"The selection of melodic favourites and encore items here demonstrates a technique which can seemingly deliver perfection every time. If you enjoy the sheer beauty of cantabile playing in Schubert's Ave Maria - double-stopped octaves perfectly in tune - the charm of Fauré's Berceuse (lovely muted tone), the nostalgia of Kreisler's Caprice Viennois, the sweetness of Wieniawski's Scherzo-Tarantelle, the acrobatics of Sarasate's Zapateado (outdoing even La Campanella), or any of the other dozen showpieces on this album, then you will not be disappointed" Manchester Evening News "played here with unfailing brilliance and glorious singing tone. Leland Chen, a Menuhin pupil, has been praised before for his extraordinary mastery of a wealth of different styles and modes of expression..." (Ludwig Van Beethoven - CD of Two Violin Sonatas) Manchester Evening News "This disc presents the formidable chamber music duo of Leland Chen, a strong, sensitive violinist and John Lenehan, a pianist of virtuoso proclivities. He is capable of poetic phrasing and is a violinist of imposing stature." (Strauss/Franck Sonatas) The Strad "Chen and Lenehan have all the necessary qualities: technical confidence and panache, the ability to play with uninhibited expression, yet showing proper respect for the text of the music" (Strauss/Franck Sonatas) Gramophone "This is a remarkably fine disc, containing as good a performance of the Franck Sonata as I have ever encountered. Chen's playing is superlative, rich in tone, flawless in intonation, immaculate in articulation." (Strauss/Franck sonatas) Musical Opinion "... his mature musicality encapsulates the Improvisation of the movement's title. This self-involved atmosphere is contrasted in the final movement with a more extrovert approach, where huge technical demands are placed on both players. They project Strauss's broad structural arches and bold textures (often orchestral in conception) with a great dedication which makes for thrilling listening." MusicTeachers.co.uk "Leland Chen was delighting a capacity audience at Bradford's St George's Hall recently (Brahms/Halle/Kent Nagano) and now another recording success. He is the man for the big moments and he brings an admirable feeling of strength to both works." Yorkshire Post "..his tone is uncannily like that of vintage Menuhin... a magical performance" (Tchaikovsky /Halle/Gunther Herbig) Manchester Evening News "... one of the most satisfying recent recordings of the work. Chen has the technical brilliance to cope with the pyrotechnics of the finale and, more important, the warmth of tone and poetic sensitivity to reach the romantic yet reclusive soul of the music" (Elgar Bruch Violin Concertos) Sunday Telegraph "In both works the soloist's near-immaculate intonation and infallible tonal beauty (his is what you might call a lyric soprano violin timbre) are great assets, and his sense of style commendable" (Elgar/Bruch Violin Concertos) BBC Music Magazine "...everything is quite magnificent... the special qualities of the Elgar place this release in the top flight. I cannot recommend it too highly." (Elgar/Bruch violin Concertos); Hi Fi News & Record Review "..every phrase is seen to be leading to the next, to the extent that each movement emerges as one extended statement. It is an attribute unsurpassed in any performance." (`The Strad' Survey of Franck Sonata recordings) The Strad