‘In latter times a new breed of pianist has appeared, the super-virtuoso for whom no technical challenge is too much. Chief of this tribe of metamusicians is the Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin, whose playing defies rational explanation … this is, in short, some of the most phenomenal playing you’ll ever hear’ (Punch)

‘Hamelin's performances are a wonder of brilliance and refinement. The recordings are superb, Jeremy Nicholas's notes a mine of informative titbits. In Marc-André Hamelin Hyperion clearly has a pianist to turn other record companies green with envy’ (Gramophone)

‘Twenty encore pieces for lovers of superhuman virtuosity’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Even if you are used to drawing your breath with incredulity at Hamelin's performances, you should tighten your seat-belt: This disc will make you gasp in amazement and roar in outraged laughter at the same time … the piano disc of the year, perfect in every aspect. Run out and buy it now’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘This collection of virtuoso encores by mostly forgotten pianist-composers is simply sensational’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Howard Shelley is a persuasive advocate, who apart from reconstructing the Fourth with Philip Littlemore, performs these pieces with a dazzling wit and style … I have a notion that Shelley's bravura might have unsettled even the composer himself, particularly in the Fourth's finale where the soloist's effortless command of the music is absolutely stunning. Amazingly, Shelley is able to conduct as well as play these concertos with the Tasmanian players wonderfully supportive’ (Classical.net)

‘You may well find yourself riveted as the composer springs one surprise after another. He sustains the 15 minutes of the opening movement effortlessly, through good tunes and brilliant keyboard showmanship, and if the music exists primarily to entertain it certainly does so with style and grace … Howard Shelley plays both works with the panache that they require, and given the fact that he seldom has much of a chance to take his hands off of the keyboard, the Tasmanian Symphony stays with him admirably every step of the way. Hyperion's sonics are also better than some other releases from this source, being well balanced and flattering to both soloist and orchestra … you may find them becoming staples at home’ (Classics Today)

‘Hyperion’s Romantic Piano Concerto series is one of the most significant recording ventures in front of the public today … the standard of the Hyperion edition has been so high, and it has done so much to showcase both young and established talent, with such exceptional recording quality, that it remains without parallel. Anyone who revels in exploring the peripheries of the repertoire will enjoy this disc enormously’ (MusicWeb International)

‘Shelley's fearless and seemingly impeccable technique seems to match Kalkbrenner's ideal of good piano-playing perfectly. The sound is always beautiful, those endless runs at the upper end of the keyboard register delivered as if they came easily rather than being the formidable obstacle course that they really are’ (International Record Review)

‘Shelley draws committed and expressive playing from this fine ensemble [The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra], besides dispatching the demanding solo parts with unfailing élan’ (International Piano)

‘Kalkbrenner's First Concerto offers a truly beautiful and atmospheric slow movement … it would be a boring world if we couldn't find an hour to listen to these musical layer cakes from a bygone age’ (Pianist)

‘In Howard Shelley [Kalkbrenner] has found a pianist who not only relishes everything the composer throws at him, including ambuscades of double notes, but who plays with truly dazzling wit and style … Shelley's effortless bravura would surely have awed and piqued the composer himself’ (Gramophone)