'‘With sharply defined performances from the BBC Philharmonic, this recording deserves a very hearty endorsement.’'
BBC Music Magazine on CHAN 9851 (The Film Music of Malcolm Arnold)

'‘… expertly played by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by rising star baton-wielder Rumon Gamba.’'
Classic FM Magazine on CHAN 9867 (The Film Music of Sir Richard Rodney Bennett)

'‘In all this music, played with fervour and flair by the well-proven Rumon Gamba-BBC Philharmonic partnership, the vigour and vitality of the composer’s musical invention shines through.’'
Gramophone on CHAN 9896 (The Film Music of Sir Arthur Bliss)

'It is a tremendous achievement, the crowning glory of Vernon Handleys dedication to British music in general and to this composer in particular.'
Sir Arnold Bax Gramophone 'Take Five'

'Truth to tell, Im still reeling from the impact of this magnificent set; its insights are copious, Chandos layout is ideal (with none of the symphonies split between discs) and the price is tempting too.'
Gramophone (Critic's Choice)

'Handley, the BBC Philharmonic, executive producer Brian Pidgeon and the Chandos engineers give us sonic glories in spades. These discs transport us to windswept coastlines, the ocean floor, pagan dances and the nobility of love, defeat, death and triumph… This is a wonderful set of compelling haunting music; it deserves to spread joy not just over Christmas but for life.'
The Times

'Expert playing from members of the City of London Sinfonia, and Hickoxs pacy account combines precision with spirit in a score he clearly loves.'
Opera Magazine

''But, although any Britten opera at budget price is worth investigating, it is the Chandos recording that gives the work more dramatic strength and psychological depth, it seems more palatable.''
The Guardian

''Hickox's enthusiastic advocacy is a splendid addition to his expanding survey on disc of Britten's stage works. He enters into the spirit of the piece as successfully as Britten himself'''
Gramophone

' ‘Marvellously resourceful and inventive scores which are given vivid and persuasive performances by Tortelier and the BBC Philharmonic orchestra… The engineers give us a splendidly detailed and refined portrayal of these complex textures – the sound is really state-of-the-art.’'
The Penguin Complete Guide

'‘Well-characterised contributions from Martyn Hill and Neal Davies complete this valuable and recommended release.’'
Gramophone

'‘…the Tortelier/Chandos Dutilleux series deserves a place in everyone’s collection.’'
Gramophone

'As musical director of Opera Australia, it is not surprising that Richard Hickox should want to make recordings with that excellent company. He has made a bold choice in Dvorak’s last and greatest opera, Rusalka, when there is a near definitive version available on Decca with a mainly Czech cast and the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras. Yet even in face of such competition there is a strong case for the new version from Chandos… A final choice must remain marginal, anyone who wants a new-minted version of one of the most magical of all operas… this new Chandos version made an excellent choice.'
Gramophone Editor’s Choice

'The new performance has much to recommend it. It is also sung in Czech skilfully though (as a foreigner I suggest diffidently) with mixed success. It has at the helm Richard Hickox, well at ease with this Australian forces, pacing the music expertly with an affectionate hand. He draws excellent playing from the orchestra, which has a distinct warmth and timbre of its own… Cheryl Barker is an outstanding Rusalka.'
International Record Review

'Cheryl Barker is on excellent form, immersing herself in Rusalka’s fiendish technical and emotional range. Good showings in smaller roles include Bruce Martin as a cranky Water Sprite.'
The Times

'There are so many magnificent moments that space does not permit comment on every section. Suffice it to say that the soloists are all in great voice, the choral work is superb and Hickox draws sublime playing from the orchestra. This CD is required listening for all lovers of English choral music.'
The Delian (Delius Society)

'The performance does Dyson proud: Hickox is rather good at this kind of thing, and his soloists and choruses are generally reliable' and Chandos has given them good sound' enthusiastically recommended.'
Fanfare

'Its hard to imagine Quo Vadis getting a better performance than it receives here… The four soloists share a directness of approach that aptly serves Dysons metaphysical rhetoric: elevated but not pretentious. Conductor Richard Hickox surely deserves credit for this, as he does for beautifully balanced choral work and the lustrous orchestral playing. All of this captured by Chandos in sound thats astonishingly spacious and detailed.'
Opera News (USA)

'Turovsky paces convincingly, not missing Handel’s breadth of sonority and moments of expressive grandeur. This now becomes our first choice for this wonderful music.'
Penguin Complete Guide

