Browse: First Hand (label)

Butten offers us an appropriate variety of sounds. His playing of that masterpiece, Lachrimae Pavan, is as sweetly mournful as can be, yet
one notices his delicate use of dynamics, the slight... — Fanfare, January/February 2020 More…

Rohan de Saram’s mastery has for decades now been a fixture in the classical music world, and his artistry through this mixed menu of a recital never flags for an instant; a few moments of marginally... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2019, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Encompassing the expressive richness of the variations is a tall order for any player. From the outset, Alexandra Papastefanou takes a nuanced view, both poised and elegant. While the first two... — BBC Music Magazine, October 2021, 4 out of 5 stars More…

A pot-pourri of charming, mostly forgotten violin-andpiano miniatures that proved popular as salon entertainment during the 19th century. There is real depth and craft here, too. — BBC Music Magazine, November 2020, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Her artistry in this Helsinki concert is consummate and her memory almost faultless. With a warmly lyrical opening, and a touch responding to the variegated requirements of the score, she makes... — BBC Music Magazine, June 2020, 5 out of 5 stars More…

These are lovely, subtle works, and I hope that Skempton finds a broad audience on both sides of the Atlantic. Listeners who appreciate the music of Gavin Bryars probably will respond to Skempton... — Fanfare, May/June 2020 More…

The main event is the first-ever recording of the complete, original set of Six Partitas by Johann Joseph Vilsmaÿr…[these] are challenging polyphonic works, full of double- and triple-stops,... — Gramophone Magazine, February 2016 More…

You will see on full display the depth of touch, the legato weight-transfer and the shaping of phrases inculcated by the school of Alexander Goldenweiser…allied to a personality of exceptional... — Gramophone Magazine, November 2016 More…