Prokofiev: Masks from ‘Romeo and Juliet'

“This wide-ranging conspectus of Russian piano miniatures spans Ashkenazy's career from 1963 to 2004. Fine playing, occasionally short on charm.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2012 ****

“It seems there is nothing Capuçon cannot do. He maintains the same level of tonal purity and lustrousness at all dynamic levels across all four strings… His phrasing and timing is immaculate, his intonation ear-ringingly true and - especially important in this repertoire - his exquisitely subtle use of portamento is such as to rival even Kreisler and Heifetz.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2008 *****

“Not since the emergence of Vengerov and Repin has such an exciting young violinist come our way.” International Record Review

“Capuçon’s violin transcriptions rarely disappoint. If it’s not his fervour that amazes, it’s his delicacy. Elgar’s La Capricieuse is a melting wonder, Prokofiev’s Masks a bracing stomp. The programming sprinkles the firecrackers with pensive surprises (Roxana’s Song from Szymanowski), waltzing Strauss, and the finale is unusually reflective – two Schumann songs. A delight.” The Times, 18th April 2008 ****

“There is a great music on this disc, the two violin and piano sonatas ranking with Prokofiev's finest chamber music, the first especially. And there are brief, tuneful and mischievous ones. The Shahams play both equally well, and the recording is stunning.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2007 ****

“The Shahams, brother and sister, make a formidable team. It's obvious throughout that they're entirely comfortable playing together, effortlessly accommodating any freedoms in timing and matching each other's tone and dynamics.
Granted that the Shahams' insistence on clearly separating each phrase sometimes results in a loss of momentum (in the opening Moderato of the Op 94 Sonata, for instance), these still emerge as brilliant, highly expressive performances.
The particularly wide dynamic range – of the recording as well as of the playing – here works decisively to the music's advantage. And, especially in the Cinq Mélodies, we hear some wonderfully subtle shades of expression: both players have clearly entered right into Prokofiev's distinctive idiom. They show the divergent natures of the two sonatas exceptionally vividly – Op 80 sombre and concentrated, Op 94 full of ebullient fantasy.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“…these… emerge as brilliant, highly expressive performances. The particularly wide dynamic range - of the recording as well as of the playing - here works decisively to the music's advantage. Both players have clearly entered right into Prokofiev's distinctive idiom. They show the divergent natures of the two sonatas exceptionally vividly - Op 80 sombre and concentrated, Op 94 full of ebullient fantasy.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2007

“…it’s impressive stuff. Heifetz's playing exudes beauty of tone, a striking range of light and shade, depths of emotion, and dazzling virtuosity. There's timeless artistry here, and the astonishing immediacy of the transfers, for which DG have added "discreet stereo ambience", makes nonsense of the age of the recordings.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2006