Bojan Čičić (violin) and Steven Devine (on a 1756 Kirckman harpsichord) interpret these masterpieces in miniature with infectious warmth and extraordinary dexterity, and the whole programme is not only a feast for the ears but also a joy for the heart.
- Classical Music Daily (Handel: Complete Violin Sonatas)
This is not just yet another recording of the Partitas; it is THE recording...There is a warmth to the playing that envelops the listener, creating an atmosphere where we are more than eavesdroppers on the performances; we are part of something special...Captivating and utter bliss.
- Yorkshire Times (Bach: Partitas & Sonatas)
Avoiding some violinists’ febrile interpretations, Cicic likes to keeps his dignity, though that doesn’t stop his presto movements from being dizzying. His double-stopped flourishes are impressive too...I can’t recall another recent recording where the lingering resonance of the music’s final notes has been so magical.
- The Times ***** (Bach: Partitas & Sonatas)
Bojan Čičić's interpretations are both visceral and thoughtful, underpinned by a magisterial virtuosity ... Čičić balances intimacy and the need for projection, always a challenge when recording. This release must surely become a reference recording, particularly for the next generation to whom Čičić is very deeply committed
- BBC Music Magazine ***** (Bach: Partitas & Sonatas)
[Crichton Collegiate Church] makes a considerable contribution to the atmosphere of this disc ... In the great D minor Partita I loved the bounce of Čičić's Corrente and especially his dazzling Giga ... [his] arpeggiated passages are simply stunning; I'm not sure I breathed between bars 90 and 120 ... This is a wonderful addition to a strong field of baroque performances, technically assured and deeply considered. It's a gentle, introspective album
- Gramophone (Bach: Partitas & Sonatas)
Čičić makes light work of Walther’s virtuosic gauntlet, audaciously secure in the triple and quadruple stopping that punctuates passages drawing on elaborate bowing and left-hand techniques
- BBC Music Magazine
For the full review of Walther: Scherzi da Violino (recording) click here
Cicic has mastered the illusion of musician as conduit - the music just seems to pour out of him, and his playing conveys that he has to do very little to make it work so well. Excellent and always stylish ornamentation is the most obvious evidence of this - there's not even the trace of wet ink in these embellishments: rather, they are thrown out as corporeal gestures - a flick of the hair here, a shrug of the shoulders there - and it's enviously spontaneous and carefree ...
- Gramophone
For full review of Walther: Scherzi da Violino (recording) click here
Throughout, singers and instrumentalists breathe and communicate as one, their rapport unbreakable. A recording, in short, packed with fresh discoveries at every turn; and a vivid snapshot of ‘La Serenissima’s ear-expanding outreach throughout its wider domains.
- BBC Music Magazine
For the full review of Adriatic Voyage (recording) click here
A cornucopia of sacred and secular instrumental and vocal music, performed with arresting, period-evocative beauty, which highlights not just what a fascinating period this was for Italian-Slav cross-cultural blending but also how little most of us know about it"
- Gramophone
For full review of Adriatic Voyage (recording) click here
Bojan Čičić’s spectacular Baroque firework display opens with a sparkling account of Vivaldi’s D major concerto RV205, its outer movements bristling with breathtaking virtuosity (especially in the scintillating final Capriccio) and its central Largo expressively nuanced and imaginatively ornamented within the bounds of the pulse
- The Strad
For the full review of Pyrotechnia (recording) click here
It is overt virtuosity - and more specifically the violin as an instrument to deliver it - which provides the real context for this programme, which gives it not just atmosphere, but historical perspective ... unashames showpieces, push-me-higher stratospherics, machine-like bariolage, wide leaps, and interchangeable cadenzas is to witness the violin really grabbing the stage as a concerto soloist for the first time ... Bojan Cicic sounds comfortable with the music's daunting technical demands, maintinaing its diginity and poise with virtuosity both controlled and humane"
- Gramophone
For the full review of Pyrotechnia (recording) click here
Bojan Čičić has this repertoire in his blood, and this shows in performances of exhilarating beauty. Indeed, his readings are consistently sophisticated and he never pushes things beyond what is really necessary to bring out the many gentle nuances of these pieces. The softly glowing Illyria Consort give sympathetic support. A thrilling musical discovery in superb sound quality and enriching annotations.
- Classical Music Daily
For the full review of Giornovich: London Concertos (recording) click here
Giornovich himself may have been a troubled, volatile character, but these three works from the 1790s radiate sunny, open-hearted optimism, with whispers of his friend Mozart’s amiable A major concerto creeping in here and there; Čičič’s honey-sweet tone recalls Dittersdorf’s remarks about the composer’s own particular beauty of timbre, and the folksy Villageoises de Julie (based on an air from an opéra comique by Nicolas Dezède) which closes the album is a delight.
- Presto Classical
For the full review of Giornovich: London Concertos click here
It’s testament to Čičić’s artistry that you’re never aware of the difficulties being surmounted – fistfuls of the most awkwardly-written chords are dispatched with immaculate intonation and voicing, whilst the contrapuntal sections in the elaborate fugues have a clarity to rival the finest keyboard-player. I’d wager a tidy sum that I won’t be the only one to come away from this beautiful disc itching to hear more from both composer and performers.
- Presto Classical Recording of the Year 2017
For the full review of Carbonelli: Sonate da Camera (recording) click here
Carbonelli's music is stately, taut and elegant in the hands of Bojan Čičić (a UK-based Croatian violinist) and his excellent Illyria Consort. They sound effortlessly stylish in these six chamber sonatas – Čičić makes even the high-wire showy stuff sing with a lyricism that is shapely, aerated and totally unforced.
- The Guardian ****
For the full review of Carbonelli: Sonate da Camera (recording) click here
Bojan Cicic’s distinctive sound – sweet, slightly dry and exquisitely centred – is ideal for the taut beauty of Carbonelli’s solo lines. Crucially, Čičić fleshes out the composer’s ideas, filling rests and cadences with large dollops of his own making.
- BBC Music Magazine
For full review of Carbonelli: Sonate da Camera (recording) click here