‘It isn’t always the case that a composer is the ideal proponent in performance of their own music, but like Rachmaninoff and Godowsky, Hough has such limitless command of the piano and the vast canvas it offers, that he meets and even surpasses the challenges he has set. The strength of his partnership with Sir Mark Elder and The Hallé is strongly in evidence throughout … this album serves as a cherishable portrait of a much-loved and often enigmatic figure, whilst also being so much more than that. It is a gift of genuinely fresh and engaging music, played with both sensitivity and aplomb by both pianist and orchestra, and afforded superb recorded sound’ (Presto Classical)» More

‘Stephen Hough is already well known to us as a virtuoso pianist, and this album gives us a broad picture of his compositional style: in a late Romantic vein, but with enough harmonic twists and turns to make it his own. The highlight is his Piano Concerto, which can stand toe to toe with any number of modern piano concertos, including those of Prokofiev’ (WFMT, USA)

‘Sir Stephen Hough is a genuine polymath. Not just the finest British classical pianist since Clifford Curzon, who I heard live often, but also a published and award-winning writer and composer … finely accompanied by The Hallé under Sir Mark Elder, this is a piece I would love to hear in the concert hall, not just on my CD system. And it’s approachable enough both in terms of the quality of its melodic content and the skill of its orchestration to justify that … a major achievement’ (The Mail on Sunday)

„Der fabelhafte italienische Pianist Robert Prosseda hat das Stück [War Silence] entdeckt und spielt es zusammen mit dem London Philharmonic Orchestra unter Leitung von Nir Kabaretti. Ein sehr besonderes Album mit vier bei uns praktisch unbekannten Klavierkonzerten aus Italien“ (Radio Bremen, Germany)

‘[Hough] writes tonally (and polytonally, on occasion), with a sweetness that’s balanced by welcome bursts of sharp acidity. And while his music often displays a strong French accent, there’s something about the cinematic quality of this score that’s deliciously over the top. I’ve often lamented the fact that Korngold never wrote a piano concerto; in his own individual way, Hough has come close to filling that void for me. And of course he plays it with sharply focused clarity, rhythmic verve and seemingly unflappable elegance, while Mark Elder has the Hallé provide warm, vividly coloured support … in all three works, the richness of Hough’s ideas and their working out handsomely repays repeated listening. Now, will some enterprising director please have Hough write a film score? If this Concerto is any indication, he’s a natural’ (Gramophone)

‘C’est dire qu’on passe un moment agréable, tantôt distancié, tantôt jubilatoire, dans ces trois mouvements enchaînés, en compagnie de l’Orchestre Hallé, capté en concert’ (ConcertoNet, Canada)

‘It's perhaps inevitable that any discussion of Khachaturian's Piano Concerto should be obliged to mention the fact that the slow movement includes a prominent part for musical saw, and while that is certainly an entertaining feature of the music, there's much more to the concerto than that, especially in the hands of Jean-Yves Thibaudet, who negotiates the work's many fiendish passages with extremely impressive virtuosity. Alongside this is a selection of works for solo piano, including excerpts from the suite Pictures from Childhood, a transcription by the composer's nephew of the Adagio from Spartacus, and an energetic account of the 'Sabre Dance' from Gayaneh in an arrangement by Oscar Levant’ (Presto Classical)

‘Thibaudet is nothing if not a flamboyant showman (that’s a compliment) but equally his graceful reading of Khachaturian’s whimsical salon pieces Pictures of Childhood is full of charm and even a little mystique in ‘A Glimpse of the Ballet’ (the Adagio from Gayaneh) whose spare tone is strangely beautiful. But on to the Piano Concerto, which brings on Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic to lend lushness and muscle to the proceedings … notes are piled on for optimum virtuosity and Thibaudet’s mastery of the work’s hectoring grandiosity is happily countered by the exotic Armenian inflections to which he brings an almost French impressionistic finesse … Thibaudet, of course, takes the sub-Rachmaninovian pyrotechnics in his stride and his swagger in the jazzy finale is infectious’ (Gramophone)

‘A passionate, multicoloured and contrast-rich reading [of No 3], and Ibragimova’s colouring is a dream, treading an emotionally sophisticated line between dark and light … a gloriously nuanced, emotionally kaleidoscopic and at times sparklingly theatrical album … amid limited but tough competition … it will more likely than not be Ibragimova and Tiberghien’s set for which I will reach first from henceforth’ (Gramophone)

‘So much charm and lyricism in these performances, genuine musical conversations between Schumann’s characters and this intuitively sensitive pair of performers. And if I say they make light of the difficulties of Schumann’s third sonata I don’t mean there’s anything glib about the performance—far from it—just that you’d never know that the piece has had a chequered history, his last surviving major piece associated with Schumann’s mental breakdown. Strange, certainly, but played as it is here fascinating, challenging and rewarding. It’s a beautifully balanced recording as well … it’s my Record of the Week’ (BBC Record Review)

‘This [the Fantaisie & Variations on a theme by Weber] is a great discovery, and the piece should make its way into the rather slim repertory for two pianos and orchestra. Exciting, virtuosic, and always interesting, Lev and Kariv are very well supported by the Rundfunk Orchestra … this is the second exceptional disc by this ensemble to come my way [after Hyperion CDA68367]. Lev wrote the very informative booklet essay. These booklet notes are detailed and contain a wealth of great information. As with all Hyperion recordings, the production values are first-class. The recorded sound is clear and well balanced’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Debussy’s String Quartet is a rather less volatile composition, though the Nash’s account here leans into the first movement’s pungent anticipations of Bartók-like dissonance and offers a nice foreshadowing of La mer’s billowing seascapes during the finale. In between come moments of whimsy—the second movement’s transformation of its opening theme charms the ear—and, in the Andantino, devotion. Filling out the album is David Walter’s arrangement of the Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. His is a lovely adaptation, though climaxes sometimes make it sound like Debussy’s faun has gone on a diet. Regardless, the Nash, here expanded to 12 players, does the transcription full, lush justice’ (The Arts Fuse, USA)