Review Centre: Classical Soloists

"We and our guests were so delighted with the entertainment provided by Lena, we booked an extra hour on the night."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Jools composed and remotely recorded violin sections for 3 of my tracks: Just For a Day; Roman 7; Boneyard. The tracks have an American influence but would fall under the indie genre. Essentially, the remit for Jools was to 'bulk them out' with strings. Although I had not actually met Jools in person (and still haven't), he was extremely responsive when communicating via email and therefore didn't need to meet. Before agreeing, he encouraged me to listen to his back catalogue - I was impressed with the breadth and depth of genres that Jools had worked with and I was pleased to learn he had worked with a couple of acquaintances of mine- namely The Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra and Chris Tye. Listening to his work, I was impressed by his knack around texturising songs- in my experience, strings can sometimes feel isolated from the rest of the instrumentation and I am aware that some string players find this aspect of composition challenging. Throughout the process, Jools ensured he had a secure understanding around my expectations. This brought about discussion around dynamics, chord progression technique (tremolo, tied sections etc). Although he was happy to read from transcript, I felt that his take on composition would be much better than mine, so he kindly agreed to compose the parts himself. After recording the first version, he sent me recordings via YouTube- he even went to the trouble of including a running text commentary of his thoughts within the video itself. This meant that I could give better feedback and bounce off his ideas. I was especially amazed by the turnaround (3 days to complete the process) as I had not set any deadlines or ball-park timeframes. Jools' playing is technically perfect and he has an exceptional ear for harmony and dynamics. e.g. He knew not to play for the sake of playing, and when to build to crescendo. He was able to add a range of chords, hooks and new melodies to the song. In Boneyard, the melody in the instrumental chorus ended up becoming the dominant hook- this was totally unplanned. Much like his violin playing, the overall recording quality was very professional. If you are looking for an outstanding string player who is both technical and visionary, Jools would be my number one recommendation."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Delievered an amazing show. Very professional and satisfying communication skills. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Shane is an amazing musician. He featured at a night I run. I was ever impressed with his professionalism but also his talent, he was a wonderful addition to the night. In fact he made the night."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Luigi did the ceremony and cocktail music for our wedding ceremony - he was wonderful. Very accommodating to our song requests and everyone loved the music. It was perfect. Thank you for everything. Would highly recommend."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Joka.Violin hat auf unserer kirchlichen Hochzeit und im Festsaal gespielt und einfach alle verzaubert! Sie ist auf all unsere Wünsche eingegangen, hat jeden Moment perfekt musikalisch untermalt und eine wunderbare Stimmung geschaffen. Ihre Musik hat viele unserer Gäste zu Tränen gerührt – einfach traumhaft! Vielen, vielen Dank für diesen unvergesslichen Beitrag zu unserem besonderen Tag!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Arieta put on the most BEAUTIFUL performance for my wedding. She has an incredible playlist of songs to choose from which I loved. I selected my favourites which she played before and after the wedding ceremony for all of our guests to listen to and she played while the bridal party and family walked down the aisle which was jaw-dropping beautiful!!!!! Everyone was in awe of her amazing talent and her music was magical. Arieta is so kind, beautiful, and talented, I would hire her again 100%! Loved loved loved her performance and she will always be a special part of our wedding day!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Bruno and his cellist were an amazing addition to our Wedding ceremony. They were able to accommodate our requests, little to zero guidance required for coordinating during the day of, and a joy to interact with. We were very happy with the quality of the playing and how smooth it all went, would for sure recommend!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Rosy è un professionista di alti livelli. Ha una voce bellissima e una presenza scenica importante. La sua voce ci ha accarezzata durante la celebrazione per mia mamma."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I've been seeing him several times and he is just brilliant "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"It was SO beautiful! Truly more beautiful than I could ever have imagined, and you were one of the reasons for that. You made the moments so incredibly magical. I received so many compliments!🥹"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I booked Michael to play for 2hrs for my girlfriend’s 40th birthday party at the Rocksalt. He was amazing and created an excellent atmosphere for everyone. Everyone had so much fun. Thank you Michael 🎷🕺"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The Classucal Duo was invited several times to my house and two times to the house of my friends. We invited Michael Shingo Crawford and his partner to perform for my family and my friends on birthday’s parties, family reunions and engagements. The musicians not only provided the great repertoire of classical, romantic and modern music but were ready to play any popular songs and pieces “on demand” The most memorable performance of the duo was a surprise birthday 70-th anniversary of my friend that took place in my house. Together with the music of Bach, Handel, Schubert, Rachmaninov the musicians played for us the variety of old pop songs. That all made our event unforgettable!!! I highly recommend the Classical Duo for any kind of home events and celebrations!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Beautiful, relaxing piano music made our event so enjoyable and more special. ."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Michael was wonderful. He arrived at the venue early, set up his music stand, tuned up and was ready to go. He beautifully played the requested pieces. He was knowledgeable in helping me to select an additional piece. I highly recommend him! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: