BBC Music Magazine Awards 2007

"A thrilling performance of Luonnotar in which Isokoski’s sonorous soprano is matched by atmospheric playing from the Finnish orchestra. The rest of the disc makes you wonder why Sibelius’s orchestral songs occupy one of the most unjustly neglected corners of his output." Erik Levi BBC Music Magazine

'A vital ingredient in the Smetana Trio’s success is the quality of their string sound, its variety of tone and the handling of vibrato. Certainly, there are many details to admire in these performances, but in the end it is the Trio’s unrivalled feeling of ensemble that generates results unmatched in the catalogue.' Jan Smaczny - BBC Music Magazine

"If any performance is needed to convince anyone of the early mastery of Sibelius, it is this one … this is a great performance. I have no doubt that the LSO at present is the greatest orchestra in the world" International Record Review

“A most valuable CD … One hopes that it might be the first instalment of a second Enescu piano music survey.” – The Gramophone

'Spinosi’s intuitive and vital direction achieves rewarding results. His instrumentalists are firstrate and the choice of cast well nigh impeccable. Marie-Nicole Lemieux gives a fine account of the contralto title role and further outstanding contributions come from Veronica Cangemi as Costanza.' Nicholas Anderson - BBC Music Magazine

"This was a performance, played with the Concertgebouw's phenomenal spectrum of colouring, phrasing and dynamic subtlety, that asserted the symphony's organic structural credentials and spoke of deep-seated, human feelings throughout its ample 80-minute span. It was wonderful to have past reservations about the symphony swept aside with such authority." The Daily Telegraph

"Not only is the performance beyond reproach on technical grounds, but also, more importantly, it conveys with almost graphic immediacy the searing passion the 74-year-old composer felt for Kamila Stosslova. The performers demonstrate a similarly convincing capacity to bring to life in the remarkable Second Quartet by the Janacek pupil Pavel Haas" BBC Music Magazine

“Zemlinsky’s music is so much more complex, gorgeous and painful than any verbal resume can convey. Yet Eshenbach makes it all come together beautifully… (he) is joined by two superb soloists, on finest form, both with as strong a feeling for the greater melody as the conductor…Strongly recommended.” BBC Music Magazine

'Featuring two of Hungary’s finest quartets, this performance [of the Mendelssohn] captures all the youthful fervour of the opening Allegro moderato, the brilliant delicacy of the Scherzo and the driving perpetual motion of the Finale, while also finding an air of mystery and unexpected darkness in the slow movement.' Erik Levi - BBC Music Magazine

Here’s an entirely new, distinctive performance tradition in Shostakovich’s quartets. The Hagen’s approach is pristine, with a wonderful transparency to the textures and a real bounce to the dance-inspired movements. There’s no lack of emotional depth, but some of the grime of accumulated habits has been cleaned off and the works emerge shining anew. Helen Wallace - BBC Music Magazine

Being a man for great journeys of exploration, John Eliot Gardiner took his Monteverdi Choir on a musical pilgrimage to Santiago in 2004. The concerts they gave along the route have yielded this superb album. All the composers have a connection with Spain, so Morales and Mouton are set alongside Dufay and Victoria, marvellous performances all. - Gramophone Magazine

“Unaccompanied, the Monteverdi Choir goes back to its roots in a programme which harnesses scholarship and singing of breathtaking beauty.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2008

Once again Paul Hillier and his Estonian choir provide a varied programme of new choral works by Baltic composers. Despite a wide gamut of styles, each composition has an immediacy that is not always found in contemporary music. Erik Levi - BBC Music Magazine

"a stimulating and at times extravagantly expressive recital." Instrumental Choice, BBC Music Magazine, February 2006, *****/*****

Hamelin is a cult figure to pianophiles, his phenomenal technique matched by an intellectual musicality that’s second to none. Dukas’s gargantuan Sonata, light years away from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, could seem a white elephant, but Hamelin’s magic touch transforms it into a masterpiece. And the weird world of Decaux is a revelation. Jessica Duchen - BBC Music Magazine

“You would certainly have to go far to hear it better sung in the opera house. Christine Brewer’s Isolde had gleaming power, amplitude and amazing technical security… John Treleaven’s Tristan sang with ringing, clarion tone yet was capable of scaling down the voice in the intimate moments…” (The Times, February 2003)

“The musical adventurer par excellence,… the scholarly conductor with temperament, the thinking musician who makes music with rough edges.” Gramophone

'This recording makes a splendid follow-up to Vernon Handley’s set of the complete Bax symphonies: here some of the composer’s most powerful orchestral writing receives committed, full-blooded performance, the complex textures ideally balanced and recorded.' Calum MacDonald - BBC Music Magazine

'In the Left Hand Concerto, Claire Chevallier’s technique fully matches her musicianship. Whatever recordings you may have of these works, this disc is a must, balancing opulence against clarity in the orchestral sound and respecting the diamond-hard construction on which Ravel lavished so many sleepless nights.' Roger Nichols - BBC Music Magazine

"these songs burst with gorgeous, heartbreaking melodies…I can feel CD-of-the-year mode coming on." Choral & Song Choice, BBC Music Magazine

Bostridge’s ability to inhabit and dramatise the poetry of Wolf’s settings is extraordinary. This compelling programme has you on the edge of your seat, not least to catch every inflection of Pappano’s superlative musicianship: he has grand designs for these intimate songs, investing them with a supple, simmering passion, and mining their rich seam of expression with magical results. Helen Wallace - BBC Music Magazine