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United States |
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Los
Angeles Times
"...Sultanov conquered
immediately -- and unequivocally... the impassioned articulate and
sensitive playing that flows from his arms and fingers with the
naturalness of a lion's roar or a bird's cooing expresses something
more -- much more -- than mere good training. It expresses a
successful bonding between performer and listener."
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Herald Tribune, Sarasota
"With minimal body movement,
Sultanov played pearly scales and made forceful statements with
nonchalant ease in the Chopin Concerto. Apart from his formidable
technique, his arching phrases are
spacious and his dynamic shading sculpts the musical lane to create
the larger form. He can be liquid or commanding or delicate, as the
music requires. It was an enchanting performance in sensitive
rapport with the orchestra."
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Rapid City Journal
"Sultanov is without a doubt
one of the shining stars in the new generation of virtuosi
pianists."
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The Detroit News
"Here,
with the facility, were grace, a grasp of style and dramatic
structure, a readiness to flash strength and the maturity to
forbear. Add to that Sultanov's
silvery tone and his sense of ensemble partnership with the
orchestra, and he comes of looking very good indeed: A gifted artist
with a vision and a purpose."
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Detroit Free Press
"He knows how to expand a
phrase so that it sings naturally. He produces a consistently
beautiful tone quality in every register of the piano and he
possesses a technique that is not only accurate but exciting."
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State Journal Register,
Springfield
"He has incredible power, and
incredible sensitivity. He played Chopin like it was meant to be,
and the way that the most pianists only dream of."
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The
Houston Post
"His playing had plenty of
dramatic thrust but it also showed quite a lot of agility."
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Daily Camera, Boulder
"And, when necessary he can
extract from a piano every decibel of sound of which the instrument
is capable. But more impressive is the
manner in which he uses his strength as a means of control-as he did
in the reverie-like conclusion of the central Adagio sostenuto of
the concerto. Here Sultanov laid bare the magic and mystery at the
heart of this score."
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Palm Beach Daily News
"The quite moments of the
Ballade were superb. The passages calling for great restraint were
carefully controlled and played with exquisite tonal quality and
lyricism. The more technical sections were electrifying."
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The
Miami Herald
"No doubt about it - Sultanov
is an enormous talent."
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The Commercial Appeal, Memphis
"...Chopin's Scherzo was
devilish technically, and Sultanov's was a titan technique. The
middle section, which can be static in less
skilled hands, moved forward with grandeur. The contrasting
textures of the lines sounded beautifully all-of-a-piece."
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Europe |
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The London Times
"Sultanov is a young man of exceptional dynamism and strength of
will, massively in control of a formidable technique."
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Abendzeitung, Munich
"Alexei Sultanov- definitely a
name to be remembered."
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Gazeta
Polska, Warsaw
"Sultanov has fascinated the
audience because he showed it something which this audience has not
heard in the last half century- piano music in the style of the
great masters of the beginning of the 20th Century."
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Trybuna Warsaw
"In Chopin's Piano Concerto
Sultanov presented the performance of really great dimension,
imposing with technical ease, leading continuos flow of musical
narration, and beautifully interlacing it's dramatic and poetic
streams, and in the finale also with it's dancing element."
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De Telegraff, Amsterdam
"Technically
he knows no bounds. Yet in Liszt's unplayable Mephisto Waltz
something else was added: a musical dimension, which causes shivers
down the spine. By wonderful coincidence a piano tiger like Sultanov
also surprised us with one of the most refined and veiled Mozart
performances heard in the past few years at the Concertgebouw."
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Het Parod, Amsterdam
"Alexei Sultanov could be
called the greatest pianist on earth."
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Kultura, Moscow
"The
way Prokofiev was played by Alexei Sultanov- was an event of a life
time."
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Asia |
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Hokkaido
Shimbun, Sapporo
"He was provocative in his
demonstration of pianism demonstrating with each piece
exquisiteness, magnificence and fluidity."
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Geijutsu
Gekijo, Tokyo
"The Beethoven was
unbelievable. A hurricane- like driving force for fortes followed by
singingly clear pianissimos that took your breath away."
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Musika
Nova, Tokyo
"The
album ("Sultanov Plays Chopin" 99) shows an excellent mastery of
delicacy of feeling. He renders Chopin dramatically and in three
dimensions."
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Onagaku-no-Tomo, Tokyo
"A powerful player performing
on a grandioso scale he demonstrated extraordinary skills."
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Helsinki
Sanomat
"Sultanov's
piano "touch" was brilliant and crystal clear. His technique was
outstanding and his artistic temperament triumphed with the great
dynamic and astounding expression."
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Others |
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The Mid-Ocean News, Bermuda
"Not only did the
well-balanced program allow the artist to display a technical
mastery far beyond his age, but it also revealed an extraordinary
understanding of the dynamics and tonal shading of music drawn from
two contrasting eras: Romantic and Modern."
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Keyboard Classics
"Magic-
Sultanov has it."
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