"Matthews has been heralded for the success with which he has taken the inspiration of the piano masterpieces and skillfully created orchestral works of great variety, beauty and drama. “…these pieces are more than orchestrations, they are recreations achieved by entering into the mind and thought of the original composer. Beautiful performances.” Sunday Telegraph 2007 The two books of 24 preludes are so delicately and sensitively bound to the sonority and timbre of the piano that it is something of a miracle to hear them in any other guise. In fact, Colin Matthews realisations (aided and abetted by the superb playing of the Hallé under Elder) are far more than mere orchestrations – rather they are creative reimaginings with a distinctly personal touch. Gramophone Reviews ‘Debussy’s 24 piano preludes are seductive and brilliant but an extra sheen is added in Colin Matthews’s series of orchestrations composed for Elder’s Hallé orchestra. Matthews’s creative finesse is remarkable: the pieces aren’t simply dressed in orchestral clothes, rather sensitively re-imagined for an expanded palette of refined colours by a gifted contemporary composer.’ The Times