‘The Gesualdo Six’s Wishing Tree contains rather more secular repertoire than they usually offer, here combining Renaissance pieces in celebration of nature with contemporary pieces, and a thread of folksong, such as Vaughan Williams’s delectable Bushes and Briars … the singing is of the standard we have come to expect from the Gesualdo Six, as is Adrian Peacock’s production’ (TheArtsDesk.com)» More

‘Enough waffle: these are hugely enjoyable performances, superbly balanced … concertos have rarely sounded so upbeat … this is a wonderful, set, stylishly played and directed, beautifully recorded and very well annotated’ (TheArtsDesk.com)» More

‘Alban Gerhardt takes another route through the emotional landscape of the [Elgar] to the famously passionate performance of Jacqueline du Pré and others. Gerhardt emphasizes nobility, dignity, the poetry of Elgar’s writing, and conductor Andrew Manze and the West German Radio Symphony Orchestra bring breadth and soul to their sound as well. It’s a similar story in the Dvořák Concerto that follows, manifesting Gerhardt’s determination to go back to the sources, the scores themselves, rather than absorbing the Romantic performing tradition of these two great masterpieces. I think it’s refreshing’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Now on three CDs, these five long-unavailable LPs recorded between 1958 and 1960, and issued only in the US, were made for the short-lived Kapp label. They are something of a holy grail among devoted pianophiles. In fact, I had heard so much about Ann Schein’s 1960 recording of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto that I went straight to that, the final three tracks on disc 3. I have to say that if this performance had been made for a major international label at the time (Decca, HMV, RCA) it would never have left the catalogue. It is quite marvellous … the playing throughout is of the most exalted kind and includes, for this reviewer, the most persuasive account of Chopin’s Polonaise-fantaisie he has ever heard, together with a selection of Chopin Études recorded the previous year that stand with the best … this valuable reissue is topped off with a superlative booklet from Jonathan Summers. Were there still a category for historic recordings, this would be a shoo-in for a Gramophone Award. Once more pianophiles are in the debt of APR’s Mike Spring. Ann Schein was reportedly delighted when told these recordings were to be given a new lease of life. Sadly, only a few days before a copy could reach her, news arrived of her sudden death at the age of 87’ (Gramophone)

‘The Queen’s Six, now in their refreshed line‑up with altos Elisabeth Paul and Tom Lilburn replacing the original countertenors, bring to this repertoire the seamless blend you’d expect from singers who share not merely a concert platform but a postcode within Windsor Castle’s walls. Indeed, their daily proximity to the Chapel Royal tradition lends these performances an unforced liturgical gravity … the ensemble’s account of Byrd’s Cunctis diebus—that great motet of interior exile, with its sudden homophonic outcry at ‘Dimitte me’, at once desperate and vast—is tremendously affecting, the harmonic shifts navigated with the sureness of singers who know this idiom from the inside … booklet notes are exemplary, as is the recorded sound. A fine release worthy of our own troubled times

’ (Gramophone)

‘The mood is sustained, consistent and unruffled by contrast: meditative classical, posh chill-out. Thing is, it’s also absolutely beautiful singing, and taken on its own terms this is the launch of a serious ensemble’ (Gramophone)

‘An electric recording … in trimming down the forces, and bringing the keyboard front and centre, we really hear the brilliance of that sound … it was Mendelssohn who said that every generation has a duty to redefine Bach, and Mahan Esfahani and his colleagues are rising to the challenge with something brilliant and immediate and vital … it’s magical. He always writes wonderful booklet notes … there’s never a dull moment’ (BBC Record Review)

‘More secular music than their previous albums, a programme that they tell us emerged from their first tour outside the walls of the Cambridge chapels where they were first performing together over a decade ago. Renaissance pieces to contemporary composers, arrangements of traditional folksongs woven throughout—it’s a delight’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Fascinating listening, especially in the hands of the forthright and luminous Amsterdam Piano Trio’ (The Times)» More

‘What comes through most clearly when listening to the baritone-composer’s new arrangement of Die schöne Müllerin is the affection and respect that lies behind it … Williams’s ear for texture—and the Carducci Quartet’s warm playing—brings rewards’ (Gramophone)

‘This is such elegant, sensitive playing … truly, these two are a heaven-made Beethoven match … Watkins and Bax have embraced Beethoven’s fire and storms, but also found beauty and balance that others miss. Certainly it feels as though a new Beethoven cello sonatas benchmark has landed. Or at the very least, I’m not sure that I’ve ever personally enjoyed a set so much’ (Gramophone)

‘A golden moment, here, in the career of Lise Davidsen … the programme is a crowd-pleaser in the best sense’ (Gramophone)