‘Johnson has that rare ability to combine a breathtaking depth of scholarship with great immediacy in performance … A very fine imagination is at play, doing things with tone, colour and dynamics that are utterly beguiling. Johnson is, as you might expect, immaculate’ (The Guardian)

‘The first volume of what promises, on the evidence of this disc, to be yet another absorbing and invaluable encyclopaedia of a songmaster's life and work. Graham Johnson, once again, is both mastermind and pianist, and, as ever, his accompanying notes and essays are as witty and richly allusive as his playing … this recital is beautifully shaped—from the way in which the little opening diptych of songs leads to Angelika Kirchschlager's disarmingly intimate performance of Von ewiger Liebe to the irresistible quartet of Deutsche Volkslieder at the end’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘The second volume of Hyperion's complete Brahms songs is the generous and imaginatively planned anthology that we have come to expect from these important series compiled by Graham Johnson—witness his excellent Schubert and Schumann series. And it comes, as ever, with richly cross-referenced notes and essays’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘A seductive new series masterminded and, as ever, penetratingly accompanied and annotated by Graham Johnson … Bode sings with a fine sense of artistry and wonderment’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘In a superb sleevenote essay, pianist Graham Johnson argues that the Four Serious Songs' confrontations with mortality are neither religious nor consolatory, and Holl adds existential rage into the mix. The effect is awesome, but makes for difficult listening’ (The Guardian)

‘Robert Holl has a mellifluous voice and a sensitive manner, bringing refinement, vividness and a wide dynamic range to Hyperion’s fourth volume of Brahms’s songs. Pianist Graham Johnson is not only a perceptive accompanist, but a fine writer—he has penned an extensive booklet note, a masterpiece in itself that includes texts and translations. Together, he and Holl are magnificent and magnetic, and the sound quality here is exemplary’ (Time Out)

‘Holl's voice, reminiscent of Fischer-Dieskau's but rather more of a real bass … is rich, true and resonant. He uses it simply, without self-conscious artifice, and the result is some very beautiful singing. Johnson's accompaniment is always skilled and perceptive, never over-emphatic, and he makes the most of Brahms's complex modulations and occasional, poignant, almost Schumann-like postludes … Holl's voice and manner suit these songs extremely well and his performance of them is beautifully judged and very moving. This disc, while the whole recital has notable integrity and quality, would be worth having for these last songs alone’ (International Record Review)

‘Through Holl's profound responses to the word-setting and to the songs' subtle shifts of emotion, he can focus the anguish of the listening lover in An die Nachtigall and powerfully tune into the more veiled melancholy of Schwermut … for the Four Serious Songs themselves, Holl brings a deep sense of empathetic humanity to the live, deeply felt and thoughtfully reasoned inner monologues which he makes of them’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘A compelling, illuminating partnership’ (Gramophone)

‘Garrick Ohlsson has the technical resources to tackle the particular challenges that Brahms attached to Paganini's famous theme’ (The Irish Times)

‘Ohlsson’s many musical insights and his magnificent technical skills make this a release demanding to be heard’ (Classical Source)

‘Ohlsson's muscular performance does not ignore the yearning that lies beneath the surface’ (The Daily Telegraph)