Stephen Hough

“Isserlis and Hough are perfectly matched here, offering poetic, tender and generous spirited music-making. Both have a distinctive luminescence of tone, enabling them to place emphasis on beauty, intimacy and phrasing that really speaks” Classic FM Magazine

“Deeply considered, immensely satisfying accounts. Isserlis and Hough make a formidable team” Gramophone Magazine

“Stephen Hough is on superlative form on this exceptionally fine disc. Schumann’s Fantasy, one of the masterpieces of early Romanticism, is far from easy to bring off, technically and — even more — interpretatively, not least the magnificent yet elusive opening movement, but Hough’s sense of both large-scale form and intimate detail is unerring. The huge spread of the scherzo's chords has no terrors for him, and the adagio’s deep communings are beautifully realised. No less satisfying is his account of the Davidsbündler dances, that subtle monument to Schumann’s rhythmic and harmonic originality.” Sunday Times, 12th July 2009 ****

“Full of mercurial imagination and multifaceted storytelling. Hough's Schumann is an absolute treat. He can infuse even a single sustained chord with a wealth of meanings. Remarkable.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2009 *****

“Poulenc's Sextet… is instantly recognisable. …his typical mix of popular idioms, smoky tunes and perfumed harmony are all there in this cheeky piece. Stephen Hough joins the wind-players for a spry performance that keeps things bubbling along, rising to the romantic heights but also keeping them in check, neatly pricking any balloon of emotion that might risk becoming too inflated.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2010

“Though labelled as "Stephen Hough in recital", this is in fact a studio-made recording, though based on a recital that Hough toured in the first half of last year. It is a typically thoughtful piece of programme building, which Hough describes as "two highly contrasting mini-recitals". Works dominated by variation form - the Mendelssohn, the Beethoven sonata - are set again a collection of pieces built around the waltz, beginning with Weber and ending with Liszt's Valse Oubliée No 1 and first Mephisto Waltz, as well as an arrangement of Hough's own, and taking in examples by Chopin, Saint-Saëns, Chabrier and Debussy en route. The selection of works highlights different aspects of Hough's own versatile pianism, too. His clear-sighted path through both the Mendelssohn and Beethoven, every detail perfectly placed, belies the charm he brings to the bravura glitter of the Weber, the subtle ambiguities of Debussy's La Plus que Lente, and the more insidious allure of the Liszt. It's a beautifully accomplished sequence.” The Guardian, 6th March 2009 ****

“The Mendelssohn Variations come over as truly 'sérieuses', on a par with anything by his friend Schumann, thanks to Hough's vivid characterisation and dramatic flair. And if the 'Arietta' of the Beethoven Sonata does not quite reach this level, it is partly because an over-brightness in the treble lends a somewhat strenuous edge to some of the loudest passages. But Hough's control of the different stands is little short of miraculous.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2009 ****

“…(what magically hushed pianissimos) and masterly pedalling… each element adjusted to each composer yet all unmistakably Stephen Hough - vintage Hough at that, for here is a pianist at the height of his powers. The "second half" is devoted to waltz time, beginning with Weber's pioneering Invitation (1819)... Hough's is the finest performance I have ever heard... exuberant, seductive and scintillating by turns with the repeats (all are given) subtly varied second time round. A great piano recording and front runner for instrumental disc of the year.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2009

“The menu for this sumptuous banquet, with its tasty hors d'oeuvre, substantial classic dish as the main course followed by a variety of unexpected and nourishing desserts, is perfectly balanced – enough to fill you without being bloated, and nothing that is hard to chew or liable to give you indigestion. But it is the different wines accompanying each course that make this meal special, that is to say the discriminating premier cru tone, touch (what magically hushed pianissimos) and masterly pedalling to which the diners are treated, each element adjusted to each composer yet all unmistakably Stephen Hough – vintage Hough at that, for here is a pianist at the height of his powers.
This is the sort of programme and style of playing redolent of the so-called Golden Age of Rachmaninov, Hofmann, Godowsky, Cortot et al but which, in this earnest urtext era, is encountered all too infrequently. The Mendelssohn (with some seriously brisk tempi – try variations Nos 8 and 9) and a taut, crisply articulated account of Beethoven's Op 111 explore two aspects of variation form.
The 'second half' is devoted to waltz time, beginning with Weber's pioneering Invitation (1819), the earliest work in this recital. For some unaccountable reason it is rarely heard in its original form these days. Hough's is at his finest – exuberant, seductive and scintillating by turns with the repeats (all are given) subtly varied second time round. After two delectably suave Chopin waltzes, Hough offers three contrasted Gallic takes on 3/4 time, imbuing each with the kind of affection and charm for which Cherkassky was famous. After this he cleverly takes us gently by the ear via Liszt's nostalgic Valseoubliée No 1 to the pianistic diablerie of his Mephisto Waltz No 1. Rounding off this masterclass is Hough's own witty transformation of Waltzing Matilda from its normal duple time to triple time. A great piano recording.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Here’s another winning, imaginatively conceived disc from Britain’s finest pianist … It is unexpected and delightful programme-building. Prized for his pianism, Hough is also a superb Mozartian. He lends these Fantasias an almost Beethovenian weight and depth of expression … Hough’s playing is dazzling throughout” Sunday Times

