A record such as this is long overdue, for Robert Crawford's fine music has long demanded a wider audience than it has hitherto received. Robert Crawford was born in Edinburgh in 1925, and is a very self-critical composer who has produced a distinguished - but not prolific - body of work over the past 60 or so years. He is a natural composer, very much from what might be termed the expressive stream of 20th century music, certainly serially derived, but his is a distinctly atmospheric and at all times intensely musical voice. I dare say the composer himself chose the music on this record, music which he feels shows him at his best, and it makes an impressive collection, especially in such committed and excellent performances as these. Each one of these five works is worth the attention of all genuine music-lovers, from the Bagatelles of 1947 to the Sonata Breve and Saltire Sonata of 1991, and the recording quality is first-class. The booklet notes by Dr Adam Binks are models of their kind. Strongly recommended.

ROBERT MATTHEW-WALKER

Musical Opinion
March - April 2008

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