"A former child prodigy, Richard Harwood, now 28, has almost inevitably been labelled "the greatest young cello talent since Jacqueline du Pré". Living down the comparison, he has built his career steadily and unflashily. On this showing, he is a player of discernment and finesse, phrasing eloquently and conjuring a beautiful range of colours from his mahogany-toned 1682 Rugeri cello. There is temperament in his playing, too, as you can immediately hear in the Beethoven sonata. Without short-changing the music's lyricism, Harwood and his excellent pianist Christoph Berner give an unusually fiery, sinewy performance. In the Chopin sonata, the first movement balances elegance and romantic ardour, while the tarantella finale dances with thistledown delicacy. In between the serious business we get four bonnes bouches, including a coruscating performance of Popper's Elfentanz. A black mark to EMI, though, for airbrushing Berner's name from the front cover." Richard Wigmore

"Splendid playing from this young cellist in a debut of distinction."
Duncan Druce, Gramophone

"an articulate musician with zest, spontaneity, technical assurance and a lovely sense of line......a major talent."
Helen Wallace, BBC Music Magazine

"EMI Classics scores another hit in its Debut series."
Raymond S. Tuttle, International Record Review

"Effortlessly natural."
Paul Sizer, Muso

"With his rich but clean tone and strong but fluent technique, it's clear that English cellist Richard Harwood spent time in Vienna studying with the great Heinrich Schiff. Restrained but deeply expressive, intelligent but profoundly soulful, virtuosic but less concerned with showing off his talent than with delving into the music, Harwood is imbued with the spirit of the central European tradition of selfless music-making."
James Leonard, allmusic.com

"Noticeable from the solo opening of Beethoven's op.69 is the voluptuous shaping of Harwood's phrasing - no half measures here. His playing is hard to beat for sheer beauty of tone."
Janet Banks, The Strad

"The young English cellist Richard Harwood has chosen wisely for his calling-card debut CD for EMI. He clearly has a hand-in-glove musical relationship with his pianist, Christoph Berner. And he shines in all the repertoire he's chosen, major sonatas by Beethoven and Chopin, given with ardent grandeur and generous lyricism, and a clutch of encore pieces delivered with a quality of finish that appears to come from superb technique allied to deep affection. Expect to hear a lot more from both of these performers."
Michael Dervan, The Irish Times

"In the opening Beethoven sonata, he delivers the alternating phrases of fiery energy and melting sweetness with equal conviction... With an EMI debut of this strength, I’m already looking forward to the next one."
Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk/music

"Richard Harwood's debut CD with Christoph Berner contains some quite extraordinary technical accomplishment and a very fine balance of cello and piano (quite rare these days) achieved by EMI. I particularly enjoyed the Chopin Sonata and a first rate account of Popper's Elfentanz."
Keith Harvey, Violoncello Society of London

"Richard Harwood's cello recital does indeed offer plenty to enjoy......Harwood and Berner display fine duo partnership and strong, intelligent musical instincts."
Jessica Duchen, Classic FM Magazine