‘It is the quality of the music that has drawn conductor Stephen Rice back to this still little-known but highly important Renaissance figure … the sound that The Brabant Ensemble make … is fresh, open-throated, clear in diction and expressive all at once. This has been their style throughout the fourteen or so years they have been recording … Laudate Deum in sanctis eius is an unashamedly joyous work whose open harmonies suit the choir wonderfully. In final cadences of all these works, their perfect fifths are superbly tuned. The booklet contains all Latin texts and English translations’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘Quite a discovery’ (Yorkshire Times)

‘[Eubie’s Luckey Day is] extremely virtuosic, and, given Marc-André Hamelin’s pedigree, it’s not surprising that his performance is a tour de force … Hamelin knows when to swing the rhythms and when to keep them straight … a clear picture of an essential chapter in American music’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘The long first movement [of the Grand Sextet] is concerto-like—magnificently handled by Simon Crawford-Phillips. The middle movement is a lovely set of variations … while the finale is a sparkling showpiece … for the Sextet in G minor, Benjamin Frith’s piano, Hugh Webb’s harp, Richard Hosford’s clarinet, Ursula Leveaux’s bassoon, Richard Watkins’ horn and Graham Mitchell’s double bass combine to create a rich and rewarding sound world’ (Limelight, Australia)» More

‘The Brabant Ensemble is, as always, outstanding, the precision of tone, vibrancy and ensemble flawless … an exceptional disc’ (Yorkshire Times)

‘Howard Shelley is a suave advocate for Schmitt, alive to the humour of some of the twists and turns in his music and prepared to exaggerate key moments as well. The Ulster Orchestra … seems to enjoy Schmitt's Rondeau brillant as much as Shelley does’ (BBC Record Review)

‘The C major Grand Sextet (with an equally grand Opus number, 100), for piano and strings, including a double bass, is a splendid work, energetic, lyrical, and with a hauntingly lovely slow movement. Simon Crawford-Phillips sparkles at the keyboard, and is sensitive when required, and Graham Mitchell’s bass is faithfully captured by Oscar Torres’s microphones … this Andrew Keener-produced release is also high-end in terms of annotation and presentation’ (colinscolumn.com)» More

‘Marc-André Hamelin—who has become one of the greats of our era—has recorded all 27 rags on two discs, catching their reverence and irreverence with equal brilliance … ‘Graceful Ghost Rag’ may be the most famous contemporary rag by anyone, much in demand as an encore, given a lovely reading by Hamelin, who is aware of its genteel wit … ‘Brass Knuckles’, written jointly with William Albright, has some crunching clusters thrown in with humorous effect; those must be the brass knuckles. It’s a real trip, and Hamelin handles the crunches with gusto’ (San Francisco Classical Voice, USA)

‘With great subtlety and finesse, Finley and Drake inexorably draw the listener into the miller’s successive states of mind: the carefree wanderer, the tentative suitor, the dreamy romantic, the ecstatic then jealous lover, and finally, the broken man. In tracing this emotional arc, Finley carefully husbands his vocal resources, deftly colouring the early songs, bringing a dreamlike quality to Morgengruss and particularly beauteous tone to Pause. Drake is also alert to every nuance of text, delivering expertly judged pacing … here is a distinguished Die schöne Müllerin whose insights are as abundant as its delights’ (Limelight, Australia)» More

‘It’s a powerful piece [the Grand Sextet] with an almost concerto-like piano part, presumably written for Ries himself to perform. Simon Crawford-Phillips does the honours in this new recording with The Nash Ensemble and they bring Ries out of Beethoven’s shadow with these substantial rediscoveries. Excellent performances’ (BBC Record Review)

‘The piano playing is powerfully expressive—Drake is as much a narrator here as Finley, always following the flow of the water, while Finley seems to become almost more expressive as he gets quieter, always with a lovely sense of line and colour. They’re so finely attuned to one another’s musicianship, it gives them a freedom to be themselves yet never expressively out of synch. I thought Finley and Drake’s Winterreise eight years ago was exceptional: this is just as good’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Bolcom is lucky in having such a musician to provide him with these authoritative accounts of his music. Individual rags will undoubtedly pop up on recital discs from time to time (at least, they should) but any further ‘Complete Rags’ will be completely redundant. Hamelin’s razor-sharp rhythmic acuity and precise accentuation in tandem with his customary nonchalant dexterity would, on their own, be sufficient for the success of this release, but there are other things: a sophisticated palette, a deep tenderness, a mischievous sense of humour and the chameleon’s ability to convince you that he is not a classical pianist but, first and foremost, a successor to James P Johnson. There is more. I doubt if there’s another pianist on the planet who, after giving us a revelatory two-disc survey of CPE Bach, could so adroitly turn his attention to late 20th-century ragtime. The man is a miracle. Another Gramophone Award nomination beckons’ (Gramophone)