Paganini: Caprices for solo violin, Op. 1 Nos. 1-24 (complete)

��Ehnes has returned to these coruscating 'finger-breakers' (as Ricci once described them), playing with the same glowing tonal finesse as before, but with a new lyrical intensity� Beguilingly played and expertly engineered, this deserves a place on anyone's shortlist of the Caprices.� --BBC Music Magazine, December 2009

Gramophone Magazine: Disc of the Month - January 2010

�Ehnes has recorded the Caprices before, in 1995, at the age of 19. Since then his view of the music hasn�t changed a great deal� There's the same daring, bold approach, relying on exceptional technique to deliver an inner vision of each piece� what has changed is that Ehnes's technique has got even better, the intonation more precise, the bow control more sensitive. And the new recording adds an extra degree of clarity so that the playing makes a more vivid impact. Even a solitary listener will feel the desire to applaud the Presto section of No 11, with its jaunty rhythms and extraordinary leaps, or the quick staccato scales at the end of No 21.� --Gramophone Magazine, January 2010

In the South

�this is an enjoyable disc of off-the-beaten-track music for string quartet...The Brodsky Quartet clearly relish the chance to do something less heavyweight than their usual repertoire� BBC Music Magazine, October 2013 ****

�[in the Turina] vibrant Iberian colours make an unalloyed delight of the Brodsky's playing...[Rowland] leads a performance [of the Verdi] that stings with the shock of extreme dynamic contrasts and thrills with moments of rhythmic exactness...this is a very refreshing collection.� -- International Record Review, May 2013

�Not unexpectedly, the performances by the Brodsky Quartet are full of spontaneously imaginative insights and equal to all the diverse demands of these six composers.� --Gramophone, June 2013

�These six works are by composers not associated with string quartets. The mood is Italianate, but not exclusively so...Paul Cassidy, has arranged � winningly � two solo violin Caprices by Paganini for quartet, here in a premiere recording...Verdi's Quartetto has a lyrical if operatic simplicity and energy. All evoke pleasurable heat and light.� --The Observer, 24th March 2013

Paganini: Ghiribizzi

The ultimate violin virtuoso, Niccol� Paganini also wrote more than 100 pieces for guitar, including these Ghiribizzi (�whims�). Composed for �a little girl in Naples� who must have been both talented and eager to develop her technique, these whimsical works explore a wide range of musical styles idiomatic to the guitar. Many of the 43 short movements draw on themes by Rossini, Paisiello, S�ssmayr, Mozart, Giuliani and, of course, Paganini himself. Praised by Les cahiers de la guitare as �inspired� and Koelner Stadt Anzeiger as a �genius�, Denis Sungho Janssens made his 2005 Carnegie Hall d�but as a Rising Star of the European Concert Hall Organization.

Berlioz: Harold In Italy; Paganini: Sonata Per La Grand Viola

�Carpenter rises to all the challenges with great dexterity, preserving fine tone and pure intonation in the most (for the viola player) alarming situations...the performance of Harold, too, has much to recommend it - a fine-toned soloist, rhythmic, well-balanced orchestral playing and clear, bright recording. There are some especially imaginative touches of tone-painting� --Gramophone Magazine, December 2011

�the undisputed star is the first recording of the more virtuosic, original version of Harold in Italy which is fully exploited by Carpenter's beguiling, beautiful tone and thrilling technique. The orchestra is no bit-part player here; Ashkenazy's ensemble throughout makes this an outstanding collaboration.� --Classic FM Magazine, December 2011 ****

�Carpenter is the eloquent viola soloist in Berlioz�s Byronic symphony...[Ashkenazy and the Helsinki orchestra ] reveal the music�s narrative heart compellingly. Paganini�s own Sonata for viola and orchestra, scarcely on a par with Berlioz, nevertheless allows Carpenter to demonstrate his lyrical musicality and bravura.� --The Telegraph, 22nd September 2011 ****

�The excellent violist David Aaron Carpenter has reinstated a virtuoso passage in the opening adagio, originally sketched for Paganini. With Ashkenazy and the Helsinki PO, he gives a masterly account of the work, glowing and incisive.� --Sunday Times, 16th October 2011