Dvorak: Romance in F minor, Op. 11

“… Ice finds Sarah Chang on scintillating form. In the Sarasate blockbusters, Chang never once sounds even remotely under technical pressure: harmonics, flying spiccato, rapid string crossing, dizzying outbursts of high-velocity acrobatics - all are second nature to her.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2006 ****

“Hrachya Avanesyan is clearly a sensitive musician and highly accomplished; his performances on this disc, enlivened by imaginative expressive nuance, consistently avoid any sense of routine.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2012

“Dumay’s own contribution is fundamental, since his orchestra has those qualities of a living, breathing body, the presence or absence of which can make or mar any Dvorák performance...There is no doubt of Avanesyan’s commitment and command right through” MusicWeb International, May 2012

“Think of a Czech counterpart to Russia's David Oistrakh: there's the same huge fullness and weight of sound, with technical immensity to match, plus a darkly beautiful tone-quality that goes straight to the music's lyrical heart. Add to this the Czech Philharmonic in its finest vintage ever, with a magnificent conductor at the helm, and you have some unforgettable music-making.” Classic FM Magazine, August 2011 *****

“the passionate projection and razor-like "edge" of Suk's playing bring out all the temperament and local colour that his grandfather (the composer Josef Suk) and great-grandfather (Dvorak) were famous for.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2011

“Technically, she's supremely accomplished and refined…” The Guardian, 13th November 2009 ***

“From this recording one would imagine that hers is not a big tone but it is an opulent one, cushioned by ample if well controlled vibrato. That opulence makes her playing of the heartfelt melody in the slow movement of Dvorák's Violin Concerto winningly rich. She is equally successful in bringing out the marked Slavonic flavours in the outer movements... treating the dance rhythms of the finale with sparkling lightness. ...Szymanowski's First Violin Concerto... is a difficult work for soloist and conductor to hold together with its sharp contrasts of mood and tempo, but the alliance of Steinbacher and Janowski achieves that with total conviction. ...a performance that carries total conviction.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2010

“…in a haunting performance of Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 1 the solo part seems to float in over a lush orchestra. Steinbacher's tone is sweet, her playing poised - in satisfying contrast to the muscular contribution of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Marek Janowski. ...Dvorák's Romance in F minor, which calls for (and receives) flowing, song-like lines. ...same composer's Violin Concerto...was written in the wake of the Slavonic Dances, something that show especially in the dance-infused finale... This is a performance in which the soloist sounds as if she is leading the dance, and everyone is rhythmically buoyant in the heady climax of an enjoyable and vividly recorded disc.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2010 ****

“Steinbacher makes a powerful case for Szymanowski's First Concerto as a minor masterpiece” Classic FM Magazine, August 2011 ****