‘This delightful disc is a treasure chest of lesser-known works given beautifully attentive performances from the acclaimed young pianist Nicolas Namoradze’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘El León de Oro have already impressed with their earlier initial release: Amarae Morti (Hyperion CDA68279). Formidable as Peter Phillips’ recordings with his own Tallis Scholars are … his work with these Spanish singers is equally impressive. Not too long ago, Spanish choirs singing their own music left something to be desired; this recording offers one of several reasons why that’s no longer the case. Peter Phillips, as honorary director, has the lion’s share of this new recording and contributes the notes, with their principal director, Marco Antonio García de Paz, rounding the programme off with four excerpts from Guerrero’s Canciones y villanescas espirituales (Venice, 1589)’ (MusicWeb International)

‘Guillaume de Machaut (c1300-77) took special care for the preservation of his output, having his collected works copied into a series of lavish presentation manuscripts—the vocal contents of which the Orlando Consort have been steadily recording for Hyperion since 2012 … most exciting is the final motet Tant doucement m’ont attrait in which, over a slow bass line, the top parts challenge and dodge one another at the double’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘To call this a concept album would be to diminish its power and timeliness. It is both a meditation on the fragility of life and a Bergmanesque game of chess with Death, for which Hough has laid out his pieces and pawns in a masterstroke of programming … there is a poised and noble feel to Hough’s Chopin, subtly embellished as it is with effortless rubatos. Listen to the Trio section of the Scherzo for a masterclass in unselfconscious artistry. Or marvel at the natural flowing tempo for the Funeral March, supporting a cinematographic contrast of ever more invasive death knells and subdued mourning … two of Hough’s own arrangements, of a Korean traditional song and of Gounod/Bach, are at once transcendental and defiant: checkmate Death’ (Gramophone)

‘A fine choice for Machaut newcomers and enthusiasts alike; it brings Machaut's music alive’ (AllMusic, USA)

‘As well as matching the holy with the worldly, Kolesnikov performs Bach’s masterpiece with all the precision of a luxury Swiss watch, combining a powerful inner passion and heightened meditative power … the sound, warm and detailed, is entirely sympathetic to Bach’s monumental courage and ambition’ (Morning Star)

„[Konzertetüde Nr. 2] Das ist wohl so ziemlich das Nonplusultra einer Bravourfantasie, die York Bowen da komponiert und Nicolas Namoradze auf die Tasten gezaubert hat. Alles, was man sich an brillantem Klavierspiel vorstellen kann, wird hier aufgefahren, aber in einer verwegenen Kreuzung der Genres: Denn Bowen lässt die ausufernden Passionen einer romantischen Rhapsodie auf die Unterhaltungskunst der Music Hall prallen: Manchmal klingt es wie der Refrain eines Revuesongs, der zum Mitschunkeln einlädt. Aber was mutet er seinen Interpreten pianistisch zu! Er lässt sie die gesamte Küstenbreite der Klaviatur durchpflügen! Wenn Nicolas Namoradze nicht gerade den Beweis geliefert hätte, müsste man sich fragen, ob es überhaupt jemanden gibt, der so etwas spielen kann, ohne von der Notenlawine begraben zu werden. Aber Namoradze gelingt es nicht nur, den Klaviertumult zu bändigen. Er spielt Bowens Second Concert Study gestochen scharf, mit unwiderstehlichem Schwung und der richtigen Prise Ironie, die es braucht, um diese exaltierte Musik ernst und doch nicht zu ernst zu nehmen“ (SWR2, Germany)

‘No praise is too high for Howard Shelley’s virtuosity and sensitivity (backed to the hilt by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) nor his dedication in bringing to such vivid and persuasive life these two byways of the Piano Concerto repertoire’ (colinscolumn.com)» More

‘The Fragments from Hans Andersen are delightfully intimate character sketches and mood pieces illustrating the Danish writer's stories … compelling playing from Namoradze, from the simplicity of the Andersen fragments to the demands of the studies’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Every Stephen Hough album is an event because, unlike most pianists, the virtuosity and poetry of his playing is only the starting point of his art, not its conclusion’ (Daily Mail)» More

«Avec Pavel Kolesnikov, l’édifice se construit peu à peu, de l’aria initiale très ornementée, qui provient du Klavierbüchlein d’Anna Magdalena Bach, jusqu’à sa reprise tout au bout de ce monument intense, dont la progression atteint un niveau de diversité et de concentration qui demande de l’interprète un réel engagement. Cette qualité ne fait pas défaut à Kolesnikov, tant dans le domaine de la narration que de l’esthétisme, avec une émotion retenue, mais authentique, dans un contexte qui ne laisse jamais la place aux débordements ni à une dynamique qui serait ostentatoire. Pourtant, l’éloquence est présente dès la première variation, une éloquence fraîche et légère, nourrie de cet esprit engagé que Kolesnikov va déployer au fil des séquences … Pavel Kolesnikov vient s’inscrire parmi les versions pour piano de premier rang de cette partition géniale, qu’il sert avec une noble fluidité et une science de la présence sonore, très bien servie par une acoustique en phase avec son intention profonde, celle d’un échange, qui, au-delà de celui qui est prévu avec Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, est consommé avec le compositeur lui-même» (Crescendo Magazine, Belgium)

‘The result is, by turns, delightful and absorbing. A monophonic ballade such as 'Dame, se vous m’estes lonteinne' (Lady, even though you are far away from me) is so tuneful that I found myself beginning to hum along when it was only halfway done. It helps that significant stretches of the melody get repeated, consistent with the structure of the ballade and other 'fixed' poetic forms of Machaut’s time. The countertenor, Matthew Venner, has a lovely smooth sound, and it helps that the two tenors have highly contrasting vocal qualities, enabling one to pick out the different melodic lines with ease … a fascinating trip through 14th-century France’ (The Arts Fuse, USA)