Bach, J S: Partita for solo violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV1004

“I find Busch's playing utterly compelling. As well as impeccable intonation, she sustains an eloquently punctuated and gently modulated dialogue, into which her listener is immediately drawn. Her spacious tempos seem chosen to convey the musical argument with cogency and expressive charm.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2013

“Busch brings a wide experience as a chamber and period-orchestra player as well as formidable technical and interpretative skills to these iconic works...Busch speaks directly through her instrument with a warmth and intelligence that engages and disarms.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2013

“His sell-out return to Wigmore Hall in April last year was as thrilling as everyone hoped. The evidence is here: opening with Bach's Partita No 2 in D minor for solo violin, the Soviet-born musician combines impeccable technique with a golden, powerful tone, muscular and sturdy but lithe too, without excessive ornament.” The Observer, 3rd February 2013

“Is Vengerov as good as he ever was? Time will tell. His Bach starts off tentative and effortful, before relaxing into the soulful Sarabanda and Ciaccona – the opposite of the fast, flashy style with which he previously dazzled...it’s only in the Wieniawski and Brahms encores that he switches on the gas.” Financial Times, 9th February 2013 ***

“Vengerov opened the recital with Bach’s D minor Partita. In a reading that’s one of the best out there – big-boned, justifiably confident and played with a swagger commensurate with this player’s talent. This is flawless violin playing – the double stops in the Corrente so easily achieved, the fourth movement’s Giga graceful and witty...Essential listening.” The Arts Desk, 16th February 2013

“He takes a while to warm up in the Bach Partita, and the opening Allemanda sounds cautious at first...The great final Chaconne has some awkward moments, not least in pacing and tonal firmness, though there are magical changes of colour. In the Beethoven there's more consistency...I imagine this was a thrilling concert.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2013 ***

“The playing throughout this disc is vastly sinuous; and though this may not be a seismic shift from his previous style, there is still a sense that he's shed the need to sound merely pretty in order to get closer to the scale and importance of the music.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2013

“the technical perfection he displays in is performance of Bach’s Second Partita surpasses most of those set down in the studio.” The Strad, April 2013

“[The Bach] doesn't quite work, and the sound is uneven, but the experiment is fascinating. Faure's Requiem, sensitively accompanied by the LSO Chamber Ensemble, is warmly performed, at once urgent and serene.” The Observer, 25th November 2012

“This remarkable, moving disc makes ingenious juxtapositions both vertically and horizontally...It is astonishing to hear the chaconne with the beautifully fitting chorale accompaniment Thoene has arranged.” Sunday Times, 16th December 2012

“it is a performance of extreme richness and opulence. Short's marvellously moulded phrases, long-drawn and exquisitely shaped...are vital elements in elevating this performance to the sublime. Not to be downplayed, however, is the exquisite singing of Tenebrae...In short, this is a devastatingly beautiful performance.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2013

“The playing of the London Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble and their leader Gordon Nikolitch and the singing of Tenebrae and the two soloists are all exemplary. The problems here are not mostly of execution but, on two fronts, of conception...Nikolitch's performances of the four dances from the D minor Partita are riveting” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 ***

“the performance of the Faure Requiem is outstanding, and very well recorded…Tenebrae is such an impressive vocal ensemble, and they avoid all the pitfalls of the cool, clean, clear school of chamber choir – full-blooded, passionate engagement with the dots and the texts, and the soloists are excellent as well. I’m pretty sure it’s a combination you won’t find anywhere else on disc.” CD Review, 5th January 2013

“This disc is a profoundly beautiful and supremely effective meditation on the theme of death and mourning...The singing of Tenebrae is marvellous here. Their blend is nothing short of sensational, and they fit the acoustic of St Giles’ Cripplegate as though it had been tailor made for them...perhaps the finest recorded performance of the Fauré Requiem I have come across...Short’s pacing of the work is masterful throughout” MusicWeb International, April 2013

“Pre-dating his ECM set by 20 years, Gidon Kremer's first recording of the solo Sonatas and Partitas exudes fireworks but often presses hard when the music is crying out to be caressed.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2013 ***

“It all makes for fascinating listening. Gluzman has an agile technique and tonal range that fit him well for the demands of the D minor Partita’s great chaconne and for the other difficulties in this music, but, more importantly, he projects both a sense of style and an interpretative personality that give his playing a magnetic presence.” The Telegraph, 17th August 2012 ****

“it's good to hear even a little sense of struggle as he conquers Ysaye's demanding writing. The ten short movements of Auerbach's par.ti.ta refract Bach through a contemporary prism and Gluzman finds even more colour and concentration, captured by the in-depth recording.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2012 ***

“Gluzman plays the outer movements [of the Ysaye] with the virtuoso panache that must have been in the composer's mind...Gluzman shows himself to be a fine Bach-player, too. Occasionally I longed for the subtle illumination of phrasing, the sort of light and shade that's much easier to achieve with a Baroque bow...But each movement has a sense of life and poise; the Chaconne is especially impressive” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012

“Milstein’s natural brilliance, intelligence, sensitivity to inflexion and feeling for structure mark these recordings as truly exceptional.” Gramophone Magazine

“These are fresh, spirited, finely judged performances. The tempi of the fast movements never seem too quick, though they often prove faster than those of other period players, and the slow movements are superbly paced...Beyer never plays on the listener's emotions but instead maintains a sliver of detachment that, in the context of her stylish performances, seems appropriate for music that is almost 300 years old...An enormously enjoyable set.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012

“Beyer's playing is outstanding for her consistently sensitive delivery - finely chiselled in details but always organic with a keen ear for the music's broader harmonic direction. Although it invites and deserves close attention it does not overtly seek it...Her playing is at its finest...where it is at its most self-effacing: in the ear- and finger-defying polyphony Bach frequently demands from his player.” International Record Review, February 2012