‘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

‘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

‘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

‘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)

‘[Ohlsson] has power and agility in reserve, which means that he can take fences in his stride that find others huffing and blowing … nor is Ohlsson afraid of plain speaking, so that the evident care he lavishes on the music never crosses the border into mannerism and the long lines of quasi-symphonic thought are never broken. The same goes for the Rhapsodies, which are as fully developed and as non-rhapsodic as movements from the piano sonatas that Brahms seemingly never composed after the age of 20. Not for a moment did I feel I was in anything but the safest of Brahmsian hands. All this is indeed mightily impressive, and I would welcome this disc into my library with open arms’ (Gramophone)

‘All of you pipe organ cognoscenti out there that always enjoy listening, either 'live' or through recordings, to the instrument and not only for the music written for it but also because of its highly distinctive sonic qualities, will really find many delights in this new recording by organist Christopher Herrick. And there's even something here for those of you who consider the pipe organ to be too much of a liturgical instrument. One go-through of this recording may convince you to reconsider that opinion … highly recommended to any and all pipe organ music enthusiasts!’ (Classical Music Sentinel)

‘Stephen Hough brings his habitual cool authority to bear on these emotionally superheated pieces, and the results are very satisfying … improvisational and intermittently hurtling, the first movement [of the Fantasie] has a nobility which segues gracefully into the serene singing middle movement, with its alternating baritone and soprano voices. In the finale Hough deploys some gorgeous effects, before bringing us gravely home’ (International Piano)» More

‘Performer, teacher and promoter—Laurence Perkins was ideally placed to have created this anthology with ‘the bassoon leading a musical journey through the twentieth century’, as is confirmed over almost two and a half hours of often unfamiliar but always worthwhile music … an engaging guide throughout, Perkins gets sterling support from a wealth of fine musicians and ensembles. His booklet notes, setting each work in the context of relevant world events, are a quirkily perceptive enhancement of this enterprising and wholly recommendable project’ (Gramophone)