‘Sonya’s Lullaby is immediately attractive because of its clarity of sound and shape. The magical opening chords give way to a rocking ostinato which develops texturally and dynamically under an increasingly embellished melodic strand….The piano writing in Sonya’s Lullaby is rich and inventive. The player trying to recapture what came into Knussen’s ear should find the struggle well worth it.’
Jonathan Dunsby (Music and Letters), 4 August 1981
‘For all its gently atonal complexity it heralds a special flair for the magic world of childhood such as resulted in ‘Where the Wild Things Are’.
Peter Stadlen (The Daily Telegraph), 18 June 1983
'...an engaging solo piano work by Oliver Knussen that draws the listener into its hazy texture and presents fleeting moments of tension and release that make for compelling if nonspecific narrative'
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, 17 March 1992