“Marchionda’s arrangements of these sonatas are impressively idiomatic. It’s difficult not to hear in Marchionda’s insightful performances of a selection of Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas a certain authenticity. This arises not only out of obvious virtuosity, but also out of skillfully transcribing the works so as to preserve as much as possible the original voicings, intervals and ornamentation and then performing them in a manner that likewise preserves their inherent colour and humour.” (Scarlatti Sonatas)
— GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE
“The case before us today shows that risk-taking can have its rewards. Over an hour of Scarlatti sonatas for guitar is still a novelty and constitutes an adventure both in transcription and interpretation. The splendid guitarist Marchionda showed courage enough to tackle such an undertaking and comes gracefully through from the challenge. Point in fact, the timbre of the harpsichord sometimes seems closer to that of the guitar than to the piano. And in the sonatas of Scarlatti, as we hear them on this recording, are a good example to illustrate this. But Marchionda also shows that the possibilities of the guitar’s strings are distinct from those of the harpsichord keyboard and without a doubt enriches his interpretation with vibratos and contrasting dynamics. Finally, although his personal approach to Scarlatti is perhaps somewhat romantic or Romantic, what is most prevalent in his extremely interesting work is that it is entirely convincing because of its sensitivity.” (Scarlatti Sonatas)
— SCHERZO MAGAZINE
“Marchionda’s expressive playing further enhances these qualities by emphasizing the melodic line and lending it a pronounced lyrical character, and by doing so, like all great musicians, effaces himself from the picture, leaving behind only the guitar. The quality of the recording captures the sound and character of the guitar so well that, if you close your eyes, you’ll find yourself basking in the sunlight of a highly aromatic Spanish flower garden.” (La guitarra poética- Granados)
— CLASSICAL MUSIC SENTENTIAL
“This is a truly splendid disc, where everything is in its proper place. Performances have a beguiling delicacy that brings out all the ravishing nuances of these works, and Marchionda’s scholarly and virtuosic transcriptions resonate with technical skills and thoughtful expression. The soloist’s detailed essay is also a fitting tribute to his thriving enthusiasm to raise this repertoire to a higher level of appreciation. Luscious presentation and smooth-sounding sonics complete another superb MDG issue.” (Serenata – Albéniz)
— CLASSICAL.NET
Impeccable artistry and eloquence – Stephen Marchionda is always convincing.” (Songs for Tenor and Guitar)
— CRITIC’S CHOICE, GRAMOPHONE
Stephen Marchionda is on top form, he delights in the twisting moods and technical challenges—no mean achievement. Machionda is on top form in Britten’s Nocturnal after John Dowland Reflections on ‘Come, heavy Sleep’. ” (Songs for Tenor and Guitar)
— INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW
“ Stephen Marchionda gave the performance of the evening in Music of Memory. Beautifully varied in texture, a sense of transformation, putting a musical idea before your ears, taking it through various adventures and, when it returns, making you hear it anew in the light of experience. ” (Wigmore Hall)
– The Independent, Four Stars
“ Sensitively dispatched by Stephen Marchionda. Stamped as much with romantic ardour as intellectual rigour. ” (Wigmore Hall)
– The Times, First Night Reviews, Five Stars
“Stephen Marchionda was impeccably musical and wonderfully deft with Maw’s intricate writing in the Six Interiors and again later in the solo Music of Memory.”
— FINANCIAL TIMES, EUROPE
“This is rather special, a guitarist who can obtain such a range of colour and expression from his instrument that 74 minutes doesn’t seem a second too long. It’s also a beautifully balanced concert program. Two songs by John Dowland, with an excellent and very natural-sounding impression of a lute—frame powerful, darkly inward-looking major works by Benjamin Britten and Nicholas Maw. Britten’s Nocturnal after John Dowland grows so tellingly out of the latter’s Come, Heavy Sleep—not just its leading melody but also its emotional world—that the difference in style hardly seems an issue. Then Maw’s unmistakably Brittenish Six Interiors and the later solo guitar Music of Memory must count amongst his most effective and roundly satisfying works…The performances are outstanding. Marchionda is a compelling soloist in Maw’s long, single movement Music of Memory, with each reference to the Mendelssohn Quartet that inspired it exquisitely placed and highlighted. Superb recordings too: intimate without ever feeling too close and finely balanced.”
— BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE – EDITOR’S CHOICE