"This is indeed the playing which can take the guitar into the 21st century. Thank you Ms. Smits."
John Aran, Guitar International.

"Smits's performance is uncommonly penetrating, It's a triumph. This recital is highly recommended, and I will be looking for more from Smits."
Leslie Gerber, Fanfare.

"Smits plays with more heart than anybody should be allowed to have. She has the technique, to be sure, but her musicality sublimates everything, as the rubato pushes and pulls the tempo, and the melody just seems to float from her fingertips. This is one of the best guitar discs I've heard in a very long time."
Tom Chandler, Classical Guitar Corner.

"Harmonie du Soir: This recording is a must-have of the period guitar; all period instruments, superb playing, and ground-breaking repertoire of quality. Raphaella Smits' playing is hypnotic, virtuosic and captivating."
Len Verrett, <EarlyRomanticGuitar.com>.

"It's all a question of style, really, and Raphaella Smits has plenty, never once putting a finger wrong in that respect. Her approach is of that refreshingly straightforward modern sort, which first of all looks at the music to see what is there. Then, with her excellent musical imagination, she inserts what is not."
Colin Cooper, Classical Guitar Magazine.

"There are other currently available recordings of the works by Sor, but none that takes clear precedence over these by Raphaella Smits. Then sum total of her attention to detail, sensitivity, controlled use of rubato, expressive vibrato, purity of tone and crystal-clear delivery is one which is matched by very few performances that are of the utmost refinement, character and authority, and which are superbly recorded."
J.D., Gramophone.

"I'm not familiar with Raphaella Smits, but she's better than nearly every woman in the guitar field. Her playing is very romantic and sonorous, and she likes to take her time with things. She feels her way through the pieces with a silky, smooth tone that I find preferable to other's hard bite. While a few of her peers have the virtuosic edge, Smits could show them a thing or two about lyricism and sentiment."
Ellis, American Record Guide.

"Miss Smits is an uncommonly musical guitarist : she has nimble fingers, a prismatic sence of timbre, and a serene dignity that informs all she plays."
Tim Page, New York Times.

"Smits's flowing artistry stands at any given moment in the recital."
Ronald Broun, The Washington Post.

"Raphaella Smits is considered one of the world's premier performers of the 8-string guitar."
Gregg Miner, <harpguitars.net>.

"I saw all of the masterclasses and Raphaella's sensitivity and compassion for the students was unsurpassed.”
Richard Yates.

"The most immediately striking aspect of Miss Smits's playing was the richness of her tone, attributable in part to her guitar, which had eight strings rather than the standard six. How that flexibility and resonance are managed, of course, is the player's province, and Miss Smits invariably found ways to let the instrument ring out fully without compromising to the transparency of the music's textures."
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times.