‘The strongly emotive musical aura of Bloch's Schelomo seems ideally suited to Natalie Clein's impassioned style of cello playing … Clein delivers a powerfully committed performance, but also manages to avoid over-indulgence, negotiating the peaks and troughs of the music's volatile emotional language with a clear sense of direction. Undoubtedly, Ilan Volkov and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra play a vital role in this process. Volkov brings a welcome transparency to Bloch's languorous instrumentation in the reflective secions, while the raging torrents of the orchestral tuttis have rarely sounded more highly charged’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

'In 1993, Hakim succeeded Messiaen as organist of La Trinite in Paris, and served in that position for 15 years. Like Messiaen, too, Hakim 's music often has a religious emanation, albeit more widely cast than Messiaen's (or MacMillan's) Catholicism, and on this album we find excellent examples of the nature of Hakim's inspiration which (of course) lies at the heart of his music' (International Record Review)» More

'From the first notes of music by the fifteenth-century Jewish Italian composer, Pesaro, the plangent trumpet playing of Graham Ashton and colourful organ registration of Michael Matthes produces a captivating ensemble. The 3-manual instrument, originally the work of English builder John Abbey, has had several rebuilds, the latest and most successful by French builder Bertrand Cattiaux in 2002. Arrangements of baroque works here contrast with Roger Steptoe's fresh Sonata for Trumpet and Organ, which, with it's perceptible influenceo of Hindemith, concludes this enjoyable album' (Choir & Organ)

'Rhodes obviously has it in him to be a persuasive Beethoven interpreter. Whatever persona Rhodes chooses to cultivate in terms of presentation, he certainly is a serious musician' (Gramophone)

'This disc from the King's Singers is a notably intelligent, enjoyable Jubilee offering' (BBC Music Magazine)» More

'This scintillating recording of the 1767 Latin opera reveals just how early Mozart's instinct for character was formed. In keeping with historic practice, cellist Joseph Crouch's continuo line is arpeggiated. The cast is beautifully contrasted, with Klara Ek and Sophie Bevan the cool and warm sopranos and Lawrence Zazzo and Christopher Ainslie the heroic and plangent counter-tenors. Tenor Andrew Kennedy sings Oebalus with authority and elegance' (The Independent)

‘Natalie Clein is the cello protagonist in all four works, her range of tonal colour, her animation and her discreet soulfulness proving to be ideal qualities … the relationship between cello and orchestra is closely knit, Ilan Volkov conducting the BBC SSO with just the impetus and sensibility that this music requires’ (The Daily Telegraph)» More

‘Natalie Clein's inspired collection of [Bloch's] three cello works on Jewish themes … is rare and welcome. Her impassioned, sensitive playing finds willing collaborators in the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and their former principal conductor’ (The Sunday Times)» More

‘Natalie Clein gives an unexaggerated performance pursuing the music's linearity and playing from the heart while conjuring some appropriate dark tone from her instrument … the music takes wing to both beguile and thrill. It's one of the most persuasive performances of this work [Schelomo] that I have ever heard … throughout, the recording is as vivid as the music … an outstanding release’ (International Record Review)» More

„[Clein] hat das nötige Einfühlungsvermögen, die starken, aufwühlenden, dunklen Klangfarben, die gelegentlichen Abstiege in seelische Abgründe mit der herzlichen Heiterkeit der volkstümlichen Klänge fein dosiert zu kombinieren. Hier gibt es keine schmachtende Melancholie und eben so wenig überschäumende Fröhlichkeit, dafür viel Sensibilität, viel Lyrik und schöne dynamische Kontraste“ (Pizzicato, Luxembourg)» More

‘If one has enjoyed the music in those epic biblical movies of the last century, mostly starring Charlton Heston, chances are one will also respond to the works of the composer who influenced that genre. The Swiss-American Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) also wrote much secular music, but he will be best remembered for the works that reflect his Jewish heritage … completing this gorgeously performed anthology by young British cellist Natalie Clein is Max Bruch’s popular Kol Nidrei … essential listening’ (Singapore Straits Times)» More

‘Clein plunges deep into the world of Bloch's Schelomo as she effectively forms a red-hot line of communication with the listener in both its introspective, brooding moments and its soulful outbursts. The orchestra's string section produces a flawless body of sound and the balance is nicely judged’ (The Strad)» More