"Critic’s Choice 2018“ in AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE
„ This marvelous recording has been a real ear opener for me...This brilliant pianist plays the sprawling work (53 minutes) with infectious enthusiasm and draws unexpectedly rich expression from it. It emerges as a highly inventive and engaging composition…“
Bruno Repp, American Record Guide, Nov/Dec 2018
"... Sie hat sich Zeit gelassen mit ihrem internationalen Platten-Debut - und das hört man. Herausgekommen ist eine Darstellung des Ludus Tonalis, die bis in alle Einzelheiten überzeugt - ein durchdachter und ausgefeilter Wurf. ... Was bei Walker Freude macht, ist neben dem weiträumigen und leuchtenden Klangbild die Frische und Lebendigkeit ihres Zugriffs fern jeder akademischen Trockenheit. Da kommt in keinem Augenblick der Eindruck auf, hier würden nur "kontrapunktische und klaviertechnische Uebungen" - so der Untertitel von Hindemiths sicherlich bedeutendstem Klavierwerk - betrieben…“
Ingo Harden, Fono Forum, Juli 2018
"...pianist Esther Walker plays it with warmth of tone and lyrical distinction. In her hands, it becomes much more than an exercise; it is living, breathing music, interesting and attractive at the same time. In the brisker fugues, Walker plays with energy and enthusiasm. The “Scherzando” interlude is also played with a deft touch and a nicely bouncing rhythm. The result is a performance of both fascinating construction (the third fugue almost sounds like a modern version of J.S. Bach’s The Art of Fugue) and a strong desire to make the score appealing to the average listener. In this she succeeds brilliantly...This is a great CD that you need to hear if you enjoy modern music.“
Lynn René Bayley, The Art Music Lounge, May 25, 2018 whole review
„ Esther Walker magistrale dans Hindemith et Hartmann…“
Pierre Hugli, ph+arts no 135
„...Die Pianistin Esther Walker präsentiert den „Ludus Tonalis“ in einer äusserst unterhaltsamen, spielerischen Interpretation und vermag hingegen in Hartmanns Sonate die intensiven Emotionen unmittelbar zu transportieren, so dass man als Hörer am Ende des letzten Satzes betroffen zurückbleibt. Sternstunde der Polarität."
CLASS : aktuell, 2018 / Nr. 2
„...Esther Walker is fully inside Hindemith’s exploratory harmonies, her delineation of textures a model of its kind… The playing is of the highest intelligence, the intellectual grasp of Hindemith’s processes complete…
This is a remarkable performance, and the recording standard is superb (the piano is a Steinway, recorded at Salle de musique, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland). This rendition of Hindemith’s Ludus Tonalis deserves to sit alongside Berezovsky’s colorful affair and Olli Mustonen’s superbly recorded, highly intelligent Decca traversal...
This is a superb release on each and every level; not one for the faint-hearted, though."
Colin Clarke, Fanfare Magazine, Issue 42:1 Sept/Oct 2018 whole review
„...In this superb and technically fine recording, Esther Walker presents this work (Hindemith) in a manner of which I feel certain the composer would have enthusiastically approved. Her part-playing and technical command are exemplary, her intellectual control absolutely right, so that one comes to the end of the journey intellectually fulfilled and emotionally nourished—and not a little humbled by the towering achievement of the work overall...
In Hartmann’s musical syntax, the music sits comfortably alongside Hindemith, whose influence is palpable, but not in any “copying” sense: Both composers may utilize the same “language” in terms of style, but Hartmann’s expression is wholly genuine, and his alone—especially in the phenomenal finale to this almost wholly neglected masterpiece...
For those pianists who seek worthwhile 20th-century music and who are able to drag themselves away from Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Bartók, and Ligeti, Esther Walker’s magnificent account of this piece may well come as a revelation. Her playing is superb, especially of the wry coda to the finale…"
Robert Matthew-Walker, Fanfare Magazine, Issue 42:1 Sept/Oct 2018 whole review
Album released : 11th December 2020
