18-11-2015 De Volkskrant
"5*****
["]..Right at the opening of Schubert's String Quintet, played by the solo strings of Amsterdam Sinfonietta, you will be amazed at the great contrasts between total silence and drama, and the color palette that ranges from ethereal to deep droning bass tones.""
26-11-2014 Crescendo
"Candida Thompson positively plays for one's life. This release sparkles a beautiful sensual liveliness, that one can not resist!"
10-11-2014 NRC
"“Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons from Buenos Aires is quickly becoming one of the most popular pieces from the contemporary classical music repertoire. Now Amsterdam Sinfonietta has put it on a disc as well (The Argentinian Album) – and that recording might just be the best so far.”
“It sizzles, it stings. Very beautiful.”"
01-06-2014 Luister
"It is hard to imagine that there are executions which sound better and show more spirit"
10-05-2014 Pizzicato
""Tigran Mansurian’s intense music could hardly be better served then by the performers of this outstanding, profoundly moving ECM production. Especially Kopatchinskaja is entirely immersed in the music and she has strong support from the flawless Amsterdam Sinfonietta.""
24-04-2014 Platomania
"Amsterdam Sinfonietta dedicates this CD recording to all its musical friends - both onstage and backstage - who have helped to bring the ensemble to its present position."
24-04-2014 Gramophone
"I would rather concentrate on the high quality of the playing and recording quality, and therefore give the disc a warm welcome to the catalogue."
24-04-2014 Musicframes
"A touching composition, played with verve by the violinist Candida Tompson together with the Asterdam Sinfonietta on the cd ‘Shostakovich Weinberg‘."
09-04-2014 Klassieke zaken
"The enclosed DVD about twenty-five years orchestra joys and sorrows explains why the performances of this string orchestra are of such compelling beauty."
07-01-2014 Pizzicato
"Between Shostakovich’s powerful and emotionally gripping Chamber Symphonies, Weinberg’s Concertino is lyrical and relaxing. The Amsterdam Sinfonietta gives a fascinating account of the three works, and possibly even the most incisive version of the Shostakovich scores."
04-11-2013 HVT
"Maybe Amsterdam Sinfonietta is one of the best kept secrets of our country. Incredibly high level [...] everyone should be listening to this."
30-09-2013 NRC Handelsblad
""It was a long time ago that I heard them playing live, but when they started, there it was again: that familiar sound of only strings, which together produce a palette of timbres ranging from velvety to a substantial but never vulgar forte"
"
01-04-2013 concerti
"Even though you just listen to the CD, you recognize immediatly, that they are making music on the brink of the chair - with irrepressible curiosity and with the desire to experiment."
26-03-2013 concerti.de
"The iridescent and imaginative, the colourfully changing, the chatoyant "Ambience" in Britten's Works is commemorating to impressionism - that is what Amsterdam Sinfonietta performs with precious ecstasy."
01-03-2013 Record Review
"The spectral atmosphere at the start is memorable and the focus on the detailed interplay of string lines proves refreshing in itself. "
02-02-2013 Weekeinde
"Britten's best known works are sounding here as if they were completely new. Led by Candida Thompson the Amsterdam Sinfonietta plays with their direct style as always driven to excite through the live experience. Barbara Hanningan with her vocal strength, charm and vulnerability is a dream soprano for Les illuminations. The tenor James Gilchrist and hornist Jasper de Waal are sublime in the Serenade. The listener may imagine himself attended an outstanding concert."
01-02-2013 Akkord Magazine
"Tasteful and playful Britten. The sweet voice of Barbara Hannigan moves effortlessly across the strings. It is a very diverse piece with different characters, play techniques and dynamic extremes. Amsterdam Sinfonietta plays flawlessly. These four works excellently illustrate tasteful, playful and sensual music Britten wrote."
concerti
"This is captivating, subtle adictive music in sublime interpretation"
BBC Music Magazine
"“Candida Thompson lends a wild voluptuousness to this feel-good Argentinian collection.”
“One of the best performances of Piazzolla’s spicy Four Seasons on disc; Ginastera’s string Concerto boasts a scherzo like high-octane Mendelssohn and a ferocious finale.”
5/5 stars"
