‘Hough's Sonata unfolds … with an immediately apparent structural logic and a harmonic vocabulary that conveys vivid emotional narrative. As one would expect from a pianist of Hough’s gifts, textures are imaginative, with plenty of excitement and variety. Interesting from the first hearing, it grows more so with repeated listening. Hough’s musical thinking has the same warmth and communicativeness as his performing persona, so that one looks forward to hearing more … the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata heard here is very good and deeply musical … the two Chopin Nocturnes, Op 27, on the other hand, are ethereal and abundantly poetic. Though he’s recorded some, I’ve not heard Hough play Schumann before. What a pleasure it is! His Carnaval has great warmth and gentleness, along with appropriate doses of high spirits and antic, even slapstick humour. Extremely original in concept, this interpretation is seasoned throughout with a unique tempo rubato that is both apt and uncannily subtle. I don’t think I’ve sat through another Carnaval that was quite this much fun. You should have a listen’ (International Record Review)» More

‘Quite superb accounts of the Recitative and Scherzo, and Kreisler’s arrangement of Tartini’s ‘Devil’s Trill’ Sonata … the engineers provide an ideal balance and pleasing sound to complete an outstanding release’ (The Strad)» More

‘Jack Liebeck is a fine player—no doubt about that—with a firm tone and rock-solid technique. The 1785 ‘Ex-Wilhelmj’ Guadagnini he plays fills St George’s, Bristol, with commanding ease … he is best in Kreisler’s transcriptions (a touching Gluck Mélodie, thrilling bravura in Falla’s Danse espagnole and a forthright, confident account of the 'Devil's Trill' Sonata, which ends the disc in style)’ (Gramophone)

'A real tribute to the virtuosity of the Philharmonia Orchestra whose playing is absolutely faultless' (Classical Source)» More

'Throughout all three symphonies the playing of the Philharmonia is razor sharp and idiomatic: they’re consistently on top form for Maazel. The recorded sound is very good as are Julian Johnson’s notes. This is shaping up as a most interesting, if variable, Mahler cycle and I look forward to the next volume very much' (MusicWeb International)

‘The earliest and most fascinating composition here, a cello concerto dating from 1889 when Pfitzner was a 19-year-old student, starts like a pious exercise in Schumannesque rumination but takes in startling and richly orchestrated outbursts evoking Wagner’s Venusberg … when he returned to the cello concerto genre in 1935 it was with music of unusual concision, making his typically unsettling mixture of restraint and flamboyance even more effective than usual … the Hyperion team provide a characterful recording, close to the music’s generally expansive sonorities without obscuring its many distinctive details. Alban Gerhardt is an unfailingly charismatic soloist, finding a sense of purpose where others might lapse into aimlessness, and the orchestral support is first-rate’ (Gramophone)

‘Piers Lane joins the fun for Pierné’s Piano Quintet. Dating from the latter years of World War One, it encapsulates much of the spirit of the Belle Époque, but also looks forward to the rhythmic drive of the 1920s. Echoes of Franck are apparent, especially in the final movements remembrances of earlier themes and methods of cranking up the tension. Resonances of contemporaries such as Debussy, Ravel, Dukas and Stravinsky can also be heard, notably in the central ‘Zortzico’, and with the advocacy of this finely nuanced performance, Pierné’s rhythmic and timbral invention shine through’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Pierné composed a generous amount of chamber music, and one of the jewels among them is the Piano Quintet presented here … I find it difficult to understand why this music is not performed and recorded more frequently, because it is no less attractive than Fauré’s Piano Quartets and Piano Quintets … [Vierne's] String Quartet, like Pierné’s work, has been unfairly neglected, and it would be nice if Debussy's and Ravel’s quartets occasionally invited it out for a stroll … recommended’ (International Record Review)» More

‘It would be hard to imagine a more persuasive or compelling performance of Pierné's Piano Quintet than this one from the all-Australian line-up of the Goldner Quartet and Piers Lane … the Allegro has litheness, warmth and a constantly engaging sense of musical argument that prompts the question: why isn’t this much more frequently played? … Vierne's String Quartet is full of wonderfully effective writing. The inner movements are particularly impressive: a febrile Intermezzo (airily despatched here) and an austerely beautiful slow movement. With expert notes from Roger Nichols, this is a fascinating and eminently worthwhile addition to the catalogue’ (Gramophone)

‘Faultless. Perhaps more than any other recording the singer and the pianist are in equilibrium … Finley sings with the utmost naturalness but explores the doomed wanderer’s soul in a way that comes close to being shocking in its painfulness. From about halfway in the cycle, he descends into an acknowledgement of reality which is at the same time a projection of his own torture onto the external world. It’s charted with dreadful power. This, to my mind the greatest of all bleak works of art, here receives its perfect rendering’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

'The balance between colourful detail and acoustic atmosphere is every bit as good as with all of the other symphonies so far' (MusicWeb International)

‘The late Malcolm Williamson may have had his unruly side, but he was vastly and variously gifted; it is high time the best of his teeming output was revalued. Here we have all four of his numbered piano concertos—No 4 is given its first airing on CD—plus the two-piano Concerto in A minor and the Sinfonia Concertante with its piano obbligato, collected together for the first time. Piers Lane is the tireless soloist, crisply percussive or touchingly lyrical as required, and Howard Shelley conducts with efficiency and conviction’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More