‘This is obviously a red-letter day. The Orlando Consort’s complete songs of Machaut is concluded (lacking only a few monophonic lais): all 11 albums with the same four singers, all beautifully controlled, all perfectly balanced and paced, and—perhaps most important of all—entirely without eccentricities … could anyone but Hyperion have backed such a risky project? Probably not, but we must salute the company’s courage and rejoice that—among all the recent shocks and scares in the record industry—it saw the project through to the end’ (Gramophone)

‘The violinist’s unjaded, youthful intensity blends attractively with the experience and authority Vasily Petrenko brings to the piece [the concerto] … without resorting to flashy novelty or idiosyncrasy, Li takes an essentially straightforward approach but makes a mark through his tonal confidence, clarity of gesture and, most tellingly, unwavering focus on communication. The recording neatly balances his cantabile warmth with the delectable Liverpudlian winds … on the evidence of his playing here, Li already possesses the qualities needed to ripen into an artist of substance’ (Gramophone)

‘It’s a great team for this opera and the pace from Ed Gardner, who’s just taken up his post at the Norwegian National Opera as music director there, really drives this opera along. There’s no sense of it wallowing in its own juices, which can occasionally happen with Dutchman. Great cast—Gerald Finley, incredibly world-weary when we first hear him, very powerful. There’s a sort of Lise Davidsen effect here—a voice that big, that powerful, forces everyone else to raise their game …wonderful cast, chorus on top form, all the power and pace you could want’ (BBC Record Review)

‘For sixty years Amelia Freedman has been bringing together the finest musicians she can find in London to play chamber music as The Nash Ensemble and this superb album shows she has not lost her touch … one could not ask for a more integrated and accurate reading [of the String Quartet] than this—just listen to the pizzicato in the second movement or the veiled mistiness of the third. Can’t argue with this disc!’ (Eye On London)

‘These two have been playing as a duo for twenty years now and, fine soloists in their own right, their partnership is maturing into one of the great ones of our time … the more I listen to this, the more I appreciate the intelligence of the playing and the excellence of the recorded balance’ (Eye On London)

‘It’s very special, so well matched … here we have a perfect balance … it was recorded in the Nimbus Concert Hall, which is a wonderful, luxury venue especially for this kind of music. So you get the impression they’re performing; this is a real performance, it’s broad and it’s beautifully played … having the Takács Quartet and Marc-André Hamelin place it [the Price Quintet] next to Dvořák’s Quintet is a wonderful statement of confidence’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Dvořák’s Quintet No 2 in A major—written in 1887, the year of Price’s birth—dates from before his move to New York and therefore predates his own wholehearted embrace of black American music. It is nicely paired with the Price here in a characterful performance in which the music’s passion is perfectly balanced with its charm’ (The Guardian)

‘This is a superb Fauré recital from Spence, whose ardent voice and emotional fearlessness fill these songs with life and colour and passion; lovely recording also’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Thibaudet and Dudamel are especially convincing in the concerto’s darker corners, the first movement’s final minutes packing a huge punch here. Khachaturian’s exotic 'Andante con anima' really sings, the musical saw nicely audible. It makes a haunting, unearthly sound—imagine an analogue-era theremin or Ondes Martenot. The finale’s tempo and metre changes are tackled with beefy relish, remarkably so considering that the concerto was taped live. This isn’t music which plumbs the depths, but it’s an imposing, big-hearted work which deserves to be played more often … great fun, and highly recommended’ (TheArtsDesk.com)

‘This is a Dutchman worth sailing the seven seas for, launched by a thrilling account of the Overture, storm-tossed and romantically intimate, superbly played and impactfully recorded, a vivid impression of the drama to come … a top recommendation for this stage-work’ (colinscolumn.com)» More

‘With immaculate French diction, Spence marvellously conveys the scarcely contained ecstasy of each song, his vocal lines beautifully cushioned by the strings of the Piatti Quartet and double-bass player. But the cycle occupies less than half the running time of the disc; the remainder is filled with a selection of other, mostly early Fauré songs … all are delivered with equal finesse by Spence and pianist Julius Drake’ (The Guardian)

‘This concerto proves not only an ideal vehicle for Hough’s protean pianism (not to mention exemplary support from Mark Elder and the Hallé), but a challenging yet entertaining proposition for other pianists … I would wager that Hough plays all of this music to the composer’s satisfaction’ (International Piano)