'In his final years, Verbey became more and more a composer of substantial forms with a classical instinct for proportion and with a neo-tonal character, in both harmony and gesture. These five pieces are not what you'd call substantial (the shortest lasts a minute, the longest less than three). But they are unmistakably neo-tonal in the broadest…

"Of all his ballets, Stravinsky’s Les Noces – an evocation of Russian peasant wedding rituals – was the one he laboured over longest as he changed his mind several times about its instrumentation. Here, for the first time, is a recording of the entire ballet-cantata using the line-up Stravinsky favoured but reluctantly abandoned in 1919. [...]…

Ensemble Aedes/Les Siècles/Romano An early unfinished version of the 1923 landmark work, completed by Theo Verbey almost 100 years after Stravinsky conceived it, is earthy, lean and superbly performed. [...] "Stravinsky had first conceived the idea of a ballet based on the wedding rituals of Russian peasants in 1913. He completed the short score…

"[...] Four youngsters nestle between the perfect beauty of Theo Verbey, who died in 2019, and the funny beauty of Martijn Padding.[...]"

Ebenbild Juri Vallentin; Trio d’Iroise; Bernward Lohr; Caroline Junghanns PASCHEN Records PR 220072 (paschenrecords.de/katalog/pr220072/) 'Only to be described as unique and colourfully unconventional, the newly released album Ebenbild, featuring oboist Juri Vallentin and the Trio d’Iroise, is a blend of recited song text, choruses by J.S. Bach,…

★★★★☆ Although you might not suspect it when immersed in Bach's St Matthew Passion, the chorale melody that is played after Jesus is mocked and beaten, O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, comes from a 16th-century love song. Mein G'müth ist mir verwirret, I am confused because of a damsel. The German oboist Juri Vallentin discovered that after Bach's…

... Ariadne, like Verdi’s overture, combines transparent lyricism with dramatic progression. Starting out with fragile flute figures, it swells to include the full complement of strings. When the whole range of the brass comes in with a driving motif, there is sinister menace. The piece constantly changes colour and texture, making use of the…

"Boldin dedicated the concert to the Dutch composer Theo Verbey, who died in October. His Four preludes to Infinity for oboe, violin, viola and cello came right after intermission. Each prelude recalls and recognizes the music of former times and celebrates its perpetual existence: “Mysterious” — the Second Viennese School of Schoenberg, Berg and…

Everything that Theo Verbey does sounds terrific. It is well constructed, always has a well-structured dramatic narrative line, and is equally well elaborated in subtle instrumental colors. Verbey uses this technical skill to make music that sounds understatedly natural, looking back with a touch of melancholy. Verbey has withdrawn to his own…

... After the interval, the caliber is maintained as the vibe becomes playful, thanks to Regina van Berkel and a functional decor in the form of a spine from prehistoric times when giant reptiles populated this Earth. She was inspired by Salvador Dali, which does not come without its risks. Introdans’ performers more than hold their own, however.…