Thompson confirmed the golden opinions that preceded him.
Here was playing so on top of things technically, so confident and blithe about it all, that a listener could easily forget what a fiendishly refractory instrument the horn can be. Not for nothing are horn recitals so rare
The Boston Globe
Mozart Concertos / Naxos
Thompson is not only technically brilliant, but plays with delectable lightness and point, bringing out wit in finales, as well as the tenderness in slow movements. As conductor and director he draws sparkling and refined playing…
The Gramophone
Mozart Concertos / BBC records
Michael Thompson is quite outstanding; technically beyond praise, his musicianship – and most importantly – his true Mozartian feel make this set easily the best of all modern versions. Maksymiuk gives splendid accompaniment to the flawless, golden quality of Thompson’s playing
Music and Musicians
Strauss Concertos / BBC records
A superb follow-up to Thompson’s outstanding set of the Mozart Horn Concertos. The performances are exemplary on the soloist’s part, and the orchestral playing is first-class, as is Downes’s conducting, the recordings are of the so good kind that one barely notices how good they are
Music and Musicians
Musgrave Concerto
Michael Thompson gives a predictably brilliant reading
The Gramophone
Britten Serenade / Chandos
one of the best imaginable performances of the Serenade by Anthony Rolfe Johnson and
Michael Thompson
The Gramophone
Beautiful, stunningly accomplished performances. Never since Peter Pears and Dennis Brain have any pair of artists, in my experience, imparted such magic as do Anthony Rolfe Johnson and Michael Thompson to the most celebrated of Britten’s smaller scale works, the Serenade for tenor, horn and strings
Hi-Fi News
Brahms Trio
A very satisfying disc. Wonderful works, beautifully played and well recorded. Thompson produces a rich, mellow tone reminiscent of the two great Brains, Aubrey and Dennis, in the same work
Hi-Fi News
the splendidly imperturbable Michael Thompson
The Guardian