‘Steven Isserlis, cellist, supplies the rush of emotion and Stephen Hough, pianist, the glittering, fleet-footed accompaniment’ (Financial Times)» More

'Anachronistic though Venables’ music sometimes seems to be, as if yearning for a world that cannot be recovered, it can be powerfully convincing' (The Guardian)» More

‘The music on this programme is consistently interesting and everything is performed with the consummate skill that one has come to associate with Stephen Layton and Polyphony. The sessions were spread over quite a period of time but the recorded sound seems pretty consistent to me: the team of producer Adrian Peacock and engineer David Hinitt have produced very pleasing sound. Meurig Bowen's notes are excellent’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘[The Nash Ensemble] ably captures the windswept vistas in Herrmann's lushly romantic clarinet quintet Souvenirs de voyage’ (Winnipeg Free Press, Canada)» More

‘Both Isserlis and Järvi leave their competition standing when it comes to expressive eloquence, and reveal this concerto, completed during the height of Stalin’s purges, as Prokofiev’s most emotionally fraught’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘A performance bolstered by a stellar line-up of soloists, including soprano Barbara Haveman as Tove and Brandon Jonavovich as Waldemar. Profound music to captivate’ (The Northern Echo)» More

‘Many of Tomášek’s songs are little gems in their own right … Renata Pokupić’s supple, gleaming mezzo-soprano could use a notch more colour at times, but is eloquent nonetheless, and pianist Roger Vignoles makes each song sound its best’ (The Guardian)» More

‘Gerhardt finds an eloquent flexibility in the cadenzas, and drama in the prevalent dotted rhythms … richly recorded and equally passionately delivered by the Flemish orchestra’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

«La brillance et le rubato traduisent l'expressivité de la partition, à juste titre vécue comme une danse des morts … le quintette est abordé de manière concertante par le piano de Marc-André Hamelin» (Classica, France)

‘If ever anyone was under the misapprehension that American choral music begins and ends with the Agnus Dei, this disc is the perfect riposte. A delightful selection, beautifully performed’ (Presto Classical)» More

'The label “opera” gives the wrong impression. Although it is sung the whole way through, the score’s idioms range from bluesy jazz and big band swing to West End musical … Flur Wyn makes a delightfully pert Alice, and the rest of the cast presents vivid characterisations of the familiar caricatures' (The Daily Telegraph)

‘To mark Independence Day here is a disc that makes the mid-20th century in the US seem a pinnacle of choral music … the brilliant Polyphony and its conductor, Stephen Layton, can do no wrong’ (Financial Times)» More