MusicWeb International – Classical CD review site, UK (1.7.2020), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Johan van Veen: “There can be little doubt about the level of playing of all participants. I have greatly enjoyed this disc, and it has to be considered a very fine debut of Ms Íñiguez in the field of early music (…) I hope to hear more from here in baroque repertoire, as she shows here to have grasped its character very well (…) overall I consider this disc one of the best as far as the pieces by Gabrielli are concerned, and Scarlatti’s sonatas are not often recorded anyway, and if so, mostly not as a set.”
Concerto: das Magazin für Alte Musik, Germany (15.1.2020), Mendelssohn CD review by Peter Sühring: “In the D-major Sonata both musicians not only meet the enormous technical requirements bordering on virtuoso, in addition to the absolutely necessary technical ability, there is also a joy of playing, with which this work achieves an adequate, particularly effective result—provocative like it was at the time. One feels aligned with one of the first critics of this work on being a ‘lovely random walk on the unlimited ocean of thought’, and feels here in particular the song-like rhapsodic character of almost all Mendelssohn’s compositions. In the Variations Concertantes, the opulent elaborated piano part played by Olga makes again and again room for the virtuosic ways of playing by Guadalupe on the cello (…) in the coda the enharmonic confusion is played with a particular sensual gesture and sound by Guadalupe aimed at bringing such debauchery back to the basic key and original mindset. In the Albumblatt there is a romantic game by the musicians, the sound is very francophile and, attracted by the cello, one almost waits for Saint-Saëns’ Swan to turn around the corner. The two instrumentalists literally break a lance for Mendelsohn’s B-flat major Sonata, with a clearly bubbly and melodious demanding piano part and intensive dialogic interplay (…) the music here alone is sufficiently spun—’beautiful, clear and peculiar’— exactly as one of his first listeners, Robert Schumann, would have loved.”
Melómano – Classical music magazine, Spain (1.5.2019), Mendelssohn CD review by Abelardo Martín Ruiz gives 5 stars ★★★★★ & monthly recommendation: “The cellist offers a contrasting proposal through an understanding of this music from a deep sensitivity and romantic expressiveness, with the brilliance and luminosity of the author’s language – a characteristic combination delimited by a resonance achieved through a complete understanding of gut strings’ acoustic production. Particularly moving are the interpretations of the slow movements… The rapid movements possess the energy of Mendelssohn’s exuberance… an idiomatic, prodigious knowledge of both instruments… an expressiveness of intense emotional component.”
Early Music Review – International review website (11.5.2019), Mendelssohn CD review by Dr. James Ross: “From her programme note, it is clear that Spanish cellist Guadalupe López Íñiguez loves Mendelssohn’s music, and perhaps even the man himself, and in that she is in complete agreement with my own tastes. Her 1725 Claude Pieray cello has been set up in the manner of early 19th-century instruments and fairly sings Mendelssohn’s lovely lyrical lines, while Olga Andryushchenko’s virtuosic and passionate playing on her 1862 Erard piano is also wonderfully expressive. […] The energy and technical assurance of all of this music is a testimony to the genius of its remarkable composer.”
Musicalifeiten – Classical music website, The Netherlands (1.5.2019), Mendelssohn CD review by Jan De Kruijff: “Perhaps this new recording [has] a bit more of the [original] spirit [than previous recordings by other artists]. As a first step towards “authenticity”, the duo provides very spiritual interpretations in which the piano sparkles and the cello can be heard warm and full of brilliance. Just listen to what the two make of the second part of the Sonata no. 1, which is at the same time scherzo and slow—well characterised—or how nice are the Variations Concertantes by presenting a mixture of panache and subtlety. The “corner” parts of Sonata no. 2 also sound very spontaneous.”
