Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit

“His Liszt is remarkable. The F minor Transcendental Study's brand of miraculous virtuosity, at once tumultuous and limpid, is marvellously captured.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 *****

“in an age of much standardised playing, his performances are vividly personal both in technique and in character...few have carried the richly ornamented vocal lines [of the Petrarch Sonnets] forwards with a more breathless ardour and momentum...then there is Ravel's Gaspard in a performance of rare imaginative resource...This is a record I shall return to for an ever-renewed sense of wonder and fascination.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2013

“The macabre images of Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, in which Sudbin’s brilliant technical command is allied to limpid, subtle tonal shading and luminosity of texture, are captured with a haunting chill in this performance, and the Saint-Saëns opens up wondrous vistas of colour and atmosphere. This is a truly great disc, inspired and inspiring.” The Telegraph, 15th February 2013 *****

“It is with a delicate, beautifully voiced account of the Pavane...that Vinnitskaya gently eases herself into this Ravel recital, indicating an affinity with the style that is immediately underlined by the glistening qualities and chararcterisation of the set of Miroirs...Vinnitskaya's taste, strength and feel for the music are never in doubt.” Daily Telegraph, 9th June 2012 ****

“Vinnitskaya achieves an unforgettable shimmering play of light and shade (though with a powerful undertow when required). Her 'Ondine' from Gaspard is as scintillating and seductive as you could wish and her poise and focus in 'Le gibet' excel any other on record, wondrously alive to every harmonic and rhythmic twist...Beautifull recorded, this is Ravel-playing of a very special distinction.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2012

“François’s record of the Left-Hand Concerto is played with tremendous vitality and spirit. Its attractions are further enhanced by a splendidly detailed and sonorous recording.” Gramophone Magazine

“Have you ever heard a more aqueous evocation of Ravel’s water nymph? Grosvenor’s Steinway instrument seems permanently underwater, swimming through the softest of rippling textures...Grosvenor, you can tell, is a Romantic pianist, almost from another age. He doesn’t deconstruct, or stand at a distance. He jumps inside the music’s soul.” The Times, 8th July 2011 ****

“It's an immensely confident set, comparable to Evgeny Kissin's early performances – the most impressive aspect being not his obvious command of technique, but an intellectual and emotional understanding of the music way beyond his tender years.” The Independent, 8th July 2011 ****

“This recital disc shows his ability to twin youthful exuberance with impeccable technique and magisterial musical intelligence...Grosvenor's balance of oratory and ornament, gesture and poetry – evident, too, in Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit – are moving as well as impressive. He's a phenomenon: modest, poised and natural, as well as brimming with talent.” The Observer, 17th July 2011

“The first thing you notice is the limpid surface of Grosvenor’s playing, the warm tonal gleam that he conjures up from the keys. It is a beautiful sound, and beneath it there are seams of passion, discretion and emotional affinity with the music...there is little to quibble with in this recital, which shows intelligence coupled with a command of keyboard colour and musical characterisation that are remarkable.” The Telegraph, 14th July 2011 ****

“In Gaspard he magically combines the micro-refinement of a Pogorelich with the poetic wisdom and golden touch of a Perlemuter, and in Chopin's Scherzos integrates the music's hurtling mood-swings with mesmerising intensity.” Classic FM Magazine, September 2011 *****

“Both the main works here...demonstrate the brilliance of Grosvenor's technique as he takes the challenges of Chopin's pieces in his stride, and vividly conjures up the colours of Ravel's piano writing, if rather underplaying the pieces' nightmarish qualities” The Guardian, 18th August 2011 ***

“one of the most individual things about this stunning debut by Benjamin Grosvenor is his pervasive sense of balance and his unerring blend of Classical restraint and Romantic ardour...He is a virtuoso who declines the mantle of virtuoso, every gestures being put exclusively and exhilaratingly at the service of the music. Grosvenor's playing exudes joy and spontaneity, seeming to release rather than interpret the music.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2011 *****

“evidence of an awesome talent, a pianist with fantastic natural reflexes in the Cziffra class and, more excitingly, a musician with purpose and imagination, whose playing transcends the sterile confines of the studio...Crowning all is a masterly Gaspard in which an astonishing array of touch and tonal colouring are brought to bear in Grosvenor's vivid, distinctly defined characterisation of all three movements.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2011

“This release is quite superlative in every way...Grosvenor's fleet-fingered virtuosity is a match for the finest...Despite this, there's a modesty and humility to these readings which is wonderful to behold...Grosvenor is seemingly incapable of producing an ugly tone and the richness of colour and nuance has been perfectly captured by the Decca engineers. This is essential listening.” International Record Review, September 2011

“Steven Osborne, ever a poised, technically impeccable virtuoso, combines clarity with heart. All a shimmering pleasure.” The Observer, 13th February 2011

“His tempos, kaleidoscopic tonal colouring, textual clarity, and amazing dynamic range and variety of touch manifest an innate empathy with the composer...These are inspired performances with Award Winner written all over them. The perfectly-voiced piano, the venue/acoustic, producer and engineer, and an artist who was born to play Ravel combine to make the best complete Ravel cycle on disc.” Classic FM Magazine, April 2011 *****

“[Gaspard] is technically immaculate...and gently seductive before turning on a more sinister pressure..."Alborada" from Miroirs is another striking success, where a trickster's ribaldry and high jinxs explode into violence, and in La Valse (suitably arranged and "orchestrated"), Osborne spins his dancers towards a visceral and devastating oblivion.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2011

“A precise and balanced interpretation” Financial Times, 12th March 2011

“Steven Osborne's survey of [Ravel] is an unqualified delight....His playing...is equally well suited to the delicate classicism of the Sonatine, the scene painting of Miroirs and the nostalgia for the 18th century in Le Tombeau de Couperin as it is to the more extrovert virtuosity of the Valses Nobles et Sentimentales.” The Guardian, 17th March 2011 ****

“Steven Osborne brings his masterly interpretative acumen to bear with a touch and temperament that combine eloquence and deftness. Landmark works are set alongside various less frequently heard miniatures in performances that live and breathe Ravel’s distinctive world of sound, radiating luminous patterns and scintillating colour.” The Telegraph, 25th March 2011 *****

“Ravel essentially reimagined how to write for the piano with each significant work. Osborne is more than up to the task...Throughout, [he] repeatedly demonstrates not merely that these performances stand with the best, but also that comparisons are superfluous in the face of such a compelling vision...His sustaining of the 'Epilogue' is magical, as if not wishing to relinquish the spell of this recital. It is over all too soon.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2011 *****