'Playing and balance throughout are exemplary …a special laurel wreath should be placed on the brow of guest principal oboist Celine Moinet, whose phrasing of the tune at the start of the concerto is magical … [Pires] has the enviable ability to make everything sound fresh but natural, and her tone is enchanting' (BBC Music Magazine)

'As you might expect, Sir John brings his love of authentic performance into his approach—the LSO strings sound bright and breezy as they evoke Mendelssohn's Scotland in both the Scottish Symphony and his Hebrides Overture. Also featured on this release is Maria João Pires joining the LSO to play the Piano Concerto by Schumann—the inaugural concerto recording on the LSO Live label. The brilliant Portuguese pianist is on sparkling form, ranging from the intimate to the dazzlingly virtuosic' (Classic FM)

'In terms of sound, the balance is realistic on both, with much clarity and a battling edge to Mendelssohn’s dramatic tutti. Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Hebrides Overture must be one of the most thrilling ever recorded, adding volleys of sea-spray to well-navigated execution … the [Schumann Piano Concerto] performance’s highlight comes towards the close of the sprightly finale … that passage alone marks this out as a truly memorable performance. Incidentally, the Blu-ray disc includes, in addition to fine sound, crystal-clear video footage of the same concert performance' (Gramophone)

‘‘Gardiner reserved vibrato for the faster section [of Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage], which erupted with bubbling, vivacious energy … the fearsome power which Gardiner and the LSO wrought in the [Fifth Symphony’s] first movement’s development was carried over into the scherzo, instilling the latter with considerable vigour and weight … there was no mistaking the fervour and grandeur of the fugal development of the Lutheran chorale ‘Ein feste Burg’ in the finale, concluding the performance with impressive gravitas' (Classical Source)

'Felix Mendelssohn, the cosseted wunderkind celebrated for his elegance and limpidity, was remade as a Gothic hero in John Eliot Gardiner’s exhilarating performance of the Ruy Blas overture … the orchestral textures were clarified to startling effect.' (The Times)

'The overture to Ruy Blas was ebullient but nuanced … the LSO players rose to it all—this was no imitation period band, but a modern orchestra responding brilliantly and unapologetically to a famously demanding conductor' (The Guardian)

'The London Symphony performances, crisp and driving, are attractive and satisfying' (The New York Times)

‘Felix Mendelssohn doesn’t get enough credit for the tremendous craft that underlies his music. And musicians don’t get enough credit for the skill they have to use to make it sound pretty. So hats off to veteran British pianist Howard Shelley for making magic on the start of his Mendelssohn journey. His new album for Britain’s Hyperion label is Felix Mendelssohn, The Complete Solo Piano Music – 1, so there is going to be a lot more brilliant work to come.This album is a treat from beginning to end, with Shelley knowing exactly to turn from showman to gentle tone painter. This is a classic case of an iron fist in a velvet glove, rendering music with elegance and conviction’ (Musical Toronto, Canada)

‘I enjoyed listening to all these pieces, and thanks to Shelley’s exuberant pianism I am already looking forward to Volume Two’ (Financial Times)

‘The icing on the cake is that it is only volume one of a complete series. The Op 5 Capriccio is beautifully playful, revealed in astonishing, fluent playing and perfectly captured in Ben and Annabel Connellan's recording, while Shelley reveals the Op 6 Piano Sonata as a piece of real depth … a treasurable album’ (International Piano)

‘When Mendelssohn asks for Presto, Shelley takes him at his word, with a fleetness and control that command admiration, not to mention envy. He also brings a wide variety of dynamics and tone, well captured by the recording. I particularly liked the sparsity of his pedalling, leaving the composer's lines to do their work’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Fans of fireworks won't be disappointed, in either the opening Capriccio in F sharp minor or the astonishing bravura finale of the Sonata in E major, both the work of the teenage Mendelssohn. Shelley gives us a further glimpse of the restlessly romantic mind of this wunderkind in the cycle of seven Characterstücke before wrapping us in the warm, gemütlich embrace of Book 1 of the Songs without Words. With playing of this quality this is going to be a series to treasure’ (The Observer)