MEDIA

“Exceptional...Bradley is an adventurous artist...every whisper of the bow was loaded with insight and intelligence...Is there a better British Violist than Sarah-Jane Bradley? 

The Strad

“Sarah-Jane Bradley is that rare kind of viola player who can make you blush with shame for ever having told a viola joke. In her hands the instrument is passionate, eloquent and wide-ranging in its colours and moods. I would happily put this at the top of any list of recommended recording.”  

BBC Music Magazine, June 2007 (5* for both performance and sound) 

“Sarah-Jane Bradley impresses..a virtuosic recital” The Guardian July 2018

Sarah-Jane Bradley's viola begins its waltz: graceful, natural, a playful little slide here, a brief flush of vibrato there- just enough to make the phrase smile...Everything here is played with love. Bradley makes a beautiful sound: her tone is warm but focused and she has that rare gift of making her instrument sound as if it's on the brink of articulate speech. The Clarke is the highlight..especially when played with such poetry and ardour. It's hard to imagine more persuasive accounts."
Gramophone Magazine Awards Issue October 2016 (Rebecca Clarke Viola Concerto)
 

"Sarah-Jane Bradley is fully immersed in the composer's over-ripe idiom..much to the benefit of Dale's 'unending melodies'..Bradley shapes the multiple-stopped cadenza beautifully and shines in the concluding Caprice...a brilliant, idiomatic performance by soloist and orchestra..Bradley's characterful playing, the seductive sound of her 1619 Nicolo Amati viola well caught."
The Strad November 2016
 

"The performances are exceptional. In a collective and individual display of how to deliver chamber music at world-class level, Sarah-Jane Bradley's viola playing- ear mesmerising, yet never obtrusive- shines even in this company"
BBC Music Magazine, July 2014 (5* for both performance and recording)

"Sarah-Jane Bradley gets to the passionate heart of the mysterious (Vaughan-Williams) Romance for viola and piano"
Radio 3 CD review, May 2014

"The programme also includes a short, haunting "Romance for Viola and Piano..excellent, beautifully modulated performances"
The Daily Telegraph, May 2014****
 

"Gently beguiling performances from top-notch players"
The Times May 2014****
 

“Sarah-Jane Bradley outstanding throughout”(Patterson viola concerto)

Gramophone April 2011

"One of my favourite pieces here is the Viola Sonatina. There is such beauty in this short work and its performance. Sarah-Jane Bradley plays with marvellous tone and warmth here and I couldn't be more delighted about her performance." (Alwyn Sonatina, Naxos)

The American Record Guide Jan/Feb 2011

"Sarah-Jane Bradley, who made her Wigmore Hall debut in 1997 and has played widely to rave reviews, is an exceptional player. Charming, modest , graceful in demeanour, she plays with passionate sincerity and seriousness, always alert to the demanding varied moods of these works. Her tone is colourful, rich and seductive in turn, and she makes light of the technical difficulties..first rate performances full of passionate insight with flair..And Sarah-Jane, I for one am a new fan of yours and want to hear you again very soon. Thank you for an unforgettable evening." British Music Society News Magazine, December 2010.

"The (Alwyn)Viola Sonatina's title disguises the understated strength of its four beautifully inventive movements...Performances and recording both excel, with Sarah-Jane Bradley's viola playing outstanding...'  

BBC Music Magazine, November 2010

"Paul Patterson's Viola Concerto similarly brings together soulful lyricism with surging tempos; soloist Sarah-Jane Bradley's lustrous tone brought dramatic force to the recitative and aria"  

The Guardian 3 Sep 2010

“Pure Paradise: the evocative world of Delius is brought beautifully to life by viola player Sarah-Jane Bradley, who is also on peak in the haunting Caprice and Elegy. Bradley's rich-toned, hauntingly eloquent playing, meltingly phrased and dynamically supple proves ideal. Highly recommended”  

Classic FM Magazine, Editors' Choice, November 2009

“The tonal refulgence of Bradley was beyond praise – no violist in the country makes a better sound... she was fully in command of the styles.” Classical Source May 2010  

“Sarah-Jane Bradley: ardent, affecting soloist” Daily Telegraph August 2009

“Sarah-Jane Bradley's persuasive playing” BBC Music Magazine Christmas 2009

“Sarah-Jane Bradley is the excellent soloist” Gramophone August 2009

“Magnificently played by Sarah-Jane Bradley” The Daily Mail October 2009

“Sarah-Jane Bradley is the superb soloist ” Yorkshire Post March 2009

“Sarah-Jane Bradley gives a really fine account of the wide-ranging Viola Concerto”  

International Record Review May 2009  

“Sarah-Jane Bradley is brilliantly on top of the virtuoso writing, especially in the extended cadenza”  

The Strad June 2009