Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43

“Francis and the London Symphony Orchestra provide consistently world-class, shapely orchestral frameworks and beautifully characterised first-desk solos throughout” Gramophone Magazine, June 2013

“it’s a delight to report that much, though not all, of the music making captured here is terrific...Tempi are swift, with pianist and orchestra perfectly synchronised...Lisitsa refuses to wallow, accentuating Rachmaninov’s jazzy boldness and dark humour...Both works [Nos. 1 & 4] need this sort of advocacy.” The Arts Desk, 13th April 2013

“Ogawa never forces the tone. She ensures that beauty, clarity and richness of sound are sustained at all costs, even in the most thunderous passages...Yet to suggest that her playing is cool, detached and uninvolving would be utterly misleading...By any standards, this is an outstanding release.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2012 *****

“the first movement cadenza, following pages of insouciant athleticism, conveys more vividly than most the image of someone trapped at the bottom of a dark well clawing their way up its side into the sunlight...The Malmo players under Owain Arwel Hughes offer acutely observed support throughout, with the important wind and brass solo writing subtly highlighted to gratifying effect.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012

“Sudbin’s playing has terrific presence in this recording of Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody. The blend of personality and stylistic perception that marks Sudbin’s live performances is also manifest here. He plays with passion, drive, dexterity, discretion and dynamism...This is a top-flight, richly enjoyable performance” The Telegraph, 5th April 2012 ****

“This, as you would expect from Subdin, is a performance rich in detail and immaculately executed; furthermore, from the outset the ear is immediately taken by the superb sound quality” Gramophone Magazine, May 2012

“Subdin, clearly on top form, treats Rachmaninov's variations like a set of diabolical virtuoso etudes, displaying transcendental virtuosity and kaleidoscopic keyboard colour. Sudbin nevertheless plays with all the necessary intimacy and sense of Romantic feeling in the lyrical sections...The Singapore Symphony accompanies perfectly, adding considerably to the colour and atmosphere of the work.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2012 ***/****

“Simon Trpceski, Vasily Petrenko and the RLPO bring understanding and instinct to their performances, and take to heart the different temperaments that each of the three works on this recording manifests...the judicious variety of touch and colour, and ability to reveal important details of the music, combine with an expressive maturity to make these performances utterly compelling.” The Telegraph, 16th June 2011 *****

“The virtuosi Macedonian Simon Trpčeski and St Petersburg-born Vasily Petrenko combine in taut, poetic performances with notably coruscating brass playing from an RLPO on impressive and expressive form.” The Observer, 26th June 2011

“Trpceski captures the music’s protean mood switches to perfection, his mercurial fingers dashing off the vivace flourishes of the outer movements and the most brilliant Paganini variations with insouciant bravura and brio...These performances are a meeting of dazzling musical minds, offering an untraditional approach that never sounds wilful, attention-seeking or eccentric.” Sunday Times, 3rd July 2011 *****

“Trpceski relishes Rachmaninov, thrilling his audience with virtuosic passages which easily demonstrate why these pieces in particular were important vehicles for Rachmaninov the exiled pianist. Petrenko maintains timing and tension, whilst never allowing lush lyricism to become stodgy or overwhelming...this is a musical combination which works superbly.” Classic FM Magazine, August 2011 *****

“[Nos 1 & 4] have never been such sure-fire crowd-pleasers, but Trpceski certainly plays them with fire and passion. No. 1 emerges as big-boned and compelling, while he plays up the leanly modernist aspects of No. 4...Trpceski is aided throughout by the unanimity of feeling produced by Vassily Petrenko's direction of the orchestra, conductor and pianist working hand in glove.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2011 ****

“Expectations are fully realised in performances of the highest order...Trpceski was put on this earth to play this music and Petrenko to conduct it...This is a riveting disc, another major landmark for Trpceski and one on which Rachmaninov finds interpreters thoroughly attuned to his emotional world.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2011

“the pianist’s irrepressible spirit shines through in Prokofiev’s Seventh Sonata and the Stravinsky pieces.” The Telegraph, 12th May 2011 ***

“She tackles the popular "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No 2" with an ease that betrays her deep familiarity with the material; but it's the confident way she deals with the challenging "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini"...that most impresses here...It's all hand-led with industrious grace by Wang.” The Independent, 11th March 2011

“lots of filigree play and brilliantly clear articulation” The Times, 2nd April 2011 ***

“The partnership of Yuja Wang and Claudio Abbado produces thoughtful and often imaginative Rachmaninov on this new disc. These performances may be as flamboyant or as theatrical as some, but there are impressive moments, and there's a fluency and lack of the mannerism inthe playing that is certainly attractive.” International Record Review, April 2011

“She makes us hear this hoariest of Romantic war-horses afresh, as if with cleaned ears: the work emerges as almost classical, Mozartian even, in its poise and architecture. There isn't an iota of indulgence of gratuitious emotion, yet neither is there any lack of force or genuine passion wherever required.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2011 *****

“This petite 24-year-old turns out to be a powerhouse! Undaunted by the challenges of this repertoire, her articulate and precise style brings a freshness and wit to these pieces without compromising the emotional breadth of Rachmaninov's music. Her intelligent crafting of the variations turns the Rhapsody into a bonus concerto, but it's her superb skill and artistry which shines through.” Classic FM Magazine, June 2011 ****

“Here, for once, is the level of artistry that the work needs...for all his seemingly endless reserves of technical power [Matsuev] never makes an ugly sound...Gergiev and his Marinsky Orchestra, too, contribute here on a level so far beyond routine that you would think none of them had played the work before” BBC Music Magazine, April 2010 *****

“...Matsuev holds that most titanic of piano concertos in a passionate embrace, lavish with his rubato, devastatingly certain in his articulation, sensitive to colour and balance, aware of how to pace and thus make coherent the architecture of this massive work.” Sunday Times, 17th January 2010 ****

“As one might expect from someone hailed as Horowitz’s successor, Matsuev holds that most titanic of piano concertos in a passionate embrace, Importantly, for all his physical power and energy, he never makes a hard sound. There’s commensurately sympathetic playing from the Mariinsky, who also match Matsuev’s deft, vibrant musicianship in the brittler Rhapsody.” The Times

“Jablonski, whose credentials include having been voted best jazz drummer in Sweden at the age of seven (!), revels in its high jinks, and Ashkenazy and the orchestra just manage to hang on to his coat-tails... an exciting end to an admirably played and recorded disc.” Gramophone Magazine