Reviews
BBC Music Magazine
«There’s something wonderfully unshowy about Medvedev’s performance here, despite the glittering quality of such works as Tchaikovsky’s Grand Sonata in G major. Other pianists might be tempted to showboat, but this is a pianist with poise and precision.»
Jeremy Nicholas, GRAMOPHONE
«Listening blind, could one tell that the pianist is Russian? High-octane virtuosity and cultivation of a long singing line are not enough on their own, though the beauty, colouring and, above all, depth of tone might have persuaded me. What one would not doubt in a blind listen is the nationality of the music that Medvedev has chosen. He has a natural empathy with (and the technical and musical means to convey) the heart-on-sleeve emotional turmoil common to all three works: try the second and fourth of Rachmaninov’s Moments musicaux for flailing, uninhibited angst, or the despairing misery of No 3 in gloomy B minor.
Overall, well recorded and well worth a listen.
Robert Matthew-Walker, Musical Opinion (April-June 2022)
«This is the first solo album by this exceptional pianist, a carefully chosen programme, with each of the three works likely to appeal to the same music-lover.
On this showing, Medvedev is clearly an artist to be watched — and listened to. In by far the largest work on this disc, the Tchaikovsky Sonata, this is a work that in many performances does not appear to possess the personal qualities of many of his other works. It can often seem too Schumannesque and less clear in terms of its ideas to be typical of Tchaikovsky at his finest to make a strong impression — but not in this performance. Medvedev’s playing is beautifully controlled, deeply expressive and full of rhythmic life. He also possesses the occasional exquisite delicacy of touch which the brief Scherzo occasionally demands; indeed, throughout the entire recital these polished and sensitive performances are always sensitive and imaginative, well shaded and rhythmically alive. In the Rachmaninoff pieces, there is great variety and colour here and a perfect command of the instrument.
Medvedev’s playing throughout is always deeply imaginative and is invariably placed at the service of these great composers. It is rare to encounter an artist who plays Russian music with such deep understanding, and this outstanding recording can be most urgently recommended.»