‘More unbelievable pianism from Hamelin’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Marc-André Hamelin’s technical mastery is legendary … all in all a remarkable disc and certainly not to be missed’ (International Piano)

‘A brilliantly successful recital’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘A technique that leaves one open-mouthed with wonderment … the delicate filigree of his rapid chromatic scales is as witty as his scales in tenths and double octaves are awesome’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Hamelin is a musician of intellectual rigour, for whom playing all the notes better than almost anyone else is just the start. The Liszt Sonata is a veritable Becher's Brook for pianists but he sails over it with ease, showing that this music has depth as well as superficial glitter … this is one of the most penetrating Liszt recitals to have emerged in several years’ (The Mail on Sunday)

‘The world isn't short of pianists with an ultra-fluent technique. Even so, Marc-André Hamelin is a phenomenon: such rippling evenness of tone, flawless clarity, and rapid-fire precision together suggest something of what contemporary accounts tell us Liszt's own playing was like’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Even amidst the plethora of fine pianists currently performing, Marc-André Hamelin has established a formidable reputation at so many levels, in terms of musicianship, of virtuosity and technical prowess … needless to say, Hamelin's performance of Liszt's Piano Sonata yields nothing in transcendental virtuosity, even by comparison with the likes of Argerich's barn-storming account for DG … Hamelin's double octave passagework is almost clinical in its brilliance, in tone and evenness, while the right-hand octave passagework that precedes the coda is truly tumultuous in effect … a very formidable release which I can wholeheartedly recommend’ (International Record Review)

‘Hamelin gives a cogent, dramatic account of the B minor Sonata, drawing on Liszt’s virtuosity in terms of tonal variety and technique to capitalise on the sonata’s shifts of mood. Liszt’s expressive spectrum is cleverly explored in the companion pieces as well, Hamelin using both power and poetry to underline his gifts as a Liszt exponent’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Hamelin takes everything in his stride immaculately, whether it's the unfolding of the contrapuntal lines in the B-A-C-H Fantasy and Fugue or the fine-spun melodies of the Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, both superbly presented’ (The Guardian)

‘Even by Marc-André Hamelin's standards this Liszt recital is a towering achievement. In the Fantasy and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H the opening idea emerges as if from a cloud of sulphur and, while Hamelin's technique is superhuman and magisterial, there is never a question of virtuosity for its own sake … in short, this is a pianist to trump all aces. Hyperion's sound and presentation are as immaculate as ever’ (Gramophone)

‘Hough transforms the rumbling, chromatic bass line [Ballade No 2] into an almost terrifyingly atmospheric setting’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘[A] beautifully rendered collection … the wonderful refinement and quiet poetry of his playing is a constant joy. A highly distinguished disc’ (The Guardian)