What the Critics say about
Opus Two’s Recording Dedicated to
Chamber Music of Leonard Bernstein
William Terwilliger’s coloratura violin in “Glitter and be gay”, coming complete with bungee-jumping glissandos and gravity-don’t-bother-me note leaps, is infused with the spirit of Bernstein’s original vocal lines but sounds effortlessly violinistic...Terwilliger’s violin transcription of Bernstein’s 1942 Clarinet Sonata makes a connection I’d previously missed: the circular melodies and wandering-ear harmonies of the opening Grazioso hint at melodic contours Bernstein would explore a decade later in his Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium).
Gramophone
Terwilliger and Cooperstock perform splendidly throughout, and the recording is excellent. a worthy purchase for all fans of Bernstein and of mid-20th century American chamber music.
Music Web International
The Clarinet Sonata is more effective on violin than I expected. In no small part, this is due to Terwilliger’s imaginative playing in which he imitates some of the clarinet’s tonal and coloristic effects by means of harmonics and special bowing techniques such as sul tasto, flautando, and at one point what sounds like sul ponticello.... and the disc can be recommended as a valuable addition to the composer’s chamber-music discography.
Fanfare
Bernstein’s many fans will want to have this album, especially since it offers so many rarities.
American Record Guide
Recommended for Bernstein lovers.
All Music
Persuasively performed in a Naxos release which also includes an effective violin transcription by William Terwilliger.
BBC Music
The first-rate playing throughout by violinist William Terwilliger and pianist Andrew Cooperstock is virtuosic. I can't imagine any other duo playing these pieces any better. Highly recommended.
Amazon
Terwilliger’s arrangement of Bernstein’s clarinet sonata is ironically more idiomatic for the violin than Bernstein’s own violin sonata... it is valuable to have this clarinet sonata in a transcription for violin... violinists deserve to have this excellent arrangement at their disposal.... Terwilliger and Cooperstock form a terrific duo with Opus 2; their program was equally engaging.
New York Concert Review
Gramophone
Terwilliger and Cooperstock perform splendidly throughout, and the recording is excellent. a worthy purchase for all fans of Bernstein and of mid-20th century American chamber music.
Music Web International
The Clarinet Sonata is more effective on violin than I expected. In no small part, this is due to Terwilliger’s imaginative playing in which he imitates some of the clarinet’s tonal and coloristic effects by means of harmonics and special bowing techniques such as sul tasto, flautando, and at one point what sounds like sul ponticello.... and the disc can be recommended as a valuable addition to the composer’s chamber-music discography.
Fanfare
Bernstein’s many fans will want to have this album, especially since it offers so many rarities.
American Record Guide
Recommended for Bernstein lovers.
All Music
Persuasively performed in a Naxos release which also includes an effective violin transcription by William Terwilliger.
BBC Music
The first-rate playing throughout by violinist William Terwilliger and pianist Andrew Cooperstock is virtuosic. I can't imagine any other duo playing these pieces any better. Highly recommended.
Amazon
Terwilliger’s arrangement of Bernstein’s clarinet sonata is ironically more idiomatic for the violin than Bernstein’s own violin sonata... it is valuable to have this clarinet sonata in a transcription for violin... violinists deserve to have this excellent arrangement at their disposal.... Terwilliger and Cooperstock form a terrific duo with Opus 2; their program was equally engaging.
New York Concert Review