News / Reviews / Summary of all reviews
Saturday 8th May 2010
View a PDF with all reviews of music by John Hardy.
Letters (Culprit 1 Remix)
“Culprit 1's take on the piece retains the flowing, powerful drive of the original and marries it to a light beat and twisting filters that warp and distort the music to good effect.”
James McLarne, BBC Music Wales, 14 April 2010
Blue Letters from Tanganyika
“A kind of symphonic poem, inspired by descriptions of the African landscape.”
“Hardy projects descriptions of the African landscape contained in his mother's letters onto a sonic landscape.”
“The rhythmically charged, open and immediately engaging music is bright and colourful… managing to evoke the African landscape.”
“Serene, static and most obviously filmic third movement, "Twilight on the Lake" (evokes) the "little noises of the lake, the trees, and all the thousands of little creatures".
Pwyll Ap Siôn, Gramophone magazine, October 2009
Blue Letters from Tanganyika
"colorful, filmic, and open to pleasurable listening at a single sitting"
Howard Smith, Music & Vision (online classical music magazine), 27 May 09
Blue Letters from Tanganyika
4 stars **** "four colourful, finely crafted movements that will appeal to a wide age range"
Phil Sommerick, Classical Music Magazine, June 2009
Blue Letters from Tanganyika
"a masterpiece of creation… an extraordinary piece of history”
Roy Noble OBE, BBC Radio Wales (Roy Noble Show), 8 May 09
Abraham’s Point
"Beautiful soundtrack, [a] mix of country & western to classical music [combined with the visual the senses were all there."
Miguela Gonzalez, film critic for BBC Arts and Entertainment Review of the Year Wales: 2008, 31
December 2008
Yr Wylan
“…a fresh version of John Hardy’s well-known, and achingly beautiful, setting of Yr Wylan (The Seagull), by the fourteenth century Welsh poet Dafydd ap Gwilym, set for baritone, harp and piano.”
Enid Luff, Composers of Wales newsletter, October 2008
Beauty and the Beast
“(the) music and sound enrich the eerie atmosphere… (the action) played out to the accompaniment of howling wolves and very fine, variable and appropriate music.”
Michael Kelligan, www.theatre-wales.co.uk, 10 December 2007
Estella’s Fire
“Atmospheric music composed by John Hardy.”
Jon Holliday, The Stage, 11 November 2006
Spaces... Beyond the End of the World
“Each [part] was a vivid realisation of its title…finding…a speed and rhythmic movement which belonged to that piece alone and created a particular and exclusive world for it.”
Enid Luff, Composers of Wales newsletter, May 2006
Stone City Blue
“An evocative, jazz-inflected score composed by John Hardy.”
Lynne Walker, The Independent, 4 November 2004
Stone City Blue
“John Hardy’s music…[is one of the] integral parts of the narrative.”
David Adams, www.theatre-wales.co.uk, 15 November, 2004
Not Darkness But Twilight
“A fluent… intense outpouring… rich waves of sound.”
Rian Evans, The Guardian, 31 May 2004
Songs for Jeremy
“The first two pieces capture both a particular place and time… the second two capture a powerful sense of feeling at a particular moment.”
Darren Waters, Western Mail, 19 January 2000
Blue Letters from Tanganyika
“[Blue Letters from Tanganyika] gained an enthusiastic response from its first audience.”
Rian Evans, Western Mail, 24 April 1999
Fol-de-riddles
“Pride of place went to the premiere of a [Red Violin] Festival commission, Fol de Riddles, a fanfare for four violins by Wales-based composer John Hardy… [in] this brief, striking work… the opening section set the first violinist against the others in dramatic, declamatory fashion; the second section, fast and exciting, involved all four in a riveting ensemble.”
Robin Stowell, The Strad, October 1998
The Waltz is Over…
“John Hardy’s The Waltz is Over… is a gem of a piece with a fascinating provenance… Hardy, with his usual perception, has taken the music far further than the novelty of that connection [with Tolstoy]… [there is] an intimate, reflective atmosphere, the poems beautifully articulated and the instrumental writing both supporting and eloquently amplifying the words.”
Rian Evans, Western Mail, 28 September 1998
De Profundis
“Stirring brass and chorus writing.”
Stephen Johnson, The Independent, 14 July 1998
De Profundis
“John Hardy’s powerful De profundis, a setting of scripture and martyr’s writings.”
Rick Jones, Evening Standard, 9 July 1998
Black Feb/Mis Bach Du
“Community opera projects… at their best – and this is one of the best I have ever seen - …can pull together entire communities in a creative process that both enriches and celebrates the innate skills and talents of the community involved.”
