Skip to content

Recordings

Click on title or image to order.

Salome’s Dance (Loft, 2019) 

“This recording provided a great deal of pleasure––a satisfying program of works both more and less familiar, played sensitively and demonstrating the range and beauty of Aeolian Opus 1785.” (The Diapason)

“His playing is expressive, musical, technically accomplished, uses the instrument superbly, and has a fine ear for color––something many organists would do well to emulate.” (American Record Guide)

 

Frescobaldi CD

 Organ Music of Frescobaldi (Calcante, 2003) 

“Dr. Parkins infuses vitality and excitement into this music through improvisational ornamentation and flexible rhythm, providing insight into 17th-century Italian virtuosity. . . .  [He] demonstrates a depth of understanding that results in authoritative performances that are instructional for those seeking insight into the performance practice of these works.” (The Diapason)

 

Iberian and S Ger

Iberian and South German Organ Music (Calcante, 2001)

No longer available; please contact the artist for a copy.

“The performances are fresh and spontaneous, transforming the music from museum artifacts to living works of beauty. . . .  [He] demonstrates a depth of understanding that results in authoritative performances that are instructional for those seeking insight into the performance practice of these works.” (The American Organist)

 

German CD

German Romantic Organ Music (Gothic, 1998)

“Robert Parkins delves into these scores with energy and fluency.  The Mendelssohn Sonata has rarely sounded more polished and driven, the Schumann canons never more busy and self-expressive, nor the trio of Liszt pieces more colorful. . . .  The translation [of music from Strauss’s Elektra] to this sort of symphonic organ leaves nothing behind in the opera house pit, and Parkins’s own performance liberally grabs at the blood and guts of the tragedy.” (Fanfare)

“I can’t recall having heard a better reading of Mendelssohn’s Sixth Sonata or the two Schumann canonic studies. . . .  Parkins really comes into his own in the two movements from the Rheinberger Eighth Sonata, particularly his towering performance of the Introduction and Passacaglia. . . .  [He] is artistic, technically flawless, and . . . imaginative. . . .” (The American Organist)

 

Brahms CD

Brahms: Complete Organ Works (Naxos, 1994)

“Parkins performs this music with obvious affection. . . .  Unquestionably, the present disc ranks with the best available. . . .” (The Diapason)

“Robert Parkins hits the nail absolutely on the head. . . .  The whole disc . . . is a significant addition to the recorded literature of both the organ and Brahms.” (Gramophone)

 

Early Iberian Naxos CD

 Early Iberian Organ Music (Naxos, 1993)

“Parkins’ virtuoso playing, his sense of style, and the wonderful Flentrop organ make for an exquisite recording.” (The Diapason)

“Robert Parkins seizes top honors for his vivid sense of motion and gesture in these chiefly seventeenth-century Iberian works.” (Fanfare)

 

Early-Spanish-final

Early Spanish Keyboard Music (MHS, 1983)

LP no longer available, but click here to download free MP3.

“. . . thoughtful, often brilliant, and always impeccable . . . a forthright, no-nonsense performance. . . .  The performance, although daring and aggressive, is technically flawless.” (Early Keyboard Journal)

 

Mendelssohn-Brahms-final

Mendelssohn, Brahms and 17th-Century Spain (Gothic, 1982)

“The performance is appropriately virtuosic. One senses a reserve of technique and control at all times. Mr. Parkins’ playing is exciting in both the Spanish and the 19th-century material. There is a rhythmic flexibility which creates high levels of energy and forward thrust. The playing is open and daring without calculation.” (The Diapason)

LP no longer available, but click here to download free MP3.