'It is a remarkable achievement, arguably the best to appear on disc since Glenn Gould's second celebrated recording from 1981 ... [It] is the sheer technical command of her playing, coupled with such elegantly supple musicianship, that makes the performance so compelling ... Everything is right, everything is natural - this is Bach on the piano of the highest quality imaginable' (The Guardian)
'After five days of recording sessions last August, Angela Hewitt returned in the small hours of September 1 to give a complete "performance" for a few friends of the Bach's Aria with Diverse Variations. Fortunately, the engineers decided to keep the tapes rolling, for this, according to Hyperion's executive director, Ted Perry, is the "take" Hewitt and Hyperion decided to release. The resulting record is a miracle of music-making at its most instinctive and spontaneous. Even by Hewitt's exalted standards it is extraordinary: in the brilliant toccatas, she creates, with her amazing articulation, the illusion of the music being plucked by the modern piano's hammers; her virtuosity and joie de vivre in the fast variations - try 1, 14 and "the most dangerous of all the toccatas", No 20 - take the breath away. She also penetrates the heart of the great 13th and 25th variations without false romantic sentiment. The reprise of the Aria at the close - after a majestic variation 29 - is shattering. If you only buy one Bach album in this anniversary year, let it be this one. A desert-island disc!' (The Sunday Times)
'Outstanding...Hewitt's disc, exquisite artistry commingling with infectious exhilaration gives me the most pleasure' (BBC Music Magazine)
'Beautifully co-ordinated Bach playing, with all voices colourfully defined and spontaneity as a constant virtue. In my view, she has never made a better CD. Strongly recommended' (Gramophone)
'This is as fine a version of Bach's inventive Goldberg Variations as there is' (The Express)
'Hewitt is one of the very finest Bach interpreters around. She possesses all the mechanical skills needed to master the difficulties facing the soloist, but never loses sight of the humanity that is evident in every note ... Playing of the highest order, and one of the finest recordings of this work you're ever likely to hear' (The Scotsman)
'The most recent in a series of wonderfully compelling Bach recordings by pianist Angela Hewitt. She seems to do everything right ... simply one of the best piano versions available' --(Fanfare, USA)
