‘Christopher Herrick has produced a programme here which should appeal to organ buffs and general music lovers alike … the recording is immediate and with just a four-second echo in the cathedral there is no smudging of textures’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘With his transcendental technique and poetic imagination, Hough is the ideal interpreter of these works, the first a suite of 'fantasy pieces' hovering between romantic rapture and despair, while he brings a masterly sense of drama, structure and freedom of expression to the Fantasie, a homage to Beethoven but also to Schumann’s muse Clara’ (The Sunday Times)» More

‘Stephen Hough brings his habitual cool authority to bear on these emotionally superheated pieces, and the results are very satisfying … improvisational and intermittently hurtling, the first movement [of the Fantasie] has a nobility which segues gracefully into the serene singing middle movement, with its alternating baritone and soprano voices. In the finale Hough deploys some gorgeous effects, before bringing us gravely home’ (International Piano)» More

‘[Ohlsson] has power and agility in reserve, which means that he can take fences in his stride that find others huffing and blowing … nor is Ohlsson afraid of plain speaking, so that the evident care he lavishes on the music never crosses the border into mannerism and the long lines of quasi-symphonic thought are never broken. The same goes for the Rhapsodies, which are as fully developed and as non-rhapsodic as movements from the piano sonatas that Brahms seemingly never composed after the age of 20. Not for a moment did I feel I was in anything but the safest of Brahmsian hands. All this is indeed mightily impressive, and I would welcome this disc into my library with open arms’ (Gramophone)

‘Performer, teacher and promoter—Laurence Perkins was ideally placed to have created this anthology with ‘the bassoon leading a musical journey through the twentieth century’, as is confirmed over almost two and a half hours of often unfamiliar but always worthwhile music … an engaging guide throughout, Perkins gets sterling support from a wealth of fine musicians and ensembles. His booklet notes, setting each work in the context of relevant world events, are a quirkily perceptive enhancement of this enterprising and wholly recommendable project’ (Gramophone)

‘If, in the issue of Eusebius and Florestan, Hough comes out firmly on the side of Eusebius that is not to say that he lacks virtuosity. The most successful single section on this disc is probably the middle movement of the Fantasie. In its closing pages Hough leaves all rivals trailing in his wake, making even the mighty Horowitz sound ungainly. What I especially liked about Hough’s handling of this movement was that, even here, Eusebius has the upper hand where most others pummel the listener into submission with mighty clods of chords. Hough never loses sight of the fact that this is poetic music … the piano sound is most agreeable and suits Hough’s approach perfectly. It is warm and ripe yet never lacks clarity. It is never hard or metallic sound. All in all, this is a recording that shows Hough at his considerable best in terms of poetry and virtuosity and deserves to be considered alongside the very best in these often-recorded works’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘Let these five elite chamber musicians convert you to the cause … you won’t find better advocates … the melancholy Romance for viola is a plum, slightly better known in its orchestral version, but here gloriously played by Power and Crawford-Phillips’ (The Guardian)» More

‘Hewitt’s innate taste, discernment and creativity have resulted in a lovely experience in a world still menacingly dark and grim for reasons apart from the pandemic … as usual, Hewitt’s liner notes are a model of seamlessly melded scholarship and personal reactions and reminiscences … one especially imaginative inclusion, which was not technically a song at all, is Hewitt’s own transcription of the Adagietto movement from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony’ (Limelight, Australia)

‘Here we have that rare beast, a program of bassoon music. Laurence Perkins, Principal Bassoon with the Manchester Camerata until 2017, has assembled in chronological order a century’s worth of pieces by 14 composers that utilise his instrument in various ensembles … the program is ideally laid out for timbral contrast. Perkins plays with sensitivity and warm tone on the woodwind instrument with the most ‘human’ voice’ (Limelight, Australia)» More

‘Garrick Ohlsson’s account [of Op 1] … is full and faithful. He has a fine feeling for the music’s scope and scale’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Angela Hewitt’s spacious, uncluttered approach revels unashamedly in the pianism while still letting the original songs sing … the real treats are Hewitt’s own arrangements … the engaging liner notes weave a thread through Hewitt’s own memories as well as the parent music. In all, this beautifully recorded recital is a gift to all song-loving pianists who wrestle with the instrument’s stubbornly percussive nature’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘There are some real treats, such as Bantock’s splendidly imaginative incidental music for Macbeth, scored for bassoon trio and winningly played here in its disc debut (indeed, there are no less than six premiere recordings in this set) … fascinating’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More