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“Claire Huangci's playing reflects from the very first measure an awareness of the great, barely explored pianistic potential of these unique youthful works. In the G major dream the melody is breathed with so little pressure, so high in the keys, that the result stands very far from any kitsch. It bears witness to considerable pianistic finesse.”

“Bach with heart and soul. Claire Huangci takes ownership of these works with a remarkable sense of style and a wonderfully transparent touch — her articulation is exemplary, her sense for the harmonic and contrapuntal architecture impressive. A Bach reading that combines warmth and intellectual clarity in equal measure.”

“Brilliant and full of temperament, present, highly differentiated, lively, with verve and empathy — this is how the pianist grasps the young Bach in this recording. Under nimble pianistic fingers the fugues appear varied and light, the musical world playful, lively and youthfully serene. A particular listening pleasure.”

“A recording of the six Toccatas BWV 910–916 by Johann Sebastian Bach that pleasantly surprises. With outstanding pianistic abilities Claire Huangci reminds us that it was precisely the young Bach who irritated his contemporaries with a sparkling creative vitality — even her fugues she gives a dance-like impulse. Apart and charming.”

“With razor-sharp precision Claire Huangci lends the Toccatas an abundance of differentiated colour and expressive nuances. Bach's most famous Toccata in D minor — reduced via Busoni from the great organ sound to the modern concert grand — opens up, thanks to Huangci's subtle touch, fascinating new insights into the clarity and construction of the work.”

“Fulminant and virtuosic. This playing is always of a piece and yet seems weightless, sometimes even unburdened — never ponderous. Claire Huangci unfolds Bach's Toccatas with a wonderful sense of imagination and humour.”

“Phenomenal! In this CD programme the musical versatility of Claire Huangci comes perfectly into its own — whether in the finely traced slow middle movement of the D major toccata, the dazzling brilliance of the beginning of the G minor toccata, or the romanticised excesses of the Busoni transcription of BWV 565.”

“Claire Huangci is a mistress of differentiation. With wit and a sure sense of architecture she reveals the quirky, fantasising and humorous side of Bach in these early works. Unbeatable.”

“Joy and freedom, but without ostentation: the version of the young American even slightly surpasses that — itself highly remarkable — of the rare and precious Laurent Cabasso. Lisible polyphonic structure and subtle ornamentation.”

“An audiophile tip and an exemplarily well-sounding piano CD. The Yamaha CFX in the Bremen Sendesaal is captured with such transparency and presence that one experiences every nuance of Huangci's touch — the recording itself is a small reference event.”

“A brilliant choice, for Claire Huangci transfers these harpsichord pieces to the piano with much inspiration. Her playing finds a convincing balance between Baroque articulation and the colouristic possibilities of the modern grand.”

“Rhythmically pointed, subtle and full of feeling, Claire Huangci shapes the Toccata and Fugue in D minor in Busoni's transcription. The remaining Toccatas BWV 910–916 are presented with the same expressive imagination and tonal refinement.”