‘This beguiling sequence of transcriptions was Hewitt’s lockdown project. Using a broad conception of a ‘love song’, she is able to include her own impressive arrangement of the Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony (a love song to his wife) with Schubert’s An die Musik (a love song to Music) in Gerald Moore’s memorable recreation and Siloti’s version of Grainger’s Irish Tune from County Derry. Each of the 23 is beautiful, and the whole has a gentle, even religious solemnity.’ (The Sunday Times)

‘I’ve always admired Mahan Esfahani as one of the finest keyboard players of his generation. This latest recording in his Bach solo keyboard cycle, the Six Partitas published as Clavier-Übung I, once again reasserts 'his interpretive flair, expressive freedom and meticulous scholarship' … these are compelling and imaginative readings, both bold and convincing, captured in superb sound. Microphone placement is ideal. Esfahani has written his own scholarly liner notes in which he discusses the texts he’s used and his personal choices’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘Paderewski’s Polish Fantasy gets a tremendous performance … Jonathan Plowright plays it so well you’re almost convinced that George Bernard Shaw might have been wrong about Paderewski the pianist-composer when he wrote, ‘Paderewski stands higher as a player than he does as a composer; and consequently his playing of his own works is a waste of his finest powers.’ Łukasz Borowicz conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the almost-forgotten piano concerto by Paderewski’s younger Polish contemporary Jerzy Gablenz is a worthwhile addition to the Hyperion label’s Romantic Piano Concerto series. Who knew there’d ever be 83 volumes? And counting’ (BBC Record Review)

‘This new release does not disappoint, as I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear … a really elegant and classy player: it’s such a refined sound, and [Shelley] employs so many ranges of touch in his playing, with great clarity which is so necessary for Mendelssohn’s music. He never makes Mendelssohn sound cloying and I think that’s a great achievement … he’s just a natural Mendelssohn player, [and] we’re lucky to have this’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Cinquecento is a group of six men who have been mostly devoting themselves for a number of years to rare Renaissance repertoire. Isaac has often been recorded in recent times but this, his longest and most demanding mass, is, I believe, heard here for the first time … [Sive vivamus] is a short motet but one I have returned to a few times. It begins homophonically and then falls into delicious rolling counterpoint … Parce, Domine, populo tuo is a simple, short and beautiful motet in four parts … [Judaea et Jerusalem] makes a wonderful ending to the disc … the booklet is up to Hyperion’s normal excellent standard with all texts given in clear translations. The recording is rather close but there is a sense of the lovely seventeenth century Charterhouse complex in which the group was luckily enough to able to record’ (MusicWeb International)» More

„Ibragimovas stets leichtes, luftig klingendes Spiel ist fern aller Kraft- und Showgeigerei, sodass 'ihr' Paganini gleichsam nie vordergründig posiert oder banal mit leerer Technik protzt. Vielmehr entsteht so etwas wie Intimität zwischen der Spielerin und ihrem Instrument im Geiste des Ausreizens, Zuspitzens, Pointierens und präzise Konturierens. Da hilft Ibragimovas Erfahrung mit alter Musik ebenso wie ihr souveräner Umgang mit neuesten Kreationen … die Unverwechselbarkeit dessen, was das Wesen der Geige als einzigartigem Klangereignis ausmacht in allen Facetten, das hat Paganini exemplarisch entfaltet. Alina Ibragimova verdeutlicht das so leichtfüßig wie unmissverständlich“ (Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany)

‘Mr Esfahani does not slavishly follow historical performance practice creeds. Bach’s six keyboard partitas are essentially suites of 18th-century dance forms with distinctive rhythms, each preceded by an introduction. Mr Esfahani renders them with super-charged technical flair and a point of view. In the opening Toccata of the sixth partita, his tempo is slower than most, but the momentum never sags, and his playing is expressive. His jubilant take on the Capriccio of the second partita captures the maniacal quality in much of Bach’s most virtuosic writing. The harpsichordist’s performance of the third partita goes from strength to strength: touchingly wistful in the Allemande, stately in the Sarabande and vibrant in the Burlesca, where imaginative registration choices for some chords accent the section’s jaunty, humorous character … [Esfahani] invariably proves stimulating’ (Wall Street Journal)

‘The six pan-European singers of Cinquecento spin Isaac's lines with real beauty and subtlety of phrasing, bringing a lustrous glow to the polyphony … the recording places them perfectly in the acoustic as well. Timeless polyphony’ (BBC Record Review)» More

„Fast anderthalb Jahrzehnte schon setzt sich das London Haydn Quartet mit den Werkes des Namensgebers auf Tonträger auseinander. Dies geschieht auf eine Weise, die immer wieder verblüfft: Statt das Bewährte auf die mit Darmsaiten bespannten Instrumente zu übertragen, werden die Originalitäten der Kompositionen hervorgeholt. Dabei mutet der Klang des Ensembles offener, aber eben weniger abgerundet an; gewonnen wird dadurch eine weitaus stärkere Charakterisierung des Individuellen … Emotionen werden hier dennoch nicht unter einer gepuderten Perücke versteckt; sie werden eben beherrscht und lassen dann auch Kontraste im Detail zu, bis hin zu nahe liegenden volksmusikalischen Allusionen (Nr. 3) oder eigenartigen Farbwirkungen unterschiedlicher Harmonien (Nr. 4)“ (HörBar, Germany)» More

‘The ideal introduction to Isaac’s music. Not only is the Wohlauff Mass one of his most imposing and sonically splendid settings, as David J Burn notes in the booklet—itself well up to Hyperion’s high standards—the shorter works also add to the value of this very welcome release. As for the performances, I need add little to the praise of Cinquecento—see Dominy Clements’ review of their Palestrina [CDA68284]—while the recording, which I downloaded in 24/96 format, is equally first-rate’ (MusicWeb International)

«Le Québécois nous en offre une interprétation comme décantée: sa technique surnaturelle envoûte avant d'intimi der, suggère au lieu d'impressionner, animée par un esprit d'improvisation—à moins qu'il ne s'agisse d'une illusion supplémentaire?—octroyant à ces grappes de notes, clinquantes sous d'autres doigts, la valeur d'un métal précieux. Hamelin n'a pas une palette à chaque main, mais une palette par doigt: écoutez ces trémolos à fleur de touche (Don Pasquale), ces sons filés à la Caballé (mort de Norma), ces flots de mélodies (Moïse) et autres tempêtes d'octaves (Ernani)!» (Classica, France)

‘Released to celebrate the British composer’s 70th birthday, this recording surveys Cecilia McDowall’s substantial choral output, most of it written in the past two decades. She could scarcely have a better group to sing it than Stephen Layton’s Trinity College Choir’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More