"Mit seinem bestens aufgelegten Brüsseler Orchester entfacht Kazushi Ono einen üppigen Klangrausch und lässt namhafte Konkurrenz wie Muti und Sinopoli hinter sich. Die Aufnahmetechnik ist exzellent, das Blech ist stark und präsent, aber übertönt nichts. Ono vermeidet Schärfen und Exzesse; viele Stimmen werden hörbar."

"Sandrin is a player for whom the smallest gesture has extraordinary emotive import, often portrayed via gestures conjoining color and articulation."

"Mit vier- und fünfstimmigen Madrigalen und Motetten flankieren Dionyos Now! Adriaen Willaerts immerhin etwa halbstündige Parodie-Messe „Laudate Deum". Dieses gewichtige Werk profitiert ungemein von der Klarheit der Stimmführung, die nicht nur für größt- mögliche Textverständlichkeit sorgt, sondern auch die intrikaten musikalischen Strukturen optimal offenlegt. Dass dabei die nötige weihevolle Atmosphäre nicht unter die Räder kommt, verdankt sich vor allem den ungemein weichen Stimmeinsätzen und der tadellosen Intonation. Wie auch bei den bereits erschienenen Adriano-CDs sorgt Franz Vitzthum für scheinbar mühelos wirkende Höhen, die von den vier anderen Herren gut grundiert werden. So entsteht nicht nur bei der Messe ein eher sanfter Gesamtklang, der aber beileibe nicht die von Willaert vorgesehenen Wortmalereien verunklart. Stimmliche Eleganz zeichnet auch die Motetten und Madrigale aus, deren jeweils eigener Charakter durchaus deutlich hervorgehoben wird."

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"Her profound respect and serious engagement with this music are evident throughout the recording. These works demand a nuanced sensitivity to hand balance, pedal work, phrasing, and rhythmic flexibility—all expertly managed by François, resulting in performances that sound naturally engaged with an unforced expression. Furthermore, her choice of a Yamaha CFX grand piano allows for intricate tone coloring, which François fully explores. The superb recording, engineered by Steven Maes, is also available in Dolby Atmos."

Nominated on Longlist 3/2025 for: Jury Orchestermusik

Nominated on Longlist 3/2025 for: Jury Chor und Vokalensemble + Jury Alte Musik

Klassik Album vun der Woch

"Les Zemlinsky auscultent, cisèlent ce cycle largement autobiographique avec une compréhension inouïe de l’âme du compositeur – et partant, celle de Bohème."

"Chez Ono, l’élégance l’emporte sur la densité, sur le mystère, la sensualité."

"Marie François speelt deze Nocturnes zowel zwoel als flirterig, zowel expressief als gevoelig en het wordt nergens sentimenteel. Bij haar is het een heldere nacht onder een flonkerende sterrenhemel."

"These are very good performances, captured in very good sonics, which elevate these performances"

Coup de cœur - "un album sensible qui nous emmène plus loin dans l'intimité d'un compositeur et de son interprète que l'on pensait pourtant connaître."

"There's no denying his clarity: fingerwork is immaculate (passagework, trills and tremolos are unfailingly neat), textures are lucid (check out the weave of the fourth variation of Op 109's finale). But especially when combined with his tendency to smooth the music's profile by dulling accents and reining in dynamic jolts, the result is a classical poise that cushions Beethoven's radicality."

"Das Stimmquintett lässt die verschlungenen Klänge von Willaert transparent werden und verleiht dieser anspruchsvollen Musik eine Klarheit, die ihrer Schönheit vollkommen gerecht wird."

"2024 wäre Bedřich Smetana zweihundert Jahre alt geworden, und im Januar des Jubiläumsjahres setzten sich die vier Musiker des Zemlinsky Quartetts zusammen, um seine beiden Streichquartette einzuspielen. Es ist ihnen gelungen, beiden Aspekten dieser ungewöhnlichen Werke gerecht zu werden: zum einen den formalen, in denen sich klassische und sehr ungewöhnliche Elemente zu einem Ganzen verbinden, zum anderen den programmatischen."

"This disc is a perfect way to get to know Adrian Willaert for those who have heard little of his music – or none at all – and for those who know only his polychoral works, it offers a good survey of the ‘other Willaert’, who shows here that with more modest means, he was no less a master than in his larger-scale compositions."

"Brown is clearly on the same page as Giacometti, an intensely sympathetic partner, who knows exactly when to yield and when to assert himself. These performances have a natural ebb and flow, a shapeliness to the phrasing and an understated, rather touching sense that the two players really could finish each other’s sentences."

"Zudem hat Sandrin keine Angst, sich gehen zu lassen, vielleicht nicht jede Kleinigkeit bis zur letzten Perfektion auszuarbeiten, dafür aber den dramatischen Bogen zu spannen, der notwendig ist, um die zum Teil in diesen Sonaten so wechselhaften musikalischen Aussagen geschlossen zu präsentieren."

"The performers pay just as much attention to these lyrical aspects as they do to the virtuoso elements. They thus succeed in presenting this musically beautiful piece in a lively interpretation. The violinist Joshua Brown knows how to draw the moods and lines with great dedication. [...] The pianist Paolo Giacometti appears as an accompanist to various musicians. He is rarely in the foreground himself. But his frequent use with others shows that he is a sought-after partner. And when you listen to his playing, you understand why. Always confident, reliable and attentive, his part is also a successful support here."

"Mr Sandrin offers, to these ears, an even more interesting performance—indeed, his performance ranks among the greatest; for a pianist his age, this is a miraculous accomplishment. He does this through subtle rubato, very convincing phrasing, and greater tonal variety (this last through judicious and nuanced use of the pedal). Sonata 30 begins at almost Andante, rather than the marked Vivace, ma non troppo. This is correct; otherwise the Adagio espressivo is not correctly integrated in the sonata form. There is plenty of time later for the rapid (but not too much more!) playing in the development. The final variations movement offers a reading that I’ve not heard before—the outlines are per usual, but the details are richly satisfying. For instance, lis- ten to the interesting execution of the ornaments in Variation 1 and the exquisite han- dling of inner voices in Variation 2. I also love the way he doesn’t do too much to emphasize the bass doubling in the theme’s reprise: sometimes less really is more."

"It's clearly obvious in this new recording that their homeland music is in their blood."

"Certainly, the virtues that make their First Quartet so compelling – an intense sensitivity to mood, an instinctive swing to their Czech dance rhythms and a certain rawness (these are performances that have soil under their fingers) – help illuminate the darker corners of the Second and make sense of its often tormented musical argument. That makes it sound gloomier than it is, but these readings are nothing if not vital, and there’s an undercurrent of intimacy that’s all the more poignant for being surrounded by such rough-cut honesty. [...] The fiercest music here has an undertow of tenderness, and the softest is never truly tranquil. The encore is swept up in the general urgency: a fitting conclusion to a compelling but far from easy emotional journey."

Nominated on Longlist 2/2025 for: Jury Kammermusik I

"this is a Heldenleben all Strauss enthusiasts should own, and one every violinist should acquire for Raudales’s contribution."

Interview during "In Tune" with presenter Al Ryan.