'Jamie Walton's sound in this excellent recording is open and luminous. Daniel Grimwood is more than a match for his extravagant part: after a pleasingly bold opening Maestoso, the Scherzo explodes into life with a thrilling motoric rumble, powered by this mercurial pianist. There's plenty of Mendelssohnian magic here in both the lazily eloquent and fleet-footed variations, and an infectious sense of enjoyment' (Gramophone)

'Jamie Walton's new coupling of Saint-Saens' Second Cello Sonata and Chopin's only sonata for the instrument, restores faith in a too often maligned composer. While Walton and pianist Daniel Grimwood approach both works with an affection and scrupulousness that almost make Chopin's opening Allegro hang together, one senses Saint-Saens is their favourite' (The New Zealand Herald)» More

‘One of the finest pianists of our time’ (CDReview)

‘You will be hard pressed to find playing of such super-fine precision and sensitivity. This is undoubtedly one of the most crystalline and exclusive Chopin recitals I have heard for some time. Such pianism forbids even whispered comparisons’ (Gramophone)

‘In the use of words like sensational, extraordinary, phenomenal, etc., critics have to be sparing, at risk of their credibility. But these adjectives are all appropriate to this new Chopin recital by Stephen Hough, which vaults him to the top rung in this repertoire, right next to Rubinstein’ (American Record Guide)

‘Hough has an awe-inspiring technique and the ability to play even the most rushed passages of Chopin with extraordinary clarity’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘To play Chopin with the rhythmic subtlety he requires without it seeming contrived is a rare gift. Stephen Hough has it in abundance’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Stephen Hough's quicksilver mastery of the idiom proves an unfailing guide throughout’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Hough has something unique and individual to say, with capricious daring and memorable directness. The beautifully balanced sound quality self-effacingly enhances what seemingly passes for a live experience uninhibited by microphones. Listen well and often for maximum reward and exhilaration’ (International Record Review)

‘This is astonishing piano playing and Chopin interpretation, at its very best, fully measuresup to the greatness of these pieces. And to their freshness, not least; the Ballades and Scherzos, along with just about all Chopin's work, have been constsntly before the public, and Stephen Hough's accounts of them offer plenty of refinement to spirit and senses. It's not given to many to play them as well as he. Hough is unfailingly thoughtful; there's not a note that hasn't been cared for … he combines a staggering technique with a genuinely engaging musical imagination. Handsomely recorded and produced’ (Gramophone)

«Il y a dans le jeu, dans la carrière, dans la personalité de ce pianiste britannique quelque chose d'extrêmement séduisant et de hors du commun … la Sonate est magnifique d'imagination, déroulée comme un vaste poème, sans alanguisement, sans excès de fureur, juste une sorte de retenue respectueuse de la richesse de l'écriture» (Classica, France)

‘The greater the music here, the more revelatory the playing, especially in a magnificent account of the Polonaise-fantasie … a ticket to a pianistic paradise’ (The Mail on Sunday)