional fads or techniques of the moment. They are nevertheless quite contemporary in their aims, with some speaking

The Inside Story: Mark John McEncroe and MY SYMPHONIC POEMS
Mark is the Oct 19th featured artist in PARMA Recordings “The Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of their artists. Read on to learn about Mark’s one performance experience, and why it was his first and last performance… Read the full story on the Parma blog and enjoy! #PARMArecordings #MarkJohnMcEncroe #featuredartist #blog #composer #australiancomposer #artist #classical #interview #music #nature #NavonaRecords #newalbum #newrelease #

Lovely, Memorable Melodies - "My Symphonic Poems" Album Review
Another great review of McEncroe's album "My Symphonic poems" can be found at Records International Online: "These tone poems succeed admirably in these aims, on their own terms; they ably illustrate the picturesque subject matter of their evocative titles,..." "[McEncroe] is adept at coming up with lovely, memorable melodies..." "The results will at different times recall Brahms, Dvorak, Beethoven, occasionally Sibelius and other obvious Romantic models, and are thoroughly e