Editor’s Choice – Vocal Section

“… Prospective purchasers can rest assured that Sarah Connolly is at her characteristically supple, golden-toned and intelligent best throughout, and she enjoys impeccable support from Joseph Middleton. Chandos’s sound and presentation are likewise beyond reproach, and it all adds up to a disc that I have not the slightest doubt will give enormous satisfaction for many moons to come.”

Editor’s Choice – Vocal Section

“… Perfectly balanced and beautifully recorded, this is another outstanding release from Lionel Meunier and his team.”

“…What makes Denoth’s offering a must-have is a musical sensitivity exemplified as much by his curation as by his playing.”

“… This is a fine solo disc debut and one that offers genuine and quality alternative to the existing pile.”

“The more I continued listening to this recital, the more I felt that it was one of the finest all-Liszt discs I had heard for a very long time. Produced by the pianist himself, it is also very well recorded … This is Vol 49 of Naxos’s Liszt Complete Piano Music and must count among the most successful of the series, not merely because of the Filipec but because of the felicitous programme …”

“… one has to admire the natural freedom of Taylor’s playing in both composers … this disc is an exhilarating vindication of the harpsichord as a solo instrument for music old and new.”

Editor’s Choice – Instrumental Section

“… listening delight from first note to last… this volume is another stepping stone towards what must surely end up as a major modern recording landmark in the Haydn discography.”

Editor’s Choice – Instrumental Section

“… Dunford is known for his sensitive, imaginative continuo work in ensembles … So, one might expect his solo playing to exhibit a certain expansiveness, theatricality even, or at least a liberal use of harmonic, melodic and rhythmic ornamentation. But no. What we get with Dunford’s Bach is instead a certain purity, a relatively unadorned line which assimilates articulation in favour of flow and clarity. The expression - of form or emotion – is all in the phrasing, which relies on the art of silence as much as a subtle rubato. It’s quite beautiful and refreshing, as though excrescences have been shorn away to reveal the classical architecture underneath…”

“…This is one of the best things I’ve yet heard from the Busch in their evolving Dvorak series, naturally recorded, with first-rate notes from Jan Smaczny.”

“… Jurowski knows the score well (he’s conducted it several times in the theatre) and he draws outstanding playing from the orchestra. There’s a wealth of great music here …”

“…There’s a mercurial quality in Wang’s playing that gives her performance of the First Concerto a markedly choreographic feeling – not balletic, exactly, but sculptural and mobile… The BBC Philharmonic have gone from strength to strength in this series. They are superb, idiomatic partners for Wang in the concertos and have the opportunity for their own virtuoso display in the Variaciones concertantes (1953)… the recorded sound is spectacular.”

“… His [Blackford] writing is thematically concentrated, notably evocative and clearly heartfelt. It is close to Szymanowski in sound and in its solutions in pitting solo violin sound against a lustrous orchestra in this case the Czech Philharmonic, against which Waley-Cohen’s violin tone is characteristically strong and steely, notably in the double-stopped cadenza over a drone in ‘The Mourner’ …”

“… Wilson’s performance with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is most accomplished … the biggest testament to Bennett’s prowess as a composer – is the fact that whether he’s flexing his intellectual muscle in the Second Symphony, schmoozing in the Sax Concerto’s slow movement or simply having a good time in the Partita, this is unmistakably the work of the same composer.”

“… Aspromonte brings an impressive range of vocal colour to the task, on full display at moments such as the highly dramatic reading of the opening strophe of the prologue to Cesti’s L’Argia. While the bright silvery tones of her upper register are prominent features, there is also much expressive use of darker and warmer tones in these fluid and flexible accounts, packed with sensitive detail, and alive to the essential unity of words, music and meaning.”

“… it’s the choruses and the dances that provide the most appealing music, and the Purcell Choir and Orfeo Orchestra under György Vashegyi do them proud… The scoring throughout is delightful … a winner.”

“… well worth hearing.”