*** Good Album

“… acquire this record – you will never regret it, and I doubt you will ever hear a finer account of the Walton.” *****

“…This is a wonderful partnership between Laura van der Heijden, the BBCSSO and Mr Wigglesworth. She is a marvellously lyrical player capable of drawing out long phrased singing melodies. He proves himself a gifted concerto consort never letting the dynamic players of the orchestra overpower her. The sound and the accompanying notes are everything we have come to expect of Chandos.”

“… As a showcase for the excellence of Laura van der Heijden as all-round fine musician this is a wholly enjoyable disc…”

Performance ****      Recording *****

“…Van der Heijden is a songful, thrillingly airborne soloist …”

“…Earth (track 9) possesses fitting verve and ferocity to command the listener’s attention. Sea (track 10), with its open harmonies and strong presence from the low strings, recreate the cavernous experience of being underwater, and the final section is an impressive display of sweeping sonority. Air (track 11) shows France-Hoad’s knack for creative orchestration. The movement relies on a motif of meandering, slithering lines between the cello, winds, and strings; the excitement comes from interweaving which disorients and reorients the listener… the movement as a whole embraces an exciting, dynamic world of chaos…”

Editor’s Choice – Orchestral Section

“…Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s Earth, Sea, Air was written for van der Heijden … It’s a mighty, majestic, gripping work; full of theatre, colour and inventive textures and rhythmic writing … a brilliant vehicle for van der Heijden’s ability to sing, declaim and glitter. It’s also a score that demands, and here gets, a hand-in-glove relationship with the orchestra, which itself is very much the cellist’s equal partner. The impression is of a major new addition to the canon…”

The Strad Recommends

“Superbly intense readings from a young British cellist forging her own path.”