Andrew George

Andrew Lloyd Webber: Unmasked (The Platinum Collection) are the all-time greatest hits from the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, one of the most successful composers of our era. The 2CD set collects the finest of his cherished works from the past five decades. Featuring newly-recorded versions of songs by Lana Del Rey, Gregory Porter, Nicole Scherzinger and an exclusive performance by Beyonce of 'Learn To Be Lonely' from the 2005 Academy Awards with Andrew Lloyd Webber accompanying on piano.

Andrew Lloyd Webber: Unmasked (The Platinum Collection) are the all-time greatest hits from one of the most successful composers of our era. The 4CD set collects the finest of his cherished works from the past five decades. Featuring newly-recorded versions of songs by Lana Del Rey, Gregory Porter, Nicole Scherzinger. Plus, a 40 page booklet including an introduction by Andrew Lloyd Webber and new testimonies from artists including Barbra Streisand, Glenn Close, Michael Crawford and Tim Rice.

…Parrott parades his smooth and integrated forces with less instant theatricality. Instead we have here a typically homogeneous and unfolding scenario: how organically and gently "Tis Nature's voice" emerges, with Rogers Covey-Crump expressing the passions with a wonderful air of mystery. So too, "Soul of the world" — what a transcendent concluding passage — which has never been bettered for atmosphere and clarity of ensemble. The solo singing here is good (there is some exquisite work from Emma Kirkby and from tenors Charles Daniels and Paul Elliott in "In vain the am'rous flute").

British tenor Mark Padmore brings together a collection of English and Italian arias from Handel oratorios and operas. Padmore, who performs works of many eras in a wide range of styles, has primarily settled into the kind of repertoire Peter Pears comfortably inhabited, but with a stronger emphasis on Baroque opera and oratorio. Padmore's voice resembles Pears' in some ways; it's a light instrument, and is capable of great agility. It has some of Pears' limitations, particularly a tendency toward tonal blandness and lack of variety in its colors, as well as a slight edge when pushed. Most importantly, though, Padmore does not have Pears' reedy quality or breathiness – his voice is pure and more mellow than Pears'.