"... beautifully shaped, romantic in its reverie but without a hint of indulgence ... an interpretation that had both power and finesse."
The Telegraph, June 2007
"Her performances have a wonderfully fluid stylishness, with scrupulous ornamentation that never seems self-consciously correct, and they are founded upon a willingness to use the full tonal resources of a modern concert grand in a way that seems to make utterly irrelevant any question of what is historically or musicologically "correct" in playing this music."
The Guardian, January 2007
"With mesmerising finesse, Hewitt's brain and fingers threaded their way through the trills and modulations of flute and violin. And then she'd bend low, smiling, over the keyboard, as though communicating with Bach's innermost spirit - and proving, in her cadenza, that she was in vibrant touch with his entire nerve system."
The Times, October 2006
"Angela Hewitt plays this refreshing selection [of Chabrier] with the same poetry, elegance and dancing touch that made her other French discs for Hyperion so special. The ten Pièces pittoresques take pride of place: dominated by sunshine, delightfully frisky rhythms and an early French Impressionist haze. Fed up of grey skies? Buy this disc and it's already spring."
The Times, February 2006
"Here she completes a three-CD survey of those [Couperin] works in typically fine style... Ms. Hewitt's handling of all those fleeting lilts and curlicues is a model of lightness and elegance. As a result, little nothings like "Le Petit-Rien" in the 14th Order are sheer rippling delights... As with the disc as a whole, one item proves more delicious than the last."
New York Times, January 2006
“Her performances are a delight: charismatic, effervescent, uplifting in the fast movements, poignant, delicate and touching in the slow ones.”
Evening Standard, 27 May 2005
“…[take] Hewitt’s exactitude in laying bare the sonata’s structural logic, and her location of its emotional kernel in its moments of stasis and reflection rather than in bravura drama. The single movement form evolved as an organic whole, in which not a single phrase seemed extraneous. Hewitt’s playing of the central slow section was exquisite in its subtlety… this was an impressive interpretation, admirable in its lucidity”.
The Guardian, 25 May 2005
“Quite aside from Hewitt’s light touch an infallible sense of rhythm, there’s her feeling for the shape of a phrase and her keen imagination, especially apparent in the first movement of the Brandenburg Concerto… Undoubtedly one of the major achievements in Hewitt’s Bach series for Hyperion…”
The Independent, 24 May 2005
"She has the technical ability to describe multiple intricacies with stunning clarity. Presiding over the athleticism, however, is a lovely sense of proportion and - what would seem a contradiction - a free-spirited love of theater... Thank you, Ms. Hewitt. A wonderful evening."
The New York Times, 11 April 2005
“One of the most elegant pianists around, the Canadian virtuoso Angela Hewitt interrupts her epic Bach and Couperin cycles for Hyperion to explore some of Chopin's most refined music, the complete Nocturnes and Impromptus. Hewitt's innate sophistication and delicacy of touch are perfectly suited to these exquisite pieces, 25 of them over two discs, by a master of the genre at the height of his fragile powers. Spanning almost his entire creative life, the Nocturnes amount to a remarkable graph of Chopin's emotional maturity, touchingly reflected in the affectionate care Hewitt brings to what sounds like a labour of love.”
The Observer, 14 November 2004
“…Sparkle, gravity, beautiful tailoring, subtle colours, intellectual fire: every ingredient this repertoire needs lies at her beck and call. I only wish there were ten more Bach releases to follow.”
The Times, July 2004
“The paramount quality of Angela Hewitt’s piano playing is the joy it communicates. Underpinning it there is incontrovertible intellectual rigour; and there are great reserves of wisdom and technical finesse. But the thing that came across so strongly in this substantial recital was that she has an ability to seize upon the distinguishing traits of a piece of music, conceive them carefully in terms of the piano, and then, most importantly, interpret them in a way that speaks with candour, freshness and animation…
Allied to the terrific clarity and verve that she brought to the quick, lithe variations, there was a luminous glow to her timbre in the softer ones, with subtle, telling inflections when the same music was repeated. It was a performance at once rich in variety and absorbing in its structural and emotional impact.”
The Daily Telegraph, November 2003
“It was a positive sensation. The Canadian pianist is one of the reliably mesmerising musicians of the day. You sit entranced….it would have been more accurate to say I was floating just below the ceiling. She seems to me the complete performer, gifted not only with fingers that imprint each note with a svelte newness and a mind that is not deflected by such precision work from calmly surmising the larger structure, but also with the ability to convey a spiritual seriousness that nonetheless does not exclude an utter charm.”
The Sunday Times, September 2003
“…Hewitt demonstrated that [Fauré’s Ballade for Piano and Orchestra] is infinitely more than a virtuoso piece. Hewitt's playing was breathtaking, with Fauré's lovely score exposed in all its yearning, serenity and sublime naturalness. Hewitt also performed Ravel's Sonatine for solo piano, making Ravel's fiendishly difficult music smooth, sustained and sparkling, despite its introspection. Hewitt suggests that "Ravel didn't want it to sound commonplace", and in her hands it certainly did not.
The Guardian, February 2003
“The hush that spread throughout the vast crowd, as the renowned Canadian pianist and Bach specialist poetically unveiled the aria that is the subject of Bach’s monumental set of variations, was rapt. And that mood was sustained as, for the next hour, Hewitt wove spellbinding magic from the music, a masterly performance becoming, ultimately, a great account of a towering work. …Hewitt’s version was all about lyricism and expressiveness, with the variations delivered with the lightest touch. Fluidity was all in this account, which had tremendous emotional depth and concentration. What a pianist. What a performance. What a series. What an experience.”
The Herald, August 2002