Presto Recordings of the Year, Bach, J S (composer)

the most striking aspects of Podger’s playing throughout this recital (compared to most 20th-century ‘golden-agers’), is her enhanced range of tone and articulation, her vastly more flexible... — BBC Music Magazine, December 2022, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Shibe applies the musical and interpretative qualities that characterise its predecessors – energy, reflection, eclecticism, integration and emotional candour – to remind us that Bach might... — Gramophone Magazine, June 2020 More…

I expected this to be good; but just how good it was was still a surprise…Ólafsson creates a ravishing musical sequence. Every track has its own allure, and many reflect a virtuosity which is... — BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2018, 5 out of 5 stars More…

The [Goldberg] Aria sings without affectation as if to emphasise that what follows isn't about the theme but what happens to it...Unstarchy too is Levit's approach to Beethoven's Diabelli Variations...As... — BBC Music Magazine, January 2016, 5 out of 5 stars More…

The choirs are razor-sharp in their ensemble, and if they seem initially soft-grained (in keeping with Pichon’s essentially intimate approach), their incisiveness eventually locates real venom... — BBC Music Magazine, May 2022, 4 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 5 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

With the exception of the ‘Black Pearl’ variation, which lasts almost ten minutes, this is one of the fastest sets I have ever heard, yet it’s also one of the most enjoyable. Ólafsson draws... — BBC Music Magazine, December 2023, 5 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 4 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

Under Mahan Esfahani’s fleet fingers, and even fleeter imagination, the toccatas positively fly. — BBC Music Magazine, October 2019 More…

The sequence works well as a recital-like experience, and also as a vehicle for Hough’s comprehensive mastery of his art...The idiom of his own ‘Vida breve’ Sonata, with its cogent sweep and... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2021, 5 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 4 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

You would be hard-pressed to find a more illuminating disc than this latest offering from Arcangelo…There’s nothing overfamiliar about the captivating freshness and buoyancy that both chorus... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2018, 5 out of 5 stars More…

One of the key differences between Vox Luminis and many other such ensembles…is how homogeneity is challenged as the default priority…The strong identities within the ensemble allow for new... — Gramophone Magazine, August 2019 More…