Best summer books of 2025 – The Financial Times

Jessica Duchen’s Myra Hess – National Treasure would be my music book of the year. It’s a meticulously reserached and superbly narrated biography of a woman whose life is rich in interest, both before and after those famous wartime National Gallery concerts.
Richard Osborne – The Oldie

The unofficial history of the world famous Borodin Quartet

On so many levels, this is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read: a history of the legendary Borodin Quartet … it’s a memoir of the extraordinary talent among both teachers and students of the Moscow Conservatory in the 1940s (Shostakovich, David Oistrakh and Rostropovich just some of the most famous); and – perhaps most intriguing of all – a candid portrait of the Borodin’s long-standing cellist, Valentin Berlinsky. 5 stars
Daniel Jaffé – BBC Music Magazine

Our standards

A final word: this volume as published by Kahn & Averill, with its stitched binding [thread-sewing], high-quality paper, beautiful font, neatly engraved musical examples, and well-proportioned layout, only adds to the extraordinary quality of the contents.
Brad DeRoche – review of Guitar in Soundboard (April 2025)

Duchen has been lucky in her publisher. The book is beautifully designed and produced, with proper stitch binding [thread-sewing] on high-quality paper, a handsome volume that sits well on a bookshelf.
Jeremy Nicholas – review of Myra Hess – National Treasure in Gramophone (April 2025)

A joy to hold – a joy to read – a joy to keep