‘Hyperion’s Leonore Trio raises the bar regarding forceful accents, emotional urgency, and dynamic contrast, especially in their faster, gruffer Scherzo movements. Peter Avis’ informative booklet notes and Hyperion’s superb engineering further tilt this release’s recommendable scales’ (Classics Today)

‘These are, on the one hand, unfailingly tuneful and charming pieces. They chart both Bolcom’s unique career—his straddling the worlds of serious and popular musics, as well as his interactions with various luminaries like Eubie Blake and Rudi Blesh—and his natural gift for melodic invention. At the same time, they’re fantastically inventive and rigorous, compositionally and harmonically … throughout, the pianist makes light of the music’s technical demands. These are formidable: Bolcom’s writing is consistently virtuosic. Yet they’re nothing to Hamelin, who sounds as if he were born to play this repertoire. Voicings and balances are excellent. The energy level—especially rhythmically—never flags … the whole album stands as the definitive recording of Bolcom rags, complete or excerpted: a triumph for the pianist and the composer, as well as a grandly spirited, accessible, inventive journey for any who care to join them on it’ (The Arts Fuse, USA)» More

‘This is the most enjoyable piano album of the year so far’ (Ludwig Van, Canada)

‘Trust Steven Osborne to cast candlelight on the distant voices and supernatural happenings others often miss in Rachmaninov … and when he pulls the full stops out, it’s awe inspiring … the ultimate build in the finale is astounding, too’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘The whole album fizzes with energy and spontaneity. The familiar sounds of Vivaldi’s Seasons are rewired with the plucked aesthetic of Reuven’s wildly virtuosic mandolin, the Piazzolla mixed up with quasi-dissonant echoes of Vivaldi, the seasons of each composer interlaced. The Sinfonietta Leipzig (musicians from the Gewandhausorchester) bring spontaneity alongside fastidious clarity and musicianship, underscored by Wellber’s brilliantly improvised accordion/harpsichord continuo … this is Vivaldi half-heard through an early morning mist in a Venice back-street, theatrical, ghostly, out of time, snatched notes from history as if played by a troupe of players from the more distant shores of the floating city’s old empire’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘[The Moments musicaux are] played with a winning combination of charm, melancholy, and grandeur … what an excellent recording it is as well, perfectly embracing [Osborne’s] transparent tone and the range of colour and dynamics, which never turn brittle or ugly even under the more rigorous demands of the first piano sonata. Highly recommended, which is why it’s my Record of the Week.’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Whatever the season, the result is sunny, cross-cultural and humane: a genuine Mediterranean tonic’ (The Times)» More

‘These radiant performances are superlative in every way. Iestyn Davies’s stylish and idiomatic renderings of these masterful scores are enhanced by the beauty and technical dexterity of his exceptional voice. His wonderful contributions are complemented by the outstanding partnership of Arcangelo, under the inspirational direction of Jonathan Cohen. It's a match made in heaven. Hyperion’s stunning sonics are the icing on the cake’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘The Leonore performance has more character [than that by Trio Parnassus] … and better momentum and energy in the fast movements. I was particularly impressed by the playing of cellist Gemma Rosefield. The Hyperion recording is far superior in sound quality … if you don’t have these works, this new recording is a very attractive proposition’ (MusicWeb International)

‘There seems to be an opinion that the first sonata is a bit too long, a bit too diffuse … but this performance really changed my idea of it … it’s just fantastic playing. It’s beautiful—even when it’s loud and demonic, it never loses a sense of beauty. The piano tone is lovely, there’s a huge conviction and mastery, and it’s just a fantastic performance of this sonata … I can’t imagine this being better played’ (BBC Record Review)

‘These are beautifully poised and fluent performances, lovingly shaped by James O’Donnell and exquisitely captured by the Hyperion recording engineers. Highest praise, however, must go to Peter Holder, whose handling of the often extensive and always highly virtuoso organ accompaniments, is utterly, breathtakingly, marvellous’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘In the hands of the Leonore Piano Trio, both works come across as an enriching, organically cohesive concert experience, aesthetically removed from the domestic drawing-room. Tim Horton makes the most of the piano writing, rising from poetic intimacy to impassioned, virtuosic heights in the second trio. A winner of a release, grippingly recorded’ (International Piano)