“There are all too few pianists with the equivalent of Hough’s three Michelin stars … Opening with two of Mozart’s solo masterpieces, the ear is welcomed into an intimate, pellucid sound world with a sophistcated grading of dynamics … [Liszt-Busoni Fantasy on Non piu andrai] provides a hair-raising bravura display that deserves to be heard more often. At least, when played like this” Gramophone Magazine

“A bold and dramatic account of Mozart's K475C minor Fantasia opens this memorable and imaginatively devised recital.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2008 *****

“Opening with two of Mozart's solo masterpieces, the ear is welcomed into an intimate, pellucid sound world with a sophisticated grading of dynamics. Hough plays with what used to be called 'a quiet hand', particularly effective in the first movement of the B flat major Sonata in which he finds an unexpected melancholy amid the music's basically optimistic character.
After the dramatic second (earlier) C minor Fantasia completed by Stadler, and Cramer's attractive Etude, Op 103 No 6, we seem to be listening to a different pianist who now relishes the delicate, perfumed harmonies of Friedman's Menuetto transcription. In the same vein, but imbued with witty Poulencian devices, Hough the pianist-composer reminds us how important charm is to the pianist's arsenal. Again, the pianist changes. This time we hear a barn-storming virtuoso in the Liszt-Busoni Fantasy on 'Non più andrai' and 'Voi che sapete' from The Marriageof Figaro. More fragmentary than the better- known Don Giovanni Fantasy and not quite as effective, it nevertheless provides a hair-raising bravura display that deserves to be heard more often. At least, when played like this.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“George Tsontakis's Man of Sorrows is a six-movement mediation of nearly 40 minutes' duration on Christ's crucifixion. Brilliantly written for the keyboard and scintillatingly orchestrated, it reminded me of Messiaen's Turangalîla… The piece if superbly played and recorded, patently sincere and easily assimilable.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2007 ****

‘I cannot imagine many piano lovers failing to fall for this delectable and all-too-brief collection of impressions, portraits and postcards. If you are not drawn to the imaginative programme of the familiar, the brand new and the entirely unknown, then the elegant, eloquent playing of this master pianist will surely seduce you … we are treated to some of the loveliest pianissimos and and delicate shadings you’ll hear, familiar from Hough’s earlier Piano Albums and similar in his complete empathy with this kind of repertoire … Hough’s own On Falla has an authentic ring that should provide him with a blistering encore for years to come … the piano sound (Andrew Keener and Simon Eadon) is as you would expect from Hyperion’s dream team’ (Gramophone)

“Steven Isserlis and Stephen Hough open with a beginners' open-string solo (Ludwig Lebell's Berceuse orientale) and continue with increasingly challenging material that culminates in Gaspar Cassadó's bravura Requiebros. The contemporary selections are especially satisfying. Gavin Bryars's With Miriam by the River pays homage to the composer's cello-playing mother in music of quiet, lyrical intensity. Howard Blake's Archangel's Lullaby, written to celebrate the birth of Isserlis's son Gabriel, has a Fauré-like sensibility... Hough's Angelic Song (yet another gift to Gabriel Isserlis) is a ravishingly simple meditation. Isserlis père's own The Haunted House may not merit repeated hearings but its silliness is sure to provide a chuckle or two, aided by Simon Callow's sly narration, and the cello's role a sound-effects machine could motivate many youngsters to pick up instrument. Delightful.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2006