‘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)

‘The greater pleasure of this recording is the playing of the Leonore Trio, excellently recorded by David Hinitt and Andrew Keener in Henry Wood Hall (neither too spacious nor too intimate). Gemma Rosefield’s soaring cello in, say, the second movement of Trio No 2 is a delight, violinist Benjamin Nabarro’s violin is forthright and impassioned, while Tim Horton, who certainly has his work cut out, pushes the narrative forwards with dexterity and not a little stamina. But it is the way these three talented musicians blend together that merits the largest bouquet. More please!’ (Gramophone)

‘The Leonore Trio is an outstanding ensemble, whose previous releases for Hyperion of music by Rimsky-Korsakov, Parry and Litolff have all been enthusiastically received. So often in the trio repertoire the piano is allowed to dominate, yet pianist Tim Horton, violinist Benjamin Nabarro and cellist Gemma Rosefield balance Bargiel’s middle-register-dominated textures with such exquisite sensitivity and timing there is never any hint of overbalancing. This is music that by its very nature requires gentle coaxing and affectionate warmth to sound its best, and the Leonore responds with playing that possesses a radiant inner glow. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine this music played more captivatingly, captured in beguilingly natural sound by Andrew Keener and David Hinitt’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien start with the first version of his F major Sonata of 1838, giving it a good heroic opening with plenty of flair, which subsides into gentle caressing of the second subject. These contrasts of dynamism and repose, strength and delicacy, recur throughout the movement, giving shape and ever-shifting colour. The same can be said of the Adagio, in which the restrained grace of the opening melody opens into grand rhetorical gesture, with Ibragimova giving a keen dramatic edge to Mendelssohn’s more flamboyant passages … the recording is close and well balanced’ (The Strad)» More

‘Only with Richter have I been as convinced while listening that there was no other way of playing Schubert; and yet the two artists are so utterly different in temperament. Hough’s uncannily subtle timing, his sensitivity to texture and his mesmerising voice-leading are means to greater ends. It is his noble humility in the face of greatness and beauty that makes these among the most touching Schubert performances I have ever experienced. And experiences is what they are. Where many pianists seem fully aware of the destination from the outset, Hough invites us to embark with him on a magical mystery tour … with Hough, dramatic import never comes at the expense of weighing down and plodding’ (Gramophone)

‘In Hough’s hands, this is Schubert for the salon rather than the concert hall, superbly captured by Hyperion. The elegant restraint of Hough’s playing highlights the Classical lines of Schubert’s music. The G major Sonata, as Misha Donat’s excellent booklet notes point out, is an intimate work, in which each movement ends quietly. Hough captures that subdued mood, with lilting grace in the Menuetto and soft insistence in the finale … Hough offers musicianship of the finest order’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Nicky Spence and colleagues serve up a nourishing feast of Vaughan Williams’s vocal music, culminating in a performance of On Wenlock Edge which, in its thrilling assurance, strength of imagination and rapt instinct, inclines me to rank it alongside the very finest I know … Spence and Drake do [The house of Life] absolutely proud, and likewise locate an abundance of wistful tenderness and fragrant beauty in those two sensitive settings that top and tail the cycle … marvellous, too, to have such a superbly ardent, insightful account of the glorious Four Hymns for tenor, piano and viola … in sum, a hugely enjoyable offering for the RVW sesquicentennial’ (Gramophone)

‘One of the immediate strengths of Nicky Spence’s new album for Hyperion is how cohesive a feel he brings to a program that ranges through the mystic passions of the Four Hymns (with obligato viola and piano), the rose-scented minstrelsies of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s The House of Life, and a trio of rumbustious folksongs thrown in for good measure, culminating in On Wenlock Edge, Vaughan Williams’ masterly Ravel-inspired settings for tenor, piano and string quartet from Houseman’s A Shropshire Lad. Not only does Spence really feel this music, I don’t think I’ve ever heard them sung with such heroic fervour … and these songs pulse with life when subject to such ardent advocacy. Timothy Ridout’s biting viola and Julius Drake’s urgent piano accompaniment complement the sense of religious zeal while simultaneously relating this free-flowing music to the earthier sound world of British folksong … beautifully and most naturally recorded, rarely does a song recital contain so many insights. This is desert island stuff’ (Limelight, Australia)» More

‘In the 1914 cycle of Four Hymns, it is ‘Come Love’ that shows [Spence's] technical accomplishments best as he expressively utilises the full range of dynamics and seamlessly melds with the sonorities of the duetting viola, beautifully played by Timothy Ridout … On Wenlock Edge (1909) has often been recorded, but this is a fine rendering with ‘Bredon Hill’ providing some particularly sublime moments. As always Julius Drake’s accompanying is evocative and nuanced, and in ‘Is my team ploughing?’ the Piatti Quartet swathe the song in a delicate veil of tensile sound’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Marvel upon marvel informs Steven Osborne’s performance of Piano Sonata No 1 … Osborne is very revealing of the work’s narrative powers and had me listening anew as revelation follows revelation: great playing, inspired interpretation, darkly lyrical, flamboyantly propulsive, sensitive and ppp, demonstrative and fff, with plenty in between’ (colinscolumn.com)» More

‘Tenor Nicky Spence copes well with all the works presented here … [his] sensitivity to the words is first-rate … the other performers are uniformly excellent and are well-served by Hyperion’s recording’ (MusicWeb International)