‘Another Scriabin winner from Lane who takes the music's finger-breaking, chromatically intensified complexities in his stride with a beguiling, micro-inflected sensitivity that favours poetic intimacy over primeval catharsis’ (BBC Music Magazine)

'King’s Choir is clearly in excellent shape' (The Sunday Times)

‘I don’t think I have heard a harpsichord sound as supple and rich in colours … Rameau’s five suites rank with the finest keyboard music of the first half of the 18th century, but they remain neglected by the side of masterpieces by Handel and Bach. Esfahani’s magnetic advocacy could change all that. His rhythmic verve, wide spectrum of tone colour and joie de vivre is evident throughout’ (The Sunday Times)» More

‘Marc-André Hamelin's stature, extraordinary from the start, increases with every new issue. And here in his latest album he subdues his legendary, transcendent technique to convey Debussy's very essence with a surpassing ease and naturalness … he offers profoundly expressive yet lucid and transparent insights into the composer's teeming imagination … The poetic sheen and finish of all these performances are things to marvel at, leaving me to long for more Debussy, to say nothing of Faure and Ravel, from an artist supremely attuned to the French repertoire, as to so much else. Hamelin's glistening sonority is flawlessly captured by the Hyperion team. This is a disc to treasure’ (Gramophone)

‘This is an exquisite performance of the Duruflé Requiem, beautifully evoking the inherent intimacy of the version with chamber orchestra and organ accompaniment, yet wielding great power at the climaxes, where the weight of the Westminster Abbey organ comes into its own. The playing of the Britten Sinfonia is superb, Robert Quinney's fluid immensely colourful organ-playing a joy to behold and Roderick Williams a supremely compelling soloist. The Abbey Choir boys occasionally sound pressured (as in their exposed divided 'Christe eleison') but for the most part this singing is simply divine, and James O'Donnell moulds and shapes every moment with infinite care, the chant-infused lines dovetailing impeccably … as a beautiful listening experience it is in a class of its own’ (Gramophone)

‘One cannot imagine these works more convincingly and sincerely executed. What verve and flair he brings to the stamina-sapping solos, and with what graceful lyricism he invests the cantabile writing. He is only the third pianist to champion the Napoleao concerto. Interestingly, as a child he studied with Evaristo de Campos Coelho (1903-88), who gave the work its first performance in 1941, over half a century after its composition’ (Gramophone)

‘The bravura writing has to be savoured, and there's a lot of it, as well as the unremitting rhythmic energy. And many of the pages are to be counted among Schumann's most inventively complex in their textural detail. Of the eight, only the first and the elaborate last one are often heard; Nos 4 and 5, a waltz and a polonaise respectively, hardly ever. So, lots of discoveries to be made. Danny Driver is commanding and personable. He never fails to establish character and to provide the understanding and flair of a virtuoso in leading us on, in getting from one thing to another’ (Gramophone)

'If you want a disc of well-loved carols and one which offers the 'imprimatur' of the King's College Choir then this disc will serve you well. The choir is on fine form, the three Organ Scholars between them provide expert accompaniments to many of the carols and the performances have been well recorded … a generous selection of mostly traditional seasonal fare … satisfyingly performed' (MusicWeb International)

‘In these musical juggernauts, the superb ensemble playing of Steven Isserlis and Robert Levin is especially breathtaking. The duo probably work hard to achieve the kind of balance of sound Beethoven had in mind, but it all seems so effortless, and so joyously executed, that work is the last thing you’ll think of as you listen’ (Audiophile Audition, USA)» More

‘In every regard, Driver proves to be an ideal interpreter of Schumann. His technique is exemplary, and his feeling for the emerging Romanticism of Schumann’s music is impressive … The Novelletten are character-pieces, not technical studies: in the Fourth, we are in a kind of ballroom that verges not so much on the wild as on the flamboyant; Driver is admirable here, and in the relatively scaled-down Fifth his grasp of the nature of the music is total. Schumann reserves the most challenging piece until last, but Driver is more than its equal, making the myriad sectionalised construction flow with impressive unity and inevitability. It would surely be impossible to imagine finer accounts than these … In the Nachtstűcke, Driver continues to show himself as the perfect Schumannian, the music being rhythmically well held together and revealed with much sensitivity of touch and natural phrasing, displaying all of the composer’s fanciful invention. And in the F sharp major Romanze, the inherent difficulty of phrasing the finest melody ever written for the thumbs is surmounted with ease. Add to the excellence a recording quality which is perfectly balanced and the result is a truly outstanding disc of great music that for no good reason is relatively little heard’ (Classical Source)» More

‘The eight Novelletten, whether taken as a set (of nearly 50 minutes’ duration) or as individual pieces, are full of wonder and energy; each might paint a picture and certainly each is full of human feeling, the music itself unpredictable and emotionally heightened, all of which Driver has under his fingers and in his heart and head. The four Night Pieces, as might be expected, as more reclusive and shadowy, but not without their own vigour, Schumann’s characteristic enigma always present to tell us that something – much – lies between the notes. To end the recital, the second of the three Romances is ineffably lovely and lovingly played. Excellent sound; immediate but not intimidating’ (Hi-Fi Critic)» More

‘I spent most of the year procrastinating, unable to stop listening and start writing an article on CPE Bach. Perhaps I was enjoying the process too much, or maybe I wasn't able to wrap my mind around the complexities of the composer's music. Mahan Esfahani's traversal of the 'Württemberg' Sonatas was one of the delights of the composer's anniversary year, fully embodying the enormous range and subtlety of Bach's expressive language, his playfulness, his tenderness and his manifold idiosyncrasies’ (Gramophone)