‘Marc-André Hamelin launches into the Hammerklavier Sonata’s opening Allegro with both assertion and transparency. He intelligently scales his dynamics and times the silences to navigate and illuminate the music’s contrasting peaks and valleys most effectively … Hamelin’s masterful marshalling of small details reveals both the majesty and the inherent classicism of Beethoven’s architecture … excellent sound and insightful annotations by Beethoven scholar Barry Cooper bolster my warm recommendation’ (Gramophone)

„Fast hat man schon darauf gewartet, dass Hamelin sich auch dem Brocken von Opus 106 nähert. Und wie nur wenige kann er den 1. Satz in unter 11 Minuten bewältigen, ohne dabei auch nur ein Detail zu vernachlässigen … Dies kann nur ein Klavierexeget wie Hamelin bewältigen … Das ist ganz große Klavierkunst, die hier offenbart wird … Eine Beethoven-Einspielung, die man gehört haben muss“ (Piano News, Germany)» More

‘Name two works by Boccherini ..! OK, I know you can, but many people would rattle off the ubiquitous Minuet with ease and then rack their brains to find a second. Steven Isserlis is very aware of this, and his new recording ‘Music of the Angels’ with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment presents a selection of Boccherini’s works with cello in order to help round out the picture of this graceful, elegant composer. It’s a surprisingly chamber-oriented album, with even the two cello concertos inhabiting an astonishingly delicate, translucent sound-world … Steven Isserlis is a man with a wry sense of humour—his programme-notes are dotted with witty asides … he gets the last laugh on the listener by selecting as his encore the very same Minuet whose over-use he has earlier bemoaned. Although he probably gleefully expects everyone to be sick and tired of this piece, it’s actually a surprisingly refreshing note on which to end—and it’s particularly good to hear it contextualised by the preceding five full-scale works rather than just wheeled out in isolation’ (Presto Classical)» More

‘These are probably among the world’s best singers for this kind of music; and they now have enormous resources of experience. As always, The Tallis Scholars run effortlessly like a Rolls-Royce; and everything seems unchallengeably in place … all of this has been recorded before, of course, most notably in the discs of the superb complete Fayrfax edition of The Cardinall’s Musick under Andrew Carwood … but lovers of this music will certainly want to have both interpretations. Peter Phillips contributes a characteristically informed booklet note’ (Gramophone)

‘Now one of the outstanding men’s a cappella groups in England. Their blend and technical polish are second to none, but this is never at the expense of a warmly expressive delivery that never goes to subjective excess’ (American Record Guide)

‘Impressive … a significant addition to our understanding of Obrecht’s creativity’ (American Record Guide)

‘The repertoire is thoughtfully chosen and cogently explained. It is also beautifully performed, with the ensemble’s characteristic warm sound bringing the music fully to life … Queen of Hearts engages the listener both intellectually and artistically’ (American Record Guide)

‘This is splendid … Momen gets it that listeners want to hear a piano sing’ (American Record Guide)

‘[Reinecke No 3 is] a melodic, lyrical 35-minute work in three movements, written in 1877, in which pianist Simon Callaghan picks you up at the start of each movement and maintains an expressive, flexible continuity to the end. The second movement (Largo) is especially lovely and flowing. The direction for the final movement (Allegro vivace e grazioso) says it all; the style is very reminiscent of Chopin’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Early Schubert has gained in esteem with modern listeners, and the beauty of this quartet [D112] is easy to appreciate. The Takács’s mellow elegance suits the music very well. One could hardly ask for better’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Multi-pianist discs are few and far between, the visual impact of many hands making light work of (usually) arrangements of orchestral works being more compelling than hearing them on a recording. In fact, only two of the four works here feature more than 20 fingers but the programme is never less than fascinating, containing as it does four first recordings, the most significant being the first item, Fantasie and Variations on a Theme by Weber … an entertaining work of sophisticated frivolity and bound to become standard two-piano repertoire … I have not said anything about the four pianists who call themselves, a tad prosaically, MultiPiano Ensemble, nor about Ivor Bolton and his Berlin players. They are terrific, a joy to hear, extremely well recorded—and I hope they return to give us more of the multi-piano/pianist repertoire with and without orchestra’ (Gramophone)

„Für alle, die noch diskografische Lücken schließen möchten, ist diese Aufnahme eine Fundgrube … Die Aufnahme ist so kurzweilig, wie die Zusammenstellung vermuten lässt—auch weil Bolton die Fäden klug bündelt, Dramatisches aufraut, Lyrisches aussingen lässt und vor allem, weil er die Solisten mit dem Orchester nie zudeckt“ (Fono Forum, Germany)» More