Reviews

“…Stone’s fluid playing is thrilling and in the central Andante, downright poetic.” Ariama (US)

“…while I was unable to locate a rival version for comparison, it would have to be very good indeed to better this newcomer from lutenist Richard Stone.” International Record Review (UK)

“…utterly faultless” Fanfare (US)

“…the lute concerto, in a splendidly limpid reading from the group’s other director, Richard Stone, is ground-cutting rococo, with its so-not plodding bass, sumptuous chords and intricate ornamentation, some of it improvised by the performer. Early Music Review (UK)

“…a welcome change of tonality and sonority for the Lute Concerto in D minor, featuring rippling solos from co-director Richard Stone.” Gramophone Awards Issue (UK)

“…splendid rendition of virtuosic technique and suave interpretation.” Chestnut Hill Local (US)

“…Lutenist Richard Stone’s playing was most impressive. There was not a note out of place, and his almost vocal tone was clear and vibrant.” American Journal of Classical Guitar

“…Stone’s playing is agile and confident, his sound round and full.” American Record Guide

“…Stone has lots of technique and shines in the soloist’s role. Players interested in broadening their understanding of Weiss should consider it obligatory listening.” Classical Guitar Magazine (UK)

“…Stone’s lute work is of such a memorable quality, as agile and effortless as it is engaging, as enjoyable as technically superb. The playing is vital, elegant and nuanced.” La Folia: Music Review

“…Richard Stone has a gorgeous tone, and, puts across the great splendor of this music, and succeeds in evincing the fascination with Weiss admitted so long ago by Mattheson.” Gitarre und Laute (Germany)

“…Stone seems an ideal interpreter for this music; he plays with good tone and great sensitivity, and overall seems to just have a good feel for the music. Recommended” High Performance Review (US)

“…A superb disc that will surely enrich every baroque-music enthusiast both emotionally and culturally.” Il Fronimo (Italy)

“…Stone is an accomplished lutenist, whose songful performances here will be attractive to many Fanfare readers. Recommended.” Fanfare (US)

“…This is a recording that will appeal to anyone who loves the music of the German baroque. In that sense, Weiss s sonatas represent a treasure trove that cannot appear too soon from the hands of Stone.” Continuo (Canada)

“…Stone’s precise, poetically nuanced performance was a good example of the work that has earned him a reputation as one of today’s leading lutenists.” Broad Street Review (US)

“…Stone’s performance of Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger’s Toccata No. 1 on theorbo (a lute with a stupendously long neck) had the energy of a rock solo and the craft of a classical cadenza.” Washington Post

“…Richard Stone gave a beautiful performance of Weiss’s lustrously melancholy Tombeau for Count Logy.” New York Times

“…The crown of laurel leaves must surely go to Richard Stone for his playing of Leopold Weiss’s Partita for baroque lute. Blessed with wondrously sonorous bass strings, he held us entranced with its poise, flow and content.” Border Marches Early Music Forum (UK)

“…His robust tone and considerable virtuosity were striking. I always experience a thrill when I see thoroughbred musicians; very concentrated and at the same time executing the music with a noble grace.” De Tabulatuur (The Netherlands)

“…Intermission gave way to a virtual culmination of the Baroque in J.S. Bach’s Suite for lute, with Stone giving a virtuoso performance.” The Journal-News (US)

“…Lutenist Richard Stone ever-so-slightly broadened the rhythm of [Vivaldi’s] Concerto in D major (RV 93), opening the door to a richer emotional world than what’s usually found in this music. There was a near-complete merging of repertoire and performer, in an interpretive equation not unlike that of bel canto opera.” Philadelphia Inquirer

“…A feast for the ears. Highlights included Richard Stone’s elegant ornamentation in the [Vivaldi] D major Lute Concerto.” Baltimore Sun

“…Stone’s playing is lucid, yet surprisingly robust, and pleasantly paced.” Philadelphia Music Makers

“…Stone’s instrument, the lute, speaks with a soft voice when it plays the solo role in a concerto, but if you listened a little more closely than you normally would, you heard flawless finger work, rolling lute melodies and the distinctive mood created by one of the most refined instruments human beings have fabricated.” Broad Street Review

“…The violin may lead for a moment, then an oboist guides a shift until theorbo guru and co-director Richard Stone mounts a rhythmic and color charge into new territory in music’s polar divide.” Philadelphia Inquirer

“…Lutenist Richard Stone gave a positively lyrical performance, pulling off even the most technically difficult passages with wonderful, playful ease.” Die Volksstimme (Germany)