"The highlight [of the concert at St Nicholas' Church in Abingdon] was the world premiere of Malcolm Pearce's Suite for flute, oboe and piano, which he wrote specially for this ensemble [flautist Christopher Britton, oboist Carolyn King and pianist Malcolm Pearce]. In a witty introductory speech, Pearce said that the four movements were "characterful" — and how right he was. Each was positively bursting with rhythmic and melodic interest to create some vivid musical images and wonderfully contrasting moods. The players seized hold of the piece with relish, delivering an energetic, passionate and fully committed performance."Nicola Lisle (Oxford Times)

"Pearce writes in what might be termed a polytonal style of none-too-severe dissonance, witfaint echoes of Debussy, Bartok, Shostakovitch, Kenneth Leighton and (in their abrupt tonal shifts) the US West Coast minimalists. Although the rhythmic texiure is lithe and inventive, initial time-signatures remain reassuringly valid throughout each piece. The flute and oboe duet together, for the most part, in rhythmic unison, but have moments of rhythmic independence as well as several solos each. There are well-differentiated and well-sustained contrasts of mood between all four pieces. None of the three instrumental parts contains technical severity beyond what one might expect to hear in a chamber-work of, let us say, Martinu. The overall impression is one of refreshing individuality and assured craftsmanship, with the emphasis securely on melodic invention."Richard Stagg, (British Flute Society Journal)