“Matthew Wadsworth really is a quite extraordinary musician, graceful, civilised and intelligent. He has an enormous ability to draw an audience into his own world.” Early Music Review
"Lutenist Matthew Wadsworth dazzles with his dexterity" (“Rising stars of 2005”, The Independent Magazine, January 2005)
" ...you get the feeling that he's playing for himself and for you, but not for a big public. Gestures are subtle, with an expressive range which flatters sophisticated ears... perhaps because he always plays from the heart, there's an inner power and sincerity to his performances which make for compelling listening...” (Simon Heighes, International Record Review, January 2005)
On AWAY DELIGHTS (Avie 2053): “Matthew Wadsworth sustains these [three weighty pavans for solo lute] magnificently, not least by the fine and purposeful legato as he delays fingering changes until the last possible moment. The dance music by contrast, is buoyantly rhythmical… a very distinguished release” (Jonathan Woolf, www.musicweb-international.com, January 2005)
"...the expressive rhetoric of Johnson's solo music is thoroughly explored by Wadsworth - the pavans and almains which punctuate the recital are transformed by stylish, insightful playing into beautiful meditations" (William Yeoman, Gramophone, January 2005)
"Wadsworth woke the lute so gently that its voice seemed to emerge almost imperceptibly from the silence..." (William Yeoman, www.classicalsource.com, January 2005)
"...in the Wigmore Hall, in the intricate metaphysics of Robert Johnson's Fantasia, lutenist Matthew Wadsworth found [a] sense of rapture and transformation... and found it again and again in repertoire drawn from two decades that changed the sound of English music" (Anna Picard, Independent, 16 January 2005)
"Matthew Wadsworth speaks the Baroque language like a native" (BBC Music Magazine, CD Pick of the Month, May 2003)
"Matthew Wadsworth has an imperious command of some impressive solo material" (Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Gramophone Editor's choice, June 2003)
On WHEN LAURA SMILES (Avie AV 2074): "Rosseter's discographic neglect is all the more surprising given the sheer quality of his lute solos and songs, performed here with great subtlety and expressive nuance by Matthew Wadsworth and James Gilchrist. Wadsworth's intensely focused playing flows direct from the heart. Recommended." (Andrew Stewart, Classic FM Magazine, November 2005)