BBC music magazine2013 AprilByByMichael Scott Rohan2013 April"Hvorostovsky sings [Tchaikovsky's six songs] with passionate expression ... Hvorostovsky's elegant approach makes a good case for hearing more [Taneyev] ... Against the original piano accompaniment [of Songs and Dances of Death] his command is absolute ... With Ivari Ilja's spirited playing, this is one of the finest performances I've heard".
Fono Forum2013 JuliByByGregor Willmes2013 Juli"Dmitri Hvorostovskys Stimme besitzt eher die Eigenschaften eines kraftvollen, schwarzen 'russischen' Basses als die eines lyrischen Baritons. Von Ivari Ilja am Klavier sensibel getragen, macht der aus Sibirien stammende Sänger die Ausdruckskraft dieser Lieder hörbar".
The gramophone2013 AprilByByGeoffrey Norris2013 April"Vurdering: Gramophone choice" - "Hvorostovsky was born to sing these songs ... He brings to his interpretations a new richness and darkness of timbre, beautifully polished as it always was but enhanced with an even deeper understanding of how to project the subtleties of Mussorgsky's vocal writing ... This is a top-choice version of the Songs and Dances of Death and it is rendered even more valuable through being set in the context of equally persuasive performances of Tchaikovsky and Taneyev".
International record review2013 MarchByByJohn T. Hughes2013 March"The Taneyev compositions are well varied ... Those heard here are certainly worth their place on this well-recorded CD".