Heart-wrenchingly Beautiful - Musical Images Vol. 1 Album review
In his review of MUSICAL IMAGES FOR CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: REFLECTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS, VOL. 1, Darren Rea at Review Graveyard has given album a top score of 10 out of 10. "Mark John McEncroe (Dark Clouds in Life; Live in Ostrava; Musical Images for Piano; My Symphonic Poems) has a knack for delivering music that is capable of touching your heart and lifting your soul. It's a skill few composers possess these days, but McEnroe seems to be able to do it naturally and effortlessl
Catchy & Melodic - My Symphonic Poems Album review
Your Opera Advisor has posted a short & sweet review of MY SYMPHONIC POEMS. "Seine kleinen Orchesterwerke... sind vom musikalischen Charakter der Romantik entlehnt. Miniaturen die selten länger sind als 10 Minuten, melodisch, eingängig von der Melodie und dennoch keine Filmmusik. The Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra unter der Leitung von Anthony Armore finden für jedes dieser Werke einen individuellen Tonfall." - Sven Godenrath "His small orchestral works... borrow from the mus
Impossible Not To Fall In Love With - Live In Ostrava Album review
McEncroe's first album of live recordings, LIVE IN OSTRAVA, has reviewed a score of 10 out of 10 by Review Graveyard's, Darren Rea. "I have a fondness for Mark John McEncroe's compositions. In recent years he's released three incredibly emotive albums: Dark Clouds in Life Natalie's Suite & Other Works; Musical Images for Piano; and My Symphonic Poems: Orchestral Images. His music is able to reach out and connect with the listener on a raw emotional level, up there with some o
Pleasantly spacial - Live In Ostrava Album reviews
Just one day after release LIVE IN OSTRAVA has already received some great reviews.
"The seven-movement Symphonic Suite No. 1—A Modern Medieval Tale is well-written and shows a sure command of the orchestra,
"…simply listening to these two orchestral works… hearing them as a sort of film music without visuals,… – leads to a satisfying experience." - The Infodad Team
"McEncroe's music is… very atmospheric in its narrative style. …the recordings are pleasantly spatial and tr
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
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
No Gimmicks - "My Symphonic Poems" album review
McEncroe's latest release, "My Symphonic Poems" has been reviewed on Pizzicato Magazine, the internet music journal of Luxembourg's Remy Franck. "McEncroe... writes music that sounds romantic on the one hand and like film music on the other. He is thus a contemporary who does not sound contemporary. " "One thing one can not reproach the composer for: to look for external brilliance or to make a gimmicky statement. That honors him." Read the full review here: https://www.pizzi
