“A blockbuster performance from Hough is almost a given, and sure enough, his technical and expressive gifts were on full display..”

“Hough displayed a demonic level of concentration with complete economy of means. There wasn’t a single superfluous movement as he negotiated the hills and dales of Rachmaninov’s music, pulling melodies out of a wash of notes. In Hough’s playing, the timbre of each phrase was so much more than the sum of its individual notes, which made the big sweeping themes come through wonderfully.”

“What a joy it is to bask in Stephen Hough’s musicianship. […] The G major andante, with its strange echoes of the allegro from Beethoven’s 18^th piano sonata, is pure Houghian delight: precision, phrasing, suspension, a delicacy of touch coexisting with an unfettered robustness. The carefree innocence of the A major’s opening movement is meat and drink to the pianist, and his playing of it demonstrates — again — why he is a supreme interpreter of Schubert: the nuance, shading and sonority seem both acutely focused and entirely innate.”

“Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto […] brought out a bristling, vehement side to the soloist Stephen Hough that was compelling from the start. Underscoring the instability of the music, he pounced on phrases, finding sharp accents and, in the first movement cadenza, impetuous virtuosity. All this suddenly seemed like a distant memory in his noble, affecting adagio — the back and forth with the winds was hypnotic — until he snapped back into a climactic rondo delivered with serious bite.”

“If there’s a right time in life to record certain works, then Stephen Hough has chosen precisely the right time to record these masterpieces [by Schumann]. They’re familiar works but in Hough’s hands we hear them afresh. Mature, worldly, insightful, probing – his playing is all these and more.”

“The awe-inspiring range and command of Stephen Hough’s pianism may be a given, but here [in his latest album Vida Breve] he has rarely sounded more imperious […] A hair-raising blend of mastery and imagination characterises the finale’s whirling diablerie [in Chopin’s Funeral March Sonata]. Two encores offer unforgettable solace […] showcasing his liquid honey touch and caressing instinct for nuance and inflection. […] A superb release.”

“Wonderful, almost miraculous […] There isn’t a colour, weight of attack or nuance of phrasing or rhythm that passes him by. Yet every effect, from the decorative flights in the early concertos to the imperial fortissimos of No.5, arrives and departs with natural ease. The most thrilling and moving performance? I’d nominate the kaleidoscopic No.3, blessed here with a particularly fiery Beethoven cadenza and a central largo so tenderly, thoughtfully stroked and probed that my tear ducts opened.”

“Blend imaginative yet learned interpretation, profound sensitivity and poetry, and personal charisma, and you have here one of the finest accounts of Brahms’s late piano works on record, one that stands head and shoulders above most contenders.”

“The performance of Beethoven Piano Concerto No.3 showed soloist in superb, even remarkable form […] Every note and line he played gave the impression of purpose, that Hough had found musical insight and personal meaning in every moment of the score. His approach was not just intellectual but emotional, with uncommon freshness and fire.”

“Each half [of Hough’s Royal Festival Hall recital] brought one of the two sets of Debussy’s Images. What dazzled me the most was this selfless and unshowy pianist’s effortless handling of the aqueous arpeggios in ​‘Reflets dans l’eau’, bright and delicate, rippling from his graceful right hand. There were many more chances to savour his featherweight brilliance and acute feeling for Debussy’s explorations of sound, from the meditative moon piece in the second book of Préludes, beautifully handled, to the piscine ballet of ​‘Poissons d’or’.”

“Hough’s impeccable ear for the inner voice, his way with line, the sheer musicality of his approach came through with crystal clarity. He’s truly an exquisite player.”

“It’s hard not to be a little awestruck by the breadth of Stephen Hough’s passions, to say nothing of his talents. [He] is simply one of the most interesting musicians around.”

“Schumann’s Piano Concerto, with Stephen Hough as soloist, had been a performance of such startling freshness and clarity that one of the most familiar of all 19^th-century piano concertos seemed totally reimagined, with the sweep and vigour supplied by Andris Nelsons and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra as the perfect foil to Hough’s cool brilliance.”