Busoni: Transcription of Bach's Partita BWV 1004: Chaconne

“Kempf follows [Bach's] text faithfully, allowing each variation to shape the movement without sounding forced...[He] shows an impressive range of organ-like colour along with a pointillism that suits quick passages well...The scene of 'Shrove-Tide Fair' is a roller-coaster ride under Kempff's fingers, driven by a motoric energy that many pianists would find difficult to sustain over eight-and-a-half minutes.” International Record Review, April 2011

“this is a colourful and enjoyable account [of Petrushka], well-characterised and full of dynamic contrast...fans of Kempf need have no qualms about acquiring this release.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2011 ****

“In Rachmaninov's Corelli Variations, Kempf distinguishes himself for assiduous, well-integrated tempo relationships between movements, and the easy command and intelligent, symphonically orientated delineation with which he shapes the composer's thick textures...Kempf's glittering technique, supple touch and extroverted demeanour in Stravinsky's Three Movements from Petrushka bring out the music's balletic roots” Gramophone Magazine, July 2011

“Kempf opens with a beautifully-voiced and judiciously-paced view of Rachmaninov's Variations...he finds a meltingly silvery touch for the Ravel Valses (exquisite) before a return to the Russian repertoire that he plays so well, leaving us, thrillingly, in no doubt that the piano is a percussive instrument.” Classic FM Magazine, July 2011 ****

“Kempf’s command of the immense pianistic range to be found in Rachmaninov’s keyboard music clearly has few equals, and this set delivers at a stroke several jaw-dropping performances” london24.com, 17th June 2011

“he brings his natural dynamism and considerable talent to bear. Particularly impressive is his signature opener, the limpid Adagio from Marcello's Concerto No 3.” The Independent, 19th May 2012

“Both the Rachmaninov C sharp minor Prelude and Schumann/Liszt 'Widmung' feature lovely interweaving between melody and accompaniment...Rhodes obviously has it in him to be a persuasive Beethoven interpreter. Whatever persona Rhodes chooses to cultivate in terms of presentation, he certainly is a serious musician.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2012

“He's at his best when the music is most abstract. In the Bach-Busoni Chaconne he grips the polyphony with a probing intensity, a manner revisted in miniature in the grave, brittle dance of the Marcello-Bach Adagio...Rachmaninov's C sharp minor Prelude is convincingly shaped as a crescendo in anguish, while the Schumann-Liszt Widmung becomes rapture personified.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 ***

“Besides his self-evidently first-rate technique, Pöntinen is an expressive player with an impressive stock of tone gradations at his disposal.” MusicWeb International, July 2012

“One is bound to look for performances on this debut CD that "go to extremes", but Rhodes proves to be a genuinely subtle artist. The stormy first movement of Beethoven's E minor Sonata is, if anything, too understated; the long lyrical second movement, so much harder to bring off, actually works better. Chopin's Fourth Ballade is beautifully shaped and the Bach/Busoni Chaconne is grand and sensitive at once.” The Telegraph, 18th February 2009

“…Rhodes is a fine musician. His performance of Bach's fifth French Suite is a delight, with the pace measured, a warm and bell-like tone throughout, and the ornamentation nicely controlled.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2009 ***

“The dance pulse of Bach, declamatory drama of Beethoven and cantabile texture of Chopin are conveyed with conviction and dazzling technique.” Classic FM Magazine

“Sensitivity and thunder are his hallmarks” The Times

“Busoni always painted Bach with a well-loaded brush, so Baglini's sometimes indulgent gloss can reach overload. But whether luxuriously deep, glintingly magisterial or ethereally delicate, Baglini's sonorities compensate for any sins of addition.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2007 ***