MIDWEST RECORD (USA):
An ace classical piano man since his 1962 debut, Barnard has spent a lot of time in Oz over the years and unless you are a hard core classical music junkie, he might not have crossed your radar yet. This set takes him on a history of classical music through his eyes from Bach to present, mixing previously recorded material with new material for a real treat of a career-spanning omnibus. Very much a player you should be better acquainted with, Barnard’s odyssey is a trip well worth taking with him. A marvellous collection.
Chris Spector

MUSICWEB:
This disc has something of an unusual and complicated genesis. A large part of it derives from a World Record Club LP issued in 1978 called An Introduction to Piano Music. To this we have a number of more recent things which reflect Trevor Barnard’s many years of residence in Australia. So the Grieg and Butterley Arioso derive from undated ABC sessions and the Sutherland Chorale Preludes, the Butterley Comment and Werder’s Spring come from a previously issued Divine Art disc. In similar fashion the Bertram and Dargeville pieces were also issued by Divine Art – see the head note for the exact release numbers in case of confusion. Divine Art 25005 by the way is called Bach Transcriptions and Australian piano music.

So a rather complicated back-story precedes this release. But irrespective of that I’m sure many British music enthusiasts will remember Barnard’s epic recording of the Bliss Concerto with Malcolm Sargent in 1962 – now on Divine Art 24106 – as well as the same composer’s sonata, which is coupled with Busoni’s 24 Preludes on the same label [25011]. Divine Art has stood by its man with commendable diligence and assiduity.

Barnard’s Piano Odyssey is thus a rather bipartite affair but it makes for an enjoyable if not quite Homeric journey. I found the Australian works the most exciting performances. Margaret Sutherland’s Chorale Preludes, especially 'Herzliebster Jesu', are nobly grave utterances well worth the care Barnard spends on them. Sculthorpe’s 1954 Sonatina is a sonorously skittish work that circles in and around itself with increasingly power and agility. The finale is a trafficky, perky affair. Barnard warns of the work’s "severe bitonality" but it sounds wonderfully refreshing in this reading. Nigel Butterley’s Arioso has Bachian inflections whilst his Comment on a Popular Song, which happens to be Click go the Shears, offers a fine, tense contrast. Michael Betram offers some hyperactive minimalism whilst Tim Dargeville gives us a reflective, sonorous last night in the life of Ned Kelly. To end the Australian segment there’s the atonal and not especially endearing Spring by the German-born Felix Werder.

His WRC LP selection starts with Bach – the Two Part Invention in C major that sings less than, say, Craig Sheppard’s performance. It continues through Schubert’s Moment Musical in F minor – too many fiddly rubatos – and embraces a poetic but rather deadpan Schumann Toccata. Chopin’s Fantaisie-Impromptu in C sharp minor also sports some divisive and line bending rubati. Albéniz’s Tango is rather laid back and doesn’t evince much Iberian colour.

So the primary focus will be the exploration of Australian music that makes up the latter part of the disc. Barnard’s playing of the central repertoire back in the 1970s was certainly efficient but not especially distinctive and he was prone to some mannered moments.

Recording quality is consistent despite the vagaries of dates and locations and the notes are helpful.
Jonathan Woolf

MID SUSSEX CITIZEN (and other UK regional newspapers):
The bulk of this entrancing keyboard collection was recorded for the now sadly defunct World Record Club in 1978, and the original album has now been expanded to include works by Grieg and five contemporary Australian composers. Pianist Barnard takes this opportunity to trace the evolution of the piano's repertoire form the era of J S Bach to the late 20 th century, drawing on peerless pieces by Schumann, Mendelssohn, Debussy and Chopin along the way.
Kevin Bryan

  THE STUDIO (Australia):
Members [of the Music Teachers' Association] will recognise Trevor Barnard by his articles on piano technique that appear from time to time in this magazine, and you may also remember my review of his “Practical Guide to Solo Piano Music” as well as reviews of other recordings. This disc is an excellent teaching resource containing as it does a variety of works stretching from Bach (Two-part Invention no. 1) to the contemporary era with the latest work written in 1997. Harmonically, the works also show a progression across the centuries from the tonal to the atonal.

Representative 19 th century composers include Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Beethoven, Grieg, Rachmaninov and Debussy, Not being a particular lover o Chopin's works, I found myself totally enchanted by Barnard's clean, dramatic performance of the Op. 40 no. 1 Polonaise , a work usually inadequately over-performed by zealous students. Moving to the 20 th century, Bartok is represented with two Mikrokosmos works – including an exciting rendition of the Bulgarian Dance – and Albeniz with that popular Tango. The blues character of Gershwin's second Prelude speaks for itself.

The works of six Australian composers are included: Michael Bertram, Nigel Butterrley, Tim Dargaville, Peter Sculthorpe, Felix Werder and Margaret Sutherland.

The Sutherland works (Chorale Preludes Herzliebster Jesu and Jesu meine Freude ) were ones I personally discovered during post-graduate research years ago and I am delighted to see them included here as they are rarely recorded. Barnard's performance of Sculthorpe's popular 1954 Sonatina is clean and crisp, in keeping with the composer's intentions and the stark nature of the music.

Barnard is a careful craftsman yet has the ability to retain the musicality and sensitivity required to demonstrate the disparate styles that encompass the rage of works chosen for this disc, several of which appear on the AMEB syllabus. Overall, this is a varied microcosm of piano writing, and whilst most of these works will be familiar to teachers they are here interpreted and performed by a master. Highly recommended.
Rita Crews