‘As on the previous release, Howard Shelley is both soloist and director. It would be hard to think of a more persuasive advocate. His passagework, however technically demanding the music, is always crystalline, and the sound is consistently warm and brilliant’ (International Record Review)
‘Shelley has so much surplus energy that he can lift these entertaining works up to a level where they are so much more than just audible. They are at times even touching and beautiful’ (Pianist)
‘There's tremendous pleasure to be had from the music's sheer charm … and even more from its outbursts of exuberance. Unless you're on a strict musical diet that allows no dessert, this release, like its predecessor, will lift your spirits’ (Fanfare, USA)
‘Here, magnificently performed and recorded, is music to set heads nodding and feet tapping, the epitome of art which scorns profundity and elevates pianistic acrobatics to a high and elegant plane’ (Gramophone)
‘Herz may not be a great composer, yet his stuff certainly is fun to digest in small doses, especially when you consider Philip Martin's appropriately light and colorful touch, supple finger work, and marvelous sense of dramatic timing … collectors who dote on the rare Romantics need no prodding to acquire this excellently engineered release’ (Classics Today)
‘Martin, fresh from his laudable eight-disc survey of Gottschalk's piano music, tackles these well-programmed works with sensuousness and vitality, capturing the ornately flamboyant allure of the music with great affection’ (Musical Criticism.com)
‘Philip Martin proves a strong Herz advocate, displaying a genuine affection for the music and all the requisite flair for the abundant trills, roulades, scales … and repeated left-hand jumps’ (International Record Review)
‘Hyperion continues its invaluable exploration of the piano's highways and byways with this richly enjoyable programme from Philip Martin, focusing on the scintillating output of Viennese child prodigy Henri Herz … the salonesque, radiant charms of the La Cenerentola variations … come tripping off the page in this affectionately sparkling performance from Philip Martin, whose warmly engaging style is a constant source of pleasure throughout’ (Classic FM Magazine)
‘These hymns and sequences, most expertly performed and recorded, have excited much acclaim – and rightly so. A lovely CD’ (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)