BBC Music Magazine – Classical music magazine UK (1.4.2019), Mendelssohn CD review: “Mendelssohn’s cello works call for spirited playing, which is what we get here. The Érard piano sparkles; the cello playing is bold and confident.“
Classique HD – Independent Review Site, France (3.4.2019), Mendelssohn CD review by Nicolas Roberge: “En cherchant bien à travers le son, on devine le jeu fluide et sensible de Guadalupe, les notes sont d’une extrême sensibilité et pleine de poésie. Le piano d’Olga fait son travail, son accompagnement est bien en place et la souplesse du poignet rend le jeu de Guadalupe encore plus divin. […] On atteint une plénitude dans « Assai Tranquillo en B MINOR », c’est magnifiquement interprété.“
Pizzicato – Music journal, Luxembourg (14.3.2019), Mendelssohn CD review by Uwe Krusch gives 5 stars ★★★★★: “Guadalupe Lopez Iniguez and Olga Andryushchenko play Mendelssohn’s cello chamber works on period instruments and orientate themselves towards historical sources. But since they are spicing their performances with own ideas, the result is rhetoric and therefore really gripping.“
Rondo Classic – Music magazine, Finland (1.3.2019), Mendelssohn CD review by Antti Häyrynen: “[…] for example, in the D major Sonata op. 45 both skill challenges and romantic expressions come out with impressive results.“
Música Antigua – Independent Site, Spain (24.1.2019), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Pablo Rodríguez Canfranc: “We find ourselves facing an exquisite work […] of singular beauty that shows the expressive quality produced by the cello when it started its journey as a soloist instrument.“
Radio Clásica, Café Zimmerman – National Classical Radio, Spain (21.12.2018), Radio live interview about my Gabrielli-Scarlatti & Mendelssohn CDs. Listen to it from 00:26 to 00:59
Classique HD – Independent Review Site, France (15.12.2018), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Nicolas Roberge: “Un subtil baroque! C’est du velours qui s’écoule du Violoncelle de Guadalupe”.
MusicWeb International – Classical CD review site, UK (20.8.2018), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Dave Billinge: “[…] the music being performed and the way it is performed make this absorbing disc worth the time and money of any serious collector of the by-ways of the baroque […] astonishingly erudite notes […] a rather hypnotic experience […] Both composers, aided and abetted by the remarkable soloist, lead the ear in unexpected ways and the occasional dance movement comes as a happy relaxation. [The disc] leaves one feeling well satisfied and certainly encourages repeated listening. […] Flawless playing and surround recording.”
Fanfare – Classical CD review magazine, USA (30.7.2018), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Raymond Tuttle: “Guadalupe López Íñiguez’s [plays with] beautiful legato and keenly shaped phrases […] I enjoy López Íñiguez’s willingness to make the music sing […] This really is Italian music, and she plays it with Italianate warmth. The cellist’s colleagues are an accomplished group. In Gabrielli’s Canon for Two Cellos, I can’t tell the two cellists apart. I have a weakness for Baroque cello recordings, particularly those featuring Italian repertoire, so this CD was just what the doctor ordered. Alba, true to form, has done a lovely job engineering these intimate performances. Even as a conventional CD, the sound is impressive.“
The Whole Note – Classical music magazine, Canada (30.5.2018), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Terry Robbins: “Excellent Alba Super Audio CD. Excellent blooklet notes.“
Classical CD Review – Independent website, (15.5.2018), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Robert Benson: “For cello buffs, this is a treasure. Audio is excellent.“
Campbell Express – American Newspaper, San José, California (25.4.2018), Concert review by Guy Takamatsu: “Dr. Mok and Dr. López-Íñiguez were able to generate beautiful music. Performances on these old instruments gave the audience a feel for how the music sounded in 1796. The concert was a delightful and informative experience.”
