Extraordinary critical acclaim for Stephen Hough's Chopin Waltzes

16 October 2011

Stephen Hough’s disc of Chopin’s Waltzes for Hyperion has garnered extraordinary critical acclaim in the UK press since its release this summer.

In a five-star review for the CD, The Guardian’s Andrew Clements commented: “Hough's playing has such authority and panache, its balance between virtuosity and vividly communicated expression so finely judged, that every perfectly scaled moment is as intensely realised as every other. Few other pianists around today play Chopin with as much understanding and poised mastery as this.” Geoff Brown, writing in The Times, agreed: “You don’t just hear Hough’s fingers; you hear his soul… there’s still something magical about Hough’s variations in pulse. The Minute Waltz contains one of the best melting moments of all; I could feel my knees giving way… I was dancing with Chopin and one of the world’s top pianists.”

The Telegraph’s Paul Gent gives five stars for Hough’s playing: “all the sophisticated inner parts and harmonic shifts are brought out with the greatest insouciance and style.” While John Allison in BBC Music Magazine gives the same top rating, commenting “Stephen Hough sets a sparkling tone…on this altogether brilliant disc.” The Sunday Times features Hugh Canning’s own five star review for Hough’s Chopin: “His delicious lilt and rubato always seem perfectly judged, and he sweeps us off our feet with the twinkle-fingered brilliance of his dashing F major waltz…a mesmerising collection.” These sentiments are echoed by Stephen Pritchard in The Observer, calling the disc “essential listening”.

In December 2011, the world's largest online music store, iTunes, named the disc as the Best Instrumental Album in the Classical category. 

To read a selection of the reviews in full, please click on the links below:

The Telegraph

The Guardian

The Observer

The Times (requires registration)

The Sunday Times (requires registration)