Mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor and pianist Hamish Brown make their debut recital album with Linn Records. A rising vocal star, Taylor came to international prominence as a finalist of the 2023 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, and has since collaborated with both the Berliner Philharmoniker and Wiener Philharmoniker.
An award-winning pianist, Brown enjoys a highly diverse collaborative career with singers, instrumentalists, orchestras and theatre. The sea-inspired programme showcases the duo's curiosity, with Taylor - equally at home in English, French and German repertoires - demonstrating her formidable technique.
The recital exudes a saline atmosphere, starting with the evocative My Lagan Love arranged by Hamilton Harty and followed by Hedwige Chretien's Petits Poemes du Bord de l'Eau, Ethel Smyth's Three Moods of the Sea and Edward Elgar's celebrated Sea Pictures. Placed among these gems are songs by Schubert and Alma Mahler, together with a world premiere recording of Cameron Biles-Liddell's The Breakers.
REVIEWS:
“Opera fanatics are persnickety — especially when it comes to singers. Any promising newcomer on the scene will inevitably be placed under a microscope, judged against the so-called "greatest" stars of the past who have sung the same standard repertoire and set any number of arbitrary "gold standards."
Enter Beth Taylor, a Scottish mezzo-soprano whose voluptuous and cavernous voice is almost shockingly beautiful, whether she's unspooling long, flowing lines of text, tenderly paring it down to a thin golden strand of sound, or pushing to thunderous decibels…
Regardless of whether we call her a mezzo-soprano or not, Taylor is blessed with uncommon vocal beauty and the intellect to back it up. Now, with a thoroughly satisfying debut album, she's at the doorstep of stardom.”
TOM HUIZENGA, NPR MUSIC
“The voice itself stops you in your tracks within seconds of hitting Play, but it's the emotional immediacy which makes this a stand-out debut album.”
KATHERINE COOPER, PRESTO MUSIC
“These considered interpretations hold their own against classic accounts by Janet Baker and Sarah Connolly.”
CLIVE PAGET, THE GUARDIAN
“With its skin-deep lyricism, this melody is perhaps for us one of the finest achievements of the recording...Then come Elgar's Sea Pictures which, on their own, would justify hailing Beth Taylor as an artist of the very first order... this cycle seems to have been written for Taylor.”
GUILLAUME PICARD, FORUM OPÉRA
“The sheer loveliness of Taylor’s instrument is what strikes you first. Her dark, richly coloured voice has a full, resonant lower register and a surprisingly secure top. She has a nice agility across her range, but what distinguishes her as a promising talent is the variety of colour and dynamics she can locate within it. Her close attention to the text gives the performances captured here a sense of immediacy and ‘lived-in-ness’, each vividly characterised.
Brown proves an ideal partner for Taylor, demonstrating playing of notable commitment and delicacy. He responds imaginatively to the music and is adept at achieving subtle shifts in mood but isn’t afraid to unleash some powerful playing when called upon. This is a wonderfully judged recital that makes the best possible case for both artists.”
JUSTINE NGUYEN, LIMELIGHT ARTS MAGAZINE
RELEASED ON LINN RECORDS LABEL
OUTHERE MUSIC
OCTOBER 2026
presto music record of the week october 2026
forum opera recording of the month october 2026
limelight arts magazine recording of the month november 2026