'Turovsky paces convincingly, not missing Handel’s breadth of sonority and moments of expressive grandeur. This now becomes our first choice for this wonderful music.'
Penguin Complete Guide

'I have rarely heard the Danish Radio Orchestra and Chorus perform at such a level of passion, precision and conviction. Under Michael Schonwandt’s fiery baton they are primed to made the best possible case…'
Fanfare

'An extremely well played and sung version which offers the complete score.'
Disc of the month, The Independent on CHAN 9855(4) (War and Peace)

'Hickox has thorough command of the score…and the recording quality is excellent.'
American Record Guide on CHAN 9855(4) (War and Peace)

'For once, I have something vaguely seasonal to offer: Prokofiev’s ‘Love for Three Oranges’, sung in English and with its pantomime spirit brilliantly caught.'
David Fanning Gramophone 2006 Critic’s Choice

'‘…Hickox conducts with conviction… A convincing performance of a compelling opera’.'
Classic CD on CHAN 9706(2) (The Consul)

'‘Hickox clearly believes in this piece, and does his utmost to heighten the work’s… lyrical moments… there is a real theatrical buzz to the whole undertaking…’'
BBC Music on CHAN 9706(2) (the Consul)

'‘Its star is Richard Hickox, who conducts with unflagging energy and lyrical flow, guiding the soloists to pointed characterisation and building up the massed effects of the choral scenes.'
Opera News, New York

' ‘Hickox’s performances of all three works here… are models of clarity and articulation… the series will fill a gap in the catalogue that a noisy lobby has been demanding for years.’'
The Guardian on CHAN 9401 (Symphonies Nos 4, 10 & 11)

'‘Thanks to all concerned are in order – for Hickox’s perceptive interpretation, the players’ dedication and sensitivity and last but not least, the exemplary recorded sound that we rather take for granted on this label. Strongly recommended.’'
Gramophone on CHAN 9481 (Symphonies Nos 2 & 6)

' ‘… I am more than ever convinced that the Sorrel members are creating something special. In the face of stiff competition, their dramatic, detailed interpretations stand out – conscientious and convincing, firmly supported by secure, sometimes startling technical ability, appropriate tonal qualities and a powerful ensemble sensibility.’'
Fanfare

'These interpretations have a cumulative intensity that draws one into the composer’s confessional world.'
The Daily Telegraph on Vol.2

'Another strong instalment in the Sorrels’ series produces a rewarding experience.'
Gramophone on Vol 4

'A revelation…'
The Sunday Telegraph ‘Best of 1999’

'Chandos Salome is the most convincing modern reading…'
Gramophone ‘Critic’s Choice 1999’

'Crowning the whole magnificent set is orchestral playing from the Danish National Radio Symphony of world-class quality, richly textured yet finely detailed… Michael Schønwandts direction, eschewing vulgarity, is alert to every twist and turn of the plot…'
BBC Music Magazine

'These are performances to experience, marvellously played, vividly recorded… an investment for all seven symphonies that few listeners will regret.'
Classic CD

'The sonic quality of these compact discs is flawless… I would say that it’s safe to assume that this Chandos CD set is the definitive reading of these complete symphonies… I cannot recommend this compilation highly enough.'
American Record Guide

'These are performances to experience, marvellously played, vividly recorded… an investment for all seven symphonies that few listeners will regret.'
Classic CD

'‘Richard Hickox, whose dedication to the VW cause is second to none, directs a vivid performance …’'
BBC Music Magazine on CHAN 9646 (A Cotswold Romance etc)

'‘… it stands a fair chance of being the recording event of 1998; and it is among the most absorbing discs I’ve ever been sent for review.’'
Independent on Sunday on CHAN 9625(2) (The Pilgrim’s Progress)

' ‘… this new recording under Hickox’s direction … leaves a poignant impression … The Northern Sinfonia plays warmly throughout.’'
BBC Music Magazine on CHAN 9392 (Riders to the Sea etc)

'The Schoenberg Quartet's recent release of Schoenberg's complete works for strings (CHAN 9939(5)) was received with great enthusiasm:

‘…played with such obvious dedication – and, what's more unusual, with such apparent'
The Independent

'‘…this is music they [the Schoenberg Quartet] care about with a passion, and their performances convey that belief in ample measure. However well you think you know this fascinating and often inspiring music, do acquire this set.’'
Gramophone

'''this Chandos release, is now recommended as the basic set of Zemlinksy chamber music'''
Fanfare

'… Christian Curnyn has as infallible a sense of tempo and musico-dramatic shape… as the composer himself.The orchestral playing is light-fingered, colourful and sprightly, and the company commands a roster of the best singers among the younger generation of Handelians.'
The Times

'All in all it was a superb musical performance and a tantalising glimpse of an alternative approach to baroque opera.”'
"Andante.com on the Company’s performance of Handel’s Partenope at Covent Garden, Buxton and Aldeburgh."

