„Diese neue Aufnahme mit dem Cembalisten Mahan Esfahani ist ein toller Wurf! … Esfahani spielt auf seine unnachahmliche Weise kontrolliert entfesselt, hörbar tief verbunden mit diesem speziellen Repertoire, das für ihn essentiell die Qualität der tschechischen Kultur verkörpert. Und diese Hingabe, verbunden mit der technischer Perfektion und geistvollen Musikalität, bringen auch seine MitstreiterInnen für diese originellen Werke mit. Elektrisierend & preisverdächtig! Auch klanglich wurde das Ganze fulminant realisiert und aufgenommen. Bleibt zu hoffen, dass man diese Werke dann auch im Konzertsaal wieder öfter hören kann …“ (Musik An Sich, Germany)

„Mit einem durchsichtig-kristallinen Ton, der gleichwohl zu unzähligen dynamischen und farblichen Schattierungen fähig ist, gelingt es Stephen Hough, den meditativen, aber nicht entrückten Charakter „Música callada“ darzustellen wie auch ihre zahlreichen musikalischen Anregungen anklingen zu lassen. Eine hervorragende Aufnahmetechnik sorgt dafür, dass schon bei mäßigem Volumen ein sehr reich gestaffeltes Klangbild sich entfaltet. So wird Mompous Zyklus nicht nur zu einem Destillat der musikalischen Einflüsse, unter denen der Komponist zu seinem Personalstil und akustischen „Fingerabdruck“ fand. Man hört gleichsam auch die Resonanzen, die diese verschiedenen Musiken im Komponisten angeregt haben. Und umgekehrt kann man jede einzelne dieser geschliffenen Miniaturen als Impuls für die eigene Klangmeditation nehmen. Und vielleicht erahnen, was die Essenz von Musik ist“ (Musik An Sich, Germany)

„Hough spielt introspektiv, nuancenreich und durchwegs so, dass man als Zuhörer der suggestiven Kraft dieser Musik völlig erliegt. Man beobachtet das Glashaus und versucht ja nichts zu verpassen“ (Pizzicato, Luxembourg)

‘Nor is there anything stale about Mahan Esfahani. His crusades for his instrument, the harpsichord, know no bounds, and this album of 20th-century Czech repertoire, vividly recorded in Prague with top Czech musicians, keeps springing surprises. From the 1930s, Martinů's concerto starts with neoclassical clatter, then widens its attractions, while pungent delights never end in the stylistic pot-pourri of Hans Krása's Kammermusik. Balancing things out, Viktor Kalabis’s 1975 concerto offers muscular strength and painful feelings. Throughout Esfahani’s fingers never stop sparkling; he should commission an opera, 'The Magic Harpsichord' (The Times)

‘Hough, who once wrote that Mompou’s art is ‘the music of evaporation’, appropriately plays as if in a trance, permitting these miniatures to drift along on their own power, coming to inconclusive conclusions. Experiencing the complete cycle of these pieces—which runs some 68 minutes—is to immerse oneself in an inner world that manages to maintain its grip on one’s attention over the long haul’ (San Francisco Classical Voice, USA)» More

‘What I love about this recording is that it’s chamber music … it’s been the same group of singers all the way through this project. They’ve been working together on this repertoire with the same production team as well, so it really is a passion project and they perform it with such musicality … there’s an amazing attention to the text … you get this seamless musical texture; it’s quite remarkably done … in terms of being ambassadors for this music they do an extraordinary job, and we must say something about the whole package, because the essay, the illustrations, the look and feel of everything—it’s so helpful’ (BBC Record Review)

‘An ear-opening recording … in all three works, Esfahani’s unfussy yet attention-grabbing playing strikes sparks off the musicians of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and their conductor, Alexander Liebreich’ (The Guardian)» More

‘Dutilleux’s nocturne seems to have a uniquely liberating effect on an ensemble’s imagination, and the Takács Quartet have also made it the heart of a programme designed to be heard at one sitting, opening with a specially commissioned new quartet by Stephen Hough … these six miniatures [Les Six rencontres] make full use of the group’s virtuosity (and the sweetness of leader Edward Dusinberre’s stratospheric top register in particular), revealing new surprises on each rehearing. And then we’re on into the Dutilleux and the Ravel: the first played almost as an extended prelude to the second and casting its moonlit shadows and restless atmosphere across the earlier work, to compelling effect. These are both powerful, brilliantly imagined interpretations, painted in bold, rich colours and shaped with flashing virtuosity … exactly what we’ve come to expect, in other words, from the Takács Quartet’ (Gramophone)

‘I may be genetically conditioned to adore this repertoire, but this new album from Mahan Esfahani is an unalloyed joy from first chord to last. Martinů, Krása and Kalabis all on one programme: what’s not to like? Of course, sometimes expectations run wild ahead of actuality, but not here. If I encounter an album as good as this one this year I will be overjoyed! … throughout, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra’s accompaniment is sensitive and ideal, and Esfahani plays like an angel’ (Gramophone)

‘For repertoire like this, a pianist with a delicate touch is essential, and Hough’s subtleties are never-ending. Through minute gradations of dynamics or the fragile sculpting of a phrase, the sparest and simplest of these pieces assume a rare beauty … do give it a listen’ (The Times)» More

‘These concertos are indeed a glorious surprise … Simon Callaghan despatches these works with passionate expressiveness … Modestas Pitrėnas and his Sinfonieorchester St Gallen forces offer enthusiastic support throughout … hopefully the third concerto is not far off. Sound and booklet notes are first-rate’ (Classical Music Daily)

‘This recording really is a joy from start to finish. In the Ravel, the very first bars are played not with emphasis but piano, as indicated: we feel at once that we’re being let in on an important secret, not fit for philistine ears, a secret enhanced by the modernist Ravel’s surprise bass line of a simple major scale. From here on the Takács Quartet are alive to every inflection in Ravel’s meticulously marked score, so that we live the journeys of each movement with them … the ‘surprise’ item is Stephen Hough’s First String Quartet … an unmistakably individual and convincing voice’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More