‘Who doesn't need some summer fun? Particular pleasures? I'd highlight the three pieces by Cécile Chaminade, who started composing in childhood in the 1860s for her pets and dolls and remained at her best in charming short pieces that only need affection and flexible fingers for their magic to live again. It does so here’ (The Times)

‘Recorded in Tokyo before an utterly quiet, spellbound audience, the performances display the virtues expected fromo such a sensitive and gracious musician … utterly appropriate and exactly what Beethoven desired … impossible to ignore’ (The Times)

‘Uchida's Beethoven remains unassumingly wonderful … from Beethoven, through Uchida, to us’ (The Guardian)

‘The recording is everything one could hope for … stupendous playing … Uchida’s traversal strikes me as very special indeed’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘Distinguished by a thoughtful blend of excellent music, poetry and classic folk elements, not to mention top-drawer singing, you will want to linger in this musical garden’ (Limelight, Australia)

‘This is Bach of rhetorical vigour and collaborative imagination, the harpsichord set within the ensemble as an equal voice rather than pitted against it … it really is a crowded field, but Esfahani and the Britten Sinfonia have something genuinely new to say about the music. Purists may bristle. But, adapting a remark from Rupert Darwall, Esfahani writes that in this context, modern instruments seem less to age the harpsichord than to set it free’ (Limelight, Australia)

‘From the tinkling registral changes in the Allegro ma non tanto of the Concerto in A major, BWV1055, to his tantalisingly paced cadenza in the opening movement of the Concerto in D minor, BWV1052—and the ensuing fabulousness of his trill—Esfahani exhibits a mastery of large-scale swing and fastidiously shaped, expressive detail. There’s something utterly enjoyable about the squeeze achieved by Esfahani’s pacing and legato of the central Siciliano of the Concerto in E major, BWV1053. Then there’s the frenetic joy of the closing movement of the Concerto in D major, BWV1054; Esfahani transforms into a slot machine spilling over in jackpot celebration. Yet Esfahani is at his swirling, angsty best in the concerto’s opening movement: the current of energy (beginning in the section at 2'08") remains undeterred all the way to the recapitulation and its crashing octaves’ (Gramophone)

‘As was the case with Gerhardt’s performances of the Shostakovich concertos, his well-nigh flawless solo playing is closely observed … the generous old-school annotations are a definite plus’ (Gramophone)

‘Musicians are big on postcards … but none are as beautifully written as those by Stephen Hough, a reliable scribe wherever he is in the world … a joy to receive through the letterbox’ (Gramophone)

‘The present premiere recording [De profundis] reveals a substantial 24-minute canvas of blazing eloquence, unfailing craftsmanship and communicative power … I can report that David Temple obtains outstandingly dedicated results from everyone involved, with soprano Sophie Bevan soaring thrillingly to her climactic top B in the refulgent closing pages. Mike Hatch’s sound, too, possesses striking definition, richness and depth … an irresistible proposition’ (Gramophone)

‘Musical magic … but the biggest surprise is kept for the final piece. The hilarious Five More Minutes (Sardine Armpit) sees percussionist Joby Burgess, Arcappellago and The Sardine Ensemble deliver a crazy Balkan-dance-like number possessing all the Dionysian grit and flair of Rosalía and Björk’s performance of ‘Berghain’ at this year’s BRIT Awards’ (Gramophone)

‘Fox’s singing is consistently lovely, with the familiar silvery gleam in her upper registers much in evidence … Forés Veses and the Castile and León orchestra are excellent here, meanwhile, with some immaculately shaped playing, the strings lean yet beautiful, the woodwind gracious and elegant … it’s a fine album, thoughtful and enjoyable in equal measure’ (Gramophone)