'…the product of an accomplished mind, and a mind not enslaved by modern day compositional orthodoxies.'
The New York Sun (Jay Nordlinger), 30 April 2007

'…players took turns unfurling long arias over rich, ambiguous chords.  Memorable themes returned and collided as the music progressed through a series of dark, ruminative episodes and agitated outbursts … the finale’s unsettled calm was powerful.'
The New York Times (Steve Smith), 30 April 2007

'The themes are warmly expressive and lyrical, another reminder of Maw’s declared musical aim of picking up the threads of late European romanticism from the point before they morphed into modernism, and developing them.  The musical world of the sextet is closer to the Richard Strauss of Metamorphosen, or the Schoenberg of Verklärte Nacht than anything else, though there is also something curiously English about the music too, with an echo of Vaughan Williams in the opening moments, as the first theme is unwound over archaic, Tallis Fantasia-like harmonies.  The string writing is rich and sonorous; every theme is supported and carried on detailed textures that must be a delight to play.'
The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 25 June 2007