‘Power and Crawford-Phillips leave us in no doubt of the stature of this final masterpiece … one of Power's most compelling recordings yet for Hyperion’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Lawrence Power and Simon Crawford-Phillips embark on a musical narrative of epic proportions … a performance that shows great insight and poignancy. Framing the Sonata on this beautifully recorded disc are two extraordinarily resourceful transcriptions for viola and piano made by two of Shostakovich's contemporaries. The highest compliment that can be paid to the duo's strongly characterised performances of the Op 34 Seven Preludes is that the music sounds as if it were made for these instruments’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Ever since Lawrence Power emerged several years ago as one of the world's finest exponents of the viola I have wanted him to record Shostakovich's masterly viola sonata, his last completed work. This new recording fulfils all of my expectations … such is the extraordinary nature of this sonata that it does not respond to any kind of superficial treatment, and Power's performance is, on balance, the most penetrating I have ever heard’ (International Record Review)

‘The performance of the Piano Quintet is no less enthralling, Marc-André Hamelin's supremely intelligent chamber music playing providing an admirable foil to the subtle textures conjured by the string players’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Throughout [the Takács Quartet] bring great clarity and a subtle range of colour … the balance is unfailingly finely considered, and they’re beautifully recorded’ (Gramophone)

‘A recording to cherish then from a trio of musicians who, from one recording to the next have always played to the highest standards’ (Classical Music Sentinel)

‘This isn't the first CD to group Shostakovich's two piano trios with his late Romances to poems by Alexander Blok but, for the freshness and excellence in every aspect of performance and production, it would be my pick’ (Gramophone)

‘One might be forgiven for wondering whether the market for this particular repertory has already reached saturation point. Fortunately such concerns are tempered when considering The Florestan Trio's hugely impressive track record and their unwavering capacity to shed new light on familiar repertory … the Florestans fully capture the youthful adour and impetuosity of the First Trio. They are in equally inspired form in the Seven Blok Romances providing mesmerising and powerfully etched accompaniments to Susan Gritton's achingly beautiful singing’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘The Florestan Trio's new Hyperion recording of these works could not be bettered … Marwood's opening ghostly harmonics lure us into the Second Trio with promises of emotional intensity that do not let up until the final chord has had its say’ (The New Zealand Herald)

‘Usually heard in 19th-century repertoire, the Trio close their recording career with typical panache, playing chamber pieces by Shostakovich. Superb playing throughout; they will be missed’ (The Times)

‘The Florestans dig deep to reveal the secrets of this bleak and deeply moving music’ (The Sunday Times)

‘The Florestan Trio performs with terrific presence, precision, immediacy and palpable atmosphere. They delve beneath the surface to find and project the nuances of expression that lend these works their special flavour of soul searching. Even the First Trio—a work dedicated to one of Shostakovich’s loves, Tatyana Glivenko—seems to inhabit a world coloured more by nostalgia and anxiety than out-and-out ardour. In the Second Trio these feelings are intensified even further’ (The Daily Telegraph)