Mendelssohn: Clarinet Sonata in E flat major

“I have heard more fiery accounts of the F minor sonata’s first movement, but none that bring out so well its profound sadness. The 15-year-old Mendelssohn’s E flat sonata is a delightful discovery: any danger of excessive blandness is banished by Johnson’s beautiful phrasing and rich colours, and by Lenehan’s powerful playing.” Sunday Times, 22nd April 2012

“John Lenehan [is] as much a master of magisterial might as he is of exquisite delicacy. Johnson's tonal range encompasses similar mutations of dynamic colour too...Their grip on rhythm and pulse is unequivocal, artistic rapport extraordinarily close. Clearly evident in Nimbus's just balance and sound is also a joint artistic integrity that doesn't waver even when encompassing the ambitions of a 15-year-old Mendelssohn.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2012

“Brahms's elusive pronouncements about tempo variation have encouraged her into a good deal of rhythmic elasticity, sounding mostly idiomatic and spontaneous but just occasoinally forced and artificial. John Lenehan matches Johnson's rhythmic inflections, but doesn't always succeed in finding sonorities and phrasing on a par with her inward quiet playing” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 ****

“no one is likely to be disappointed by any of the ingredients - music, performances, audio quality - of this new release...There’s natural and instinctive responsiveness to each other. This offers, for example, a controlled yet farm-fresh account of the Brahms Sonatas, magisterially articulated and elegantly paced.” MusicWeb International, July 2012

“[The Viola Sonata] is thoughtfully and sensitively played by Hariolf Schlichtig...[The Clarinet Sonata] has a Weberian brilliance that was part of [Mendelssohn's] own musical make-up...It is a lively piece, played with a somewhat hard tone but the right sense of dash by Eduard Brunner and Adrian Oetiker.” International Record Review, January 2011

“Fascinating early chamber works played with dexterity on period instruments” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 ****

“I have heard this ensemble quite often, and apart from its technical assurance and musical persuasiveness the creativity of its programming belongs to its strengths. That is also the case here, as they deliver an eloquent and convincing plea for lesser-known fruits of Mendelssohn's youth.” MusicWeb International, December 2012