Sergey Vassilievich Rachmaninov

“From beginning to end, we are in the presence here of a major, world-class artist – a fearless technician with an all-encompassing command of his instrument; a musical dramatist of exceptional acumen and sophistication; a poet who moves seamlessly between unbridled rhetoric and extreme intimacy; a stylist who catches the particular spirit of everything he plays.” Piano Magazine

“In the case of the very expansive Chopin Variations… Sudbin makes a persuasive case for this unjustly neglected work, demonstrating not only breathtaking technical control throughout, but also a capacity to extract the most wide-ranging character and textural variety from the music he plays here. Similar qualities abound in a tremendously riveting account of the revised version of the Second Sonata... an extraordinary disc by anyone's standard.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2005 *****

“After the richly deserved acclaim that greeted his debut disc of Scarlatti, Yevgeny Sudbin moves onto home ground. And here, surely, is a young virtuoso in the widest, most encompassing sense.
Sudbin makes an unforgettable case for the Chopin Variations, a florid and uneven work, though at its finest (in, say, Variation 21) as memorable as anything in Rachmaninov. Omitting the quickly aborted fugue of Variation 12 and choosing the quiet rather than rumbustious coda, he is breathtakingly fleet in Variations 7-8 and goes through Variations 9-10 with all guns firing. Hear him in the whirling measures of Variation 20 (complete with sky-rocketing ossia) in page after page of dark, lyrical introspection and you will be hard pressed to recall a more talented or deeply engaged young artist.
The Second Sonata, played here in Sudbin's own Horowitz-based conflation, is equally inspired, going out in a spine-tingling final blaze of glory. In the two song transcriptions he sounds warmly committed to their floral enchantment.
Again, whether in love's joys or sorrows, Sudbin evinces a deft and super-sensitive virtuosity; and even though competition in both the Variations and the Sonata is intense he creates an entirely individual aura. His own personal and informative notes provide a crowning touch to this well recorded, deeply heartfelt recital.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“With no shortage of fine versions of this pairing from which to choose, EMI must rely on the undoubted selling power of its Norwegian star to make this release stand out from the rest. It is certainly a worthy contender for the Top Ten when aided by the world-class Berlin Phil, a conductor who is in the Barbirolli class of adroit accompanists, superb recorded sound and a beautifully voiced piano.
With judicious tempi (though, as is now customary, slightly slower than the composer's) and a well-nigh ideal balance between piano and orchestra, instrumental detail is tellingly observed, such as the bassoon and clarinet counterpoint at the beginning of the second movement of the First Concerto and the triangle in its finale, both well integrated into the sound picture, even if there is a hint of the engineer's hand.
Nor is there anything mannered about the soloist, though some may wish he was slightly less well mannered. Andsnes here gives the lie to those who find his playing on the cool side of emotional but he is always the reliable guest who never gets drunk, no matter how much alcohol he has consumed.
The fiery section of the cadenza to the First Concerto, for example, runs out of steam in the final bars to which Byron Janis, for instance, brings a despairing vehemence.
The Second Concerto (live, as opposed to the studio First, but without any appreciable difference in acoustic and balance) is, similarly, given a Rolls-Royce reading with which only the pickiest could find fault. The last movement, though, is something special and the final appearance of its glorious second subject, greeted with a mighty timpani wallop and braying brass, is heart-stopping. The audience rightly roar their approval.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Leif Ove Andsnes applies to these two glorious works all those qualities for which his playing is renowned. It’s nothing short of stunning” Sunday Times *****

“Andsnes studiously avoids barnstorming on the one hand or prissiness on the other: his is an intelligent, alert and at times austere middle road, with lightning reflexes in the First and more reserved touch in the Second” The Independent ****

“Leif Ove Andsnes and Antonio Pappano deliver full bodied and intelligently detailed readings of Rachmaninov…Andsnes and Pappano undoubtedly are world-class contenders in a crowded market, and I hope they plan further recorded collaborations” Classics Today

“As Andsnes observed in interview, the conductor is the one who really drives the Second Concerto, and after spacious opening chords it's over to Pappano's Berliners for opulent sweep. Andsnes lets intensity slacken in the development, but the return of the big tune puts us back on track. The slow movement is beautifully moulded, with plenty of now-unfashionable but ever self-indulgent string vibrato.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2005

“No matter how jaw-dropping her miraculously clean-fingered negotiation of such as Liszt's Mephisto Waltz, it's what happens between the notes, the way she grippingly characterises everything she plays, that constantly arrests the listener's attention. not since George Cziffra's hey-day have such white-hot, volcanic eruptions of pianistic derring-do been captured on disc. ...Montero also magics her phrasing poetically, as witness Chopin's heavenly D flat Nocturne. But what sets the seal on this remarkable release is the bonus disc of Montero's self-penned improvisations, whose jazz-styled inflections will have all die-hard romantics misting over on contact. Her spine-tingling rethink of Rachmaninov's Vocalise is worth the price of the disc alone.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2005

"a pianist of ditinction-rhythmic... majestic... dazzling... Rigoletto piece brings to ringing conclusion" (Gramophone)