'Christian Curnyn, our most original Handelian, directed the small band with his usual intense concentration and a sense of style and pacing.'
The Times on their performance of Handel’s Amadigi at the Iford Festival

'All in all, this is the finest disc of Haydn’s sacred music I have heard – an enthralling release'
BBC Music Magazine on Harmoniemesse etc.

'A disc guaranteed to refresh the spirit'
Gramophone Magazine on Theresienmesse

'Clear, fresh and sublimely beautiful.'
The Organ on Harmoniemesse

'O’Rourke and his partners capture Field’s spirit and style to perfection, warmly recorded in a natural acoustic'
Gramophone

'O’Rourke plays them with a gentle touch and exemplary taste, emphasising the music’s classical roots'
Classic FM Magazine

'‘Exuberant performances, overflowing with arch character and impish brio. Lortie doesn’t merely phrase responsively; he deftly teases and articulates, so that even routine passage-work lifts into scintillating repartee, wittily met by Pehlivanian and The Hague Residentie Orchestra,’'
Fanfare on CHAN 9801 (Volume 1)

'‘Lortie brings powerful and flamboyant playing…adding enormous vigour and vibrancy to the disc.’'
The Pianist on CHAN 9864 (Volume 2)

'‘The hugely underrated Louis Lortie completes his Liszt concertante piano music series for Chandos with yet another example of his fine Lisztian credentials’'
Gramophone Editor’s Choice on CHAN 9918 (Volume 3)

'Conductor Bryden Thomson and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra perform with passion and purpose in this, the find of the year.'
"Time, ‘The Best Music of 1992’"

'Three disc of music by the so-called English Scott Joplin may seem too much of a good thing. Yet Parkin effects the maximum variety throughout these delightful miniatures, with spontaneity and sheer joie-de-vivre always present.'
BBC Music Magazine

'The great merit of Wellers Chandos version is the warmth and weight of the recorded sound, with a large chorus set against full-bodied, satisfyingly string-based orchestral sound.'
The Penguin Guide

'One thing is certain. Not only are these consistently alive and spontaneous-sounding performances, but they are easily the best in the current catalogue.'
Gramophone

'The Philharmonia was in top form when these recordings were made, and the players dutifully follow their leader, Walter Weller.'
Fanfare

'It is only when confronted by a set of performances of such general excellence that one turns to points of detail; no-one, buying this set will ever regret purchasing it. Noel Goodwin’s excellent informative original notes have been retained. This is a splendid set which has not at all been outclassed by later rivals'
International Record Review

'As a Prokofiev interpreter Neeme Järvi is among the best.'
Gramophone

'…for those who above all simply wish to luxuriate in some of the most spellbinding scores in existence,Torteliers set could well prove to be the most rewarding of all… serious fans will prefer Tortelier.'
Classic CD

'…What a glorious instrument the Ulster Orchestra is in Torteliers hands…'
American Record Guide

'How you feel about this compilation may come down to where you place Ravel as an impressionist. In Tortelier’s hands, he is more of a neoclassical modernist than a blending shimmering impressionist, Sometimes he’s even a romantic. Tortelier’s approach is direct, with clear textures and clearly defined solos and choirs. Tempos are on the fast side, and the lively rhythms are solid and sometimes to the front of the beat in a way that really keeps the music moving. Articulations and note shapes are consistent and even. The soundstage is large, with considerable weight and powerful climaxes (for Ravel).'
American Record Guide

'This treasure-trove is a comprehensive survey of all the purely orchestral music from Verdi’s operas… Edward Downes who conducts with passion and power, shows himself once again to be one of his country’s leading Verdians.'
The Times on CHAN 9787(4) (Verdi set)

'…the Chandos engineers provide a glowingly resonant sound picture… it could hardly be better done.'
Gramophone on CHAN 9594 (Verdi,Vol. 2)

'Sir Edward Downes directs a world-class orchestra, and the results are all one could wish for.'
Classic CD on CHAN 9510 (Verdi,Vol. 1)