Alexei Volodin

• Pianist

Reviews

Alexei Volodin press reviews

"The repertory a pianist chooses to begin a program can reveal much about his musical personality. Alexei Volodin opened his recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Thursday with an introverted and subtly shaded rendition of Bach’s Partita No. 6 in E minor...he gave a quietly soulful and elegant interpretation of the Partita’s opening Toccata that seemed to invite the audience to lean in and listen closely. He played the Corrente with sparkling energy and brought a wistful nostalgia to the Sarabande. Mr. Volodin clearly articulated the multiple voices hidden in the thicket of counterpoint in the concluding Gigue, whose grandeur he aptly conveyed...Mr. Volodin affirmed his firebrand credentials with a virtuosic performance of Stravinsky’s Three Movements From “Petrouchka"... Mr. Volodin nailed the chords with jackhammer precision..." —The New York Times - March, 2009

"...from pianist Alexei Volodin's first chords in the concerto, calmly radiant and elegantly outlined, Beethoven's Opus 58 continued to surprise the ear with fresh ideas and unexpected details. The 31-year-old Russian virtuoso runs up and down the keyboard with seamless fluidity, every note precisely placed and released, yet his emphasis is solely on the music and not the performer. He is not afraid to play softly and expressively, drawing the audience into his confidence rather than flaunting his bravura like some of the more popular young superstars. His serenity and reverence in the middle movement reminded me of an earlier generation of pianists, performers such as Rudolph Firkusny and Gyorgy Sandor, whose refinement and musical insight kept them on the stage decades longer than their flashy contemporaries and the regular arrival of newly minted competition winners. Volodin's approach proved, not surprisingly, an ideal match to Gergiev's brilliant analysis of the concerto's structure ..." —San Diego Arts - March, 2009
“… the outstanding intelligence of Alexei Volodin, his technique at once elegant and solar, his true artistic temperament – which will doubtless need to defend itself against a tendency towards introspection and preciosity – revealed the other evening a superb musical discovery.” —Le Monde - 2006