‘There’s no point in tackling these dense, intricate works at all if you’re not a virtuoso in the profoundest sense, as Vlaeva is and Vladigerov clearly was. The Lisztian tradition is floridly served in these 16 pieces … I’m glad to have heard the effortless transcendental pianism of Vlaeva, though, and want to hear more from her’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Disc 1 has short works by British composers set amongst larger works by international figures … Bax’s 1936 Threnody and Scherzo for bassoon, harp and string sextet, is a wonderfully scored imaginative work that has the makings of a concerto rather than an occasional piece, if only he had extended it. Disc 2 is made up of more substantial works by British based composers. Elizabeth Maconchy called her 17-minute work concertino rather than concerto, but it is not light-hearted or frivolous. It was written as a showpiece for the great Gwydion Brooke and the bassoon is certainly put through its paces. Mr Perkins is more than up to its difficulties … Richard Rodney Bennett’s Bassoon Sonata, most gratifyingly a work for bassoon and piano and not bassoon with piano … is a marvellous synthesis of Bennett’s two styles, the serial and the tuneful. There are spikey chords in the piano but nothing that would scare a jazz aficionado while the bassoon is generally smoothly seductive. Mr Perkins' tone in the high register is exemplary’ (British Music Society Journal)» More

„Alina Ibragimova gelingt dies mit stupender Technik und Tongebung, bei der nichts dem Zufall überlassen bleibt und selbst in den Extremen bewundernswert gestaltende Souveränität behält (hinreißend die bisweilen diabolischen Schattenklänge). So wirken die Capricen nicht mehr wie halsbrecherische Exerzitien, sondern entfalten ein Ausdrucksspektrum, von dem bisher vielfach nur Teile zu erahnen waren. Vortrefflich!“ (HörBar, Germany)» More

„Die Geigerin Alina Ibragimova streicht ihr Instrument nicht nur sensibel, sie streichelt es geradezu. Im Lockdown hat sie jetzt 180 Jahre nach Niccolò Paganinis Tod dessen 24 Capricen eingespielt. Mit absolutem Respekt vor dem Urtext bringt sie subtilste Details zum Leuchten und den Zyklus bar jeder Effekthascherei als wahrhaft musikalisches Opfer dar. Technische Teufeleien werden da überwölbt von expressiver, dynamisch und artikulatorisch sorgfältigster Gestaltung. Astreine Intonation ist jederzeit gesichert. Ibragimova verwandelt Paganinis berüchtigte Exerzitien in tönende Wunder. Alles wirkt rund, nie hört man Mühsal. Verhextes wird erlöst zur Leichtigkeit des Seins. Doppelgriffe sind erfüllt von balsamischer Wärme, Legato-Striche umfassen locker zwei Dutzend Noten. Wie Funken sprühen beim finalen Spuk Pizzikato-Wolken über eisig glitzernden Flageolett-Zauber: Virtuosität als notwendiges Element des Ausdrucks“ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany)

‘Ohlsson has a wonderful feeling for Brahms’s very special sound-world, which runs from craggy monumental force to the soft-edged mystery that emerges here and there, especially in the beautiful middle section of the second of the two Rhapsodies … he catches the cloudy grandeur of the music, without sacrificing the clarity that makes the grandeur comprehensible’ (The Telegraph)» More

‘Canada’s first lady of the piano, Ottawa-born, UK-based Angela Hewitt wears her heart on her sleeve with her latest release … acclaimed for her sparkling performances of Baroque composers including J S Bach, Hewitt treats listeners to lushly romantic transcriptions of works by Schumann, Schubert, Strauss, Grieg and Falla among others, with even Percy Grainger and George Gershwin making cameo appearances. What’s most fascinating is the way the pianist’s renowned, impeccably clear pianism translates to the milkier sonorities of her chosen repertoire, immediately apparent in Schumann’s 'Widmung', transcribed by Liszt, or Strauss's more delicate 'Freundliche Vision', from 5 Lieder, Op 48. Other highlights include Gluck’s 'Orpheus’ lament & Dance of the blessed spirits' as well as Hewitt’s own transcription of Mahler’s Adagietto from his Symphony No 5 in C sharp minor, brought to life with limpid sentimentalism’ (Winnipeg Free Press, Canada)

‘Garrick Ohlsson's Brahms recordings have impressed us here before, with their fiery passion, powerful virtuosity, eloquence and intensity—all of which he needs in the two Brahms sonatas on the new recording. But there's also Ohlsson's tenderness, his ability to look inwards in the Op 79 Rhapsodies written a quarter of a century later, and beautifully voiced in these memorable performances … potent and sometimes explosive performances … it's my Record of the Week’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Rapturous and rhapsodic … a beguiling collection … and a delight’ (The Guardian)» More

‘It's a beautifully made collection … you can tell it means a great deal to Hewitt’ (BBC Record Review)

‘An absorbing project from bassoonist Laurence Perkins … the textures keep changing—solo bassoon, sonatas, chamber music, to the Panufnik bassoon concerto. It's a really enjoyable chronological tour of twentieth-century bassoon’ (BBC Record Review)

‘A really rather overwhelming experience. Each line is given clarity by the single voice to a part Cinquecento, but the blending of sonorities in the whole make for wonderful listening, with waves of collective voices and the emergence and receding of individual lines creating something truly glorious … such illumination would not be possible without the superb voices of Cinquecento, and Hyperion’s excellent recording, which is perfectly balanced in a spacious acoustic, but close enough for that all-important clarity of diction and line to be communicated without any need to strain the senses’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘It’s easy to understand why Plowright has chosen to champion this appealing work [Gablenz], with its variety of texture and mood, melodic invention and imaginative orchestration … in terms of sheer spontaneity, pliant rhythmic élan and delicacy of texture, I cannot imagine a more thrilling performance [of the Polish Fantasy], or one that more fully captures Paderewski’s heartfelt message. Łukasz Borowicz and the BBC Scottish are everywhere complicit in this happy enterprise. Combining an unfamiliar yet worthy work with Paderewski’s signature warhorse, freshly reconceived and proudly resplendent, makes this release a rare treat’ (Gramophone)