The Strad Recommends

“...A powerful, strongly performed recital from an outstanding duo ...”

“...These are wholesome, red-blooded performances, direct and deeply satisfying, with no lack of imagination ... Little’s rapport with the superb Piers Lane strikes home right from the sonata’s passionate opening. As a team they pull out whatever stops are necessary ... a fine balance of interpretative qualities and is much to be recommended...”

“... As the recordings are uniformly excellent, supporters of Little and Lane can feel free to invest, knowing that they have acquired five performances of quality. “ ****

“... The admirable British violinist Tasmin Little, impeccably partnered by the pianist Piers Lane, also explores Szymanowski on a fine recital recording that cannily places his music next to Franck’s celebrated Sonata in A and Fauré’s lovely Romance. How orderly, polite and restrained the latter two pieces sound when set against Szymanowski’s extraordinarily wild Notturno e Tarantella ... In the latter work, you feel the 22-year-old Pole slipping off the inherited shackles of French and German romanticism and finding his own voice and passion for the first time. Despite being not Polish, French or German, Little and Lane play it superbly.”   ****

“...Little is one of the most open-hearted players around, with a watertight virtuosity to match. These are direct and generous performances to savour.”  ****

“... César Franck’s Sonata, full of gorgeous tunes, receives a performance of passion and insight, it alone is worth the price of this disc. The earliest piece, Fauré’s Romance, has a suitably romantic sweep ... As do three interesting pieces by the Polish composer Szymanowski, including a Sonata and a Romance that are well worth getting to know ...” ****