Michael Parkin, Western Mail, November 1997
The Roswell Incident
“The piece deserves further life.”
Rodney Miles, Opera, August 1997
The Roswell Incident
“Another notable success [for Music Theatre Wales.]”
Jon Holliday, The Stage, 3 July 97
The Roswell Incident
“A remarkable topical opera… both modern and approachable, outré and understandable… [the] audience… were captivated and enthralled.”
Michael Courtney Soper, Contact International UK, 9 June 97
The Roswell Incident
“Hardy’s fretful, quick-fire exchanges… are witty… the vocal pointillism clicks… the odd instrumental touch (eerie, zither-like keyboard, a three-second glisten of violin harmonics) makes appealing subliminal contributions. The focal character… seems to stand outside normal time and space… [seeming] to be an unnerving liberated reflection of ourselves… Hardy gives this young slyph recitatives ranging from minor thirds… to quite supple, intricate vocal cat’s cradles and octave pirouettes.”
Roderic Dunnett, The Independent, 3 June 97
The Roswell Incident
“Cunningly crafted… score.”
Christopher Morley, The Birmingham Post, 31 May 97
The Roswell Incident
“Hardy’s approachable score… ranges from Brittenesque nerviness… to New Age, neo-minimalist lyricism.”
Rodney Miles, The Times, 13 May 1997
The Roswell Incident
“A powerful new opera”
Duncan Hadfield, The Independent, 3-9 May 1997
Flowers
“Hardy’s 90-minute opera is gripping and intensely theatrical. He has a feeling for the dramatic ebb and flow of opera which can’t be taught but clearly benefits from his theatre and film experience… blackly humorous and ironic by turns… Hardy draws a wealth of colour…[an] important endorsement of Welsh opera.”
Peter Reynolds, Opera Now, May 1994
Flowers
“John Hardy, an exciting composer… developed a dramatic style both accessible and challenging. An utterly engrossing piece… all quite mesmeric… a sharply defined, unique and surprising piece of music-theatre that should attract anyone who enjoys the unexpected.”
David Adams, Guardian, 25 March 1994
Flowers
“The opera is driven from climax to climax by Hardy’s violent but irresistible score, rich in detail and full of diverse ideas… it creates a fierce concentration… tensions are built expertly… a message for our times, strongly delivered.”
Kenneth Loveland, Musical Opinion, May 1994
Flowers
“Hardy delivers his protest with conviction and with violence, and we are won to his side. The score… is rich and evocative… generous in detail.”
Kenneth Loveland, Opera, May 1994
Flowers
“John Hardy’s new 90-minute chamber opera for Music Theatre Wales has a lot going for it. Hardy’s energetic, instinctive music, resourcefully scored… is very much to the point, communicating with commendable flexibility the whole gamut of human emotions.”
Stephen Pettitt, The Times, 21 March 1994
Flowers
“Another musical hit… John Hardy’s new work Flowers is music theatre on the edge, provocative, disturbing and extremely enjoyable… a focused and highly charged piece… emotionally searing, challenging but accessible.”
Mike Smith, Western Mail, 19 March 1994
Flowers
“Flowers is a strong piece that seems to do what it sets out to… with terrific conviction, with a flair for tortuous sonic imagery, and with no hint that the composer is not in complete control of his materials.”
Stephen Walsh, The Independent, 19 March 1994
Flowers
“[Flowers is] about passion, struggle and survival in a world of disappearing values. Hardy is no stranger to writing music for the stage, having produced an epic score.”
Nerys Lloyd-Pierce, Wales on Sunday, 13 March 1994
Ars Malleo Caedendi
“John Hardy’s mammoth concept in seven movements.”
David Williams, Birmingham Post, 3 March 1994
Hedd Wyn
“John Hardy’s discreet symphonic score… reinforces the mystical atmosphere.”
Derek Elley, Variety, 5 October 1992
Patagonia
“John Hardy’s epic and hypnotic music.”
Charles Spencer, The Daily Telegraph, 21 May 1992
Patagonia
“A haunting score by John Hardy.”
Michael Billington, The Guardian, 20 May 1992
Patagonia
“Tumultuous music – great blocks of sound.”
Nicholas De Jongh, Evening Standard, 19 May 1992
Patagonia
“A quite astonishing… production… it’s the sound which is so pervasive.”
Pat Ashworth, The Guardian, 5 May 1992
Pax
“Pax is a breath-taking spectacle… a magnificent and chilling oratorio… every element of the piece was terrifying and magical, on an almost biblical scale.”
Joyce Mcmillan, The Guardian, 24 September 1991
Pax
“A unique, memorable performance… great swirling banks of sound… you knew it was something special from the beginning.”
David Adams, The Guardian, 28 September 1990