Limelight Magazine – Classical music magazine, Australia (23.4.2018), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Will Yeoman gives 4,5 stars ★★★★✰: “What an exquisite release this is. By turns meditative, inquiring, playful and restless. But always provocative. And with an element of sensuous fantasy […] Flexibility of tempo, of phrasing, of articulation, of thought all goes to honour the tacit demands of composer, performer and listener.“
Scherzo – Classical music magazine, Spain (1.3.2018), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Mariano Acero Ruilópez: “[…] What stands out above everything is the cellist’s outstanding technical strength, her virtuosity and purity when tackling, for example, the flourishes of the ricercari by Gabrielli. But also the roundness of the sound she draws out from the instrument and her expressiveness, which reaches its highest possible level in the slow movements by Scarlatti. […] (A recording) of high quality that is most beautiful. We give a very warm welcome to a performer who will certainly give us many joys in the future.“
American Record Guide – Classical CD review magazine, USA (1.3.2018), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by David Moore: “Íñiguez (plays) with vibrato and a rich tone that gives the ricercars an atmosphere of cadenzas […] (She has a) determination to find out what is at the bottom of Gabrielli’s ricercars rather than playing them for clarity or virtuosity. Her technique is excellent […] this is a fine program of some of our earliest cello music, recorded with warm sound.“
Demokraatti – Daily Newspaper, Finland (8.2.2018), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Matti Saurama: “López-Íñiguez plays with very precise articulation and caresses the listener’s ears with her sound.“
Melómano – Classical music magazine, Spain (30.1.2018), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Enrique Pastor Morales: “[…] Of special interest are the 7 Ricercari, with such a complexity […] and improvised character that is here reflected with great mastery. Stands out the Canon for two celli in D major, a brief piece of great exquisiteness. Guadalupe achieves a Mediterranean flavour […] and scapes from the pre-established label of “artistic accuracy”. Thus, this recording transcends the rules of historical informed performance and reveals a work of a profound sensitivity and artistic personality.“
Musicalifeiten – Classical music website, The Netherlands (15.1.20218), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Jan De Kruijff: “She is a real baroque specialist; she deepened herself in the genesis of the works. She also possesses a beautiful and warm sounding instrument with a sonorous low register. The specialist is able to make beautiful sounds and she knows how to make the difference between the concise Gabrielli and the more expanding Scarlatti, where she uses the tuning in the common habits […] she creates new, unknown pearls from Italian baroque.“
Rondo Classic – Music magazine, Finland (30.12.2017), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Justus Pitkänen: “One finds a wide variety of moods between the delicate ensemble rattling in the fast-moving parts of the sonatas and the depth-seeking, soul-loving instrumentalism in Gabrielli’s solo ricercari […] López Íñiguez plays with calm and lustrous timbre, often using legato articulation, and enjoys making music with her companions.“
HRAudio.Net – Independent CD review site (11.12.2017), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by John Miller gives 5 stars ★★★★★: “Upon playback, one is immediately aware of the energy, playing technicality and strength of emotional efforts by Guadalupe in each piece, and the superb improvisations of her basso continuo which provides a colourful river of sound.“
YLE – Finnish Broadcasting Company (27.10.2017), Gabrielli-Scarlatti CD review by Ville Komppa: “López-Íñiguez blows with her continuo group a sensual, nuanced, and especially beautiful spirit to the works of Gabrielli and Scarlatti.“
Savon Sanomat – Regional Newspaper, Finland (27.5.2017), Concert review by Jussi Mattila: “Much of this warm-hearted, gentle and social side of Beethoven was emphasized in the concert […] the performances breathed together and were characterized by personal touches and virtuosity, with an emphasis on colourful expression. Cellist López-Íñiguez’s performance was filled with lively emotions and a rich palette of colours, finding expressiveness especially in the low and middle registers of the classical cello.”
Muusika – Classical Music Magazine, Estonia (2.2.2017), Concert review by Aleksandra Dolgopolova: “An ideal ensemble. The musicians felt each other like Siamese twins […] genuine feelings and choices, and a slightly extravagant performance.”
Rheinerft Rundschau – Regional Newspaper, Germany (4.9.2013), Concert review by Oliver Tripp: “A great concert with music by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schumann on remarkable instruments. […] The audience provided the musicians with such a prolonged applause that they had to play three encores.”
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger – Regional Newspaper, Germany (3.9.2013), Concert review by Barbara Köhler: “In the small performance hall of Haus Eller, in an intimate round in front of about 30 listeners, Guadalupe López-Íñiguez and Olga Witthauer enchanted the audience with their virtuoso and harmonious interplay. […] The audience was so enthusiastic that the two artists had to play three encores.”
Guadalupe López-Íñiguez 