‘Regular readers will know that I hold Cinquecento in especially high regard so it will come as no surprise if I open by saying that this new album, their third to feature works by Jacob Regnart (c1540/45-1599), maintains their exquisitely high quality of both performance and programme … Cinquecento are clearly in their comfort zone and immediately find a sweet spot for optimal polyphonic momentum that also allows the phrases room to expand. The balance is wonderfully clear’ (Gramophone)

‘To call playing ‘intelligent’ might seem to imply that it’s all a bit dry and analytical. But as fans of Stephen Hough will know, that’s far from the case with this extraordinary pianist. Above all, he always gives the impression that he’s thought everything through and come up with something authentically fresh—no striking attitudes or provoking for the sake of it … if you’re still perplexed or simply unconvinced by Schumann this may be the recording to open the door on a unique imaginative world’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘I doubt that Regnart could have better advocates than Cinquecento, or ever will. To return to my opening words, the claim that they are ideally suited to this music is fully borne out by the performances, and the recording, especially in 24-bit format, and the presentation could hardly be bettered. As usual with Hyperion, the booklet, which comes with the download is an important factor in my recommendation—a few select labels match them in this, but others, contemptuous of those who buy their music, don’t think it important to include the booklet, even for music with unfamiliar texts. Lovers of the music of this period need not hesitate, especially those who have already chosen one or more of Cinqucento’s earlier recordings’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘If there's a right time in life to record certain works, then Stephen Hough has chosen precisely the right time to record these masterpieces. They're familiar works but in Hough's hands we hear them afresh. Mature, worldly, insightful, probing—his playing is all these and more. In Arabeske, the shifting moods move like clouds across a field on a summer's day. The closing bars will take your breath away. Kreisleriana, which follows, is a masterclass in characterisation, Hough digging deep to bring us every precious moment. I vouch you've never heard No 2 played so lovingly, No 3 at times so wistfully or No 4 so thoughtfully. Similarly, in the livelier moments, as in No 5, Hough never sacrifices the music for mere virtuosity, always finding the beauty and the poetry in every passing note. As he also does in the Fantasie where, once again, his playing plunges us deep into Schumann's complex but ultimately life-affirming world’ (Pianist)

‘Following the end of the Opus One C major First Sonata I thought to myself, 'pretty damn marvellous'. Ohlsson’s masterly playing and divine blend of head and heart probe, richly express and blossom the music to its best effect, whether impassioned or intimate, con fuoco or Andante. Ohlsson is just as successful in looking beyond the pages’ thickets of notes to fully reveal the musical and emotional complexities of the Opus Two F sharp minor Second Sonata, its grandeur, drive, dramatic contrasts, and lyricism, whether troubled or beguiling. Rarely have I found so much in this particular work’ (colinscolumn.com)» More

‘It’s all music the Nash players have easily in hand, technically and expressively … one could hardly ask for more persuasive Bruch advocacy than what the Nash Ensemble offers here’ (The Arts Fuse, USA)» More

‘The Nash Ensemble, which has also recorded the quintets and Octet (CDA68168), are perfectly placed to explore the very different charms and indeed combinations of instrumentation involved in their latest undertaking … All Saints’ Church, East Finchley, in London is a popular Hyperion venue and once again it’s proved a fine choice, balanced and not too distant or billowing. The engineering is excellent and so is the programme, a well-rounded, thoughtful look at Bruch through the decades in a variety of chamber settings’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘Christopher Herrick has produced a programme here which should appeal to organ buffs and general music lovers alike … the recording is immediate and with just a four-second echo in the cathedral there is no smudging of textures’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘With his transcendental technique and poetic imagination, Hough is the ideal interpreter of these works, the first a suite of 'fantasy pieces' hovering between romantic rapture and despair, while he brings a masterly sense of drama, structure and freedom of expression to the Fantasie, a homage to Beethoven but also to Schumann’s muse Clara’ (The Sunday Times)» More

‘What emerges from this comparative listening odyssey … is simply an even richer love and admiration for Jansen’s own artistry’ (Gramophone)

‘The repertoire she’s chosen may consciously look back to a different age, one marked by sensibilities that might seem saccharine or even mawkish to some today, but by showcasing these twelve remarkable instruments and committing herself fully to the beauty of that soundworld, she demonstrates that they are very much more than museum pieces’ (Presto Classical)

‘Tones on offer from this complex assemblage, arranged through the violin specialist J & A Beare, range from brilliant to dainty, ethereal to smoky, each more or less suited to the 15 short pieces played, ranging from Schumann to Jerome Kern’ (The Times)