‘The four sets of piano works, Opp 116-119, form a kind of postscript to Brahms’s composing career, written when friends were dying and he was conscious of his own mortality. Minor keys predominate—13 out of 20—but the vigour of the youthful composer who impressed the Schumanns is still present in the Op 116 Capriccios, the Op 118 Ballade and the swan-song Op 119 Rhapsodie. Hough is master of all he surveys here, combining technical elan with deeply satisfying musical insights’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Despite the similarity of their names, the styles of these two Low Country Renaissance composers significantly differ, with Lupi’s lines generally more ornate than Hellinck’s. The latter’s five-voice Missa Surrexit pastor bonus is a model of refinement, but it’s somewhat overshadowed here by Lupi’s motet Salve Celeberrima Virgo, nine minutes of ravishingly expressive polyphony given a beautifully shaped reading by the Brabant Ensemble. Two further Lupi motets are nearly as fine, while a robust Te Deum completes his contribution’ (The Sunday Times)

‘This recording of Prokofiev’s 'war sonatas', composed between 1939 and 1944, imbued (especially the first two) with a certain quality of alarm and often seen as a trilogy, is outstanding. From the carefully graded staccato opening of No 6 to the fast, unquiet start of No 7, with its brief finale’s ostinato savagery, to the deceptively gentle incipit of the No 8, Osborne brings to these scores high interpretative intelligence as well as dazzling virtuosity’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Thierry Fischer and the Utah Symphony have now reached a milestone by being the first American entity to record all of Camille Saint-Saëns’ symphonies … perhaps saving the best for last, volume 3 has pure persuasion and pure genius. We tip our hats to Thierry Fischer’s Anglophone coliseum for presenting Camille Saint-Saëns with stateside distinction and thoughtful sophistication’ (ConcertoNet, Canada)

‘Listening to Hough, I was constantly delighted by the freshness of his phrasing, so different from many of his colleagues, yet never just for the sake of it. Few make the case for these elusive masterpieces as well as Hough’ (The Mail on Sunday)» More

‘Stephen Rice and The Brabant Ensemble do wonders with these little-known pieces, a major mass setting by Lupus Hellinck, based in Bruges—that's the main piece, and it benefits, as everything here does, from the accuracy and beauty of the singing and the transparency of the recording’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Being Stephen Hough, he is playing with immense sensitivity, weighting phrasings and dynamics just so, never pushing too hard or too soft, always maintaining the intimate tone that Brahms’s private, sad musings need … thanks to composer and interpreter, this is never just a recital of beautiful music; it also offers precious consolation’ (The Times)

‘Highly recommended’ (New Classics)

‘I'm totally won over by her expressive playing, subtle shadings and nuance. Her immaculate finger work ensures that everything is cleanly delivered, with contrapuntal strands teased out with utmost definition. Ornamentation is tasteful and doesn’t disrupt the flow of the music. She observes repeats and uses the full dynamic range of the piano. There's so much fresh air and sunlight. Tempi are just how I like them … this is a recording which showcases the exquisite artistry of this pianist. Hewitt's intelligent approach, impeccable musicianship and authoritative technique serve the music well. Her own scholarly liner contribution is an added bonus’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘He’s really made me reassess this music I thought I knew so well; nothing is taken for granted … Hough takes Brahms at his word with his tempo indications … there are ravishingly beautiful lullabies interrupted by outbursts of volcanic emotion, soulful introspection twisting into agonizing torment, and Hough’s playing melts into the recorded acoustic … I think, end-to-end, this is some of the most refreshing, surprising and emotionally fulfilling late Brahms I’ve heard in a modern piano recording … a New Year treat that will still, I think, be in some of the ‘best of the year’ lists in December’ (BBC Record Review)

‘[Symphony No 3] Martyn Brabbins seems completely aware of the duality of the symphony—the sometimes understated beauty of the surface, the turbulence breaking through from below … [Symphony No 4] another superbly paced performance … these new accounts from Brabbins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra sound superb in such broad, atmospheric recordings’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Hough calls these 20 pieces 'salon music to the nth degree' and says he does not imagine anybody else in the room with Brahms, just the composer alone at the piano. This makes his playing more intimate than most and he captures the strain of songful resignation very beautifully. The touching theme of the Intermezzo Op 116, No  5 (a repeated dying fall) is exquisitely voiced. The favourite, Intermezzo Op  118, No  2, is like a tender song without words. Most radiant of all are the Op  117 Intermezzos, glowing here with quietly rapturous colours’ (Financial Times)