“Rachmaninov’s most integrated work for these forces saves any keyboard fireworks for the Allegro finale and Bax was not of a mind to put much showmanship into them. Instead, this was a real ensemble performance, the pianist always attentive of his orchestras colleagues and the communication between himself and the conductor seamless”
Keith Bruce, VoxCarnyx, 2026
Read More“Alessio Bax brought an expressive eloquence and artistic appreciation of structure and cogency of musical rhetoric that were at least as engaging and persuasive”
Donal Hurley, Edinburgh Music Review, 2026
Read More“Nobody who heard this performance can surely have gone home disappointed. It may have been light on fireworks, but it was high on musicality which, therefore, made it all the more treasurable“
Simon Thompson, Bachtrack, 2026
Read More“Stravinsky's suite ‘The Firebird’, in the composer's second, newly orchestrated version from 1919, then formed the thrilling conclusion to the concert in a tense, thoroughly convincing performance by the State Philharmonic Orchestra under Rossen Gergov's clear, intense and rhythmically tense baton”
Gabor Halasz, Die Rheinpfalz, 2025
Read MoreThe symphony is both beautiful and dramatic. It does need an excellent conductor, though, not just to marshal the huge forces but also to convey the breadth of the music: a long view is mandatory for success. Derrick Morgan has this: he seemed to know the score inside-out
Colin Clarke, Classical Explorer, 2024
Read MoreThis was a Radamisto securely rooted in David Brophy’s sure-footed, sensitive and sleek conducting of an Irish Chamber Orchestra on ravishingly idiomatic form
Opera Magazine, 2017
Read MoreBrophy nonetheless captured from the strings of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra the crispness and vitality that stem from assured period playing. Brophy's quietly energised pacing meant that in neither piece could there be any cloying of the Romantic gloss
Brian Keane, Irish Times, 2008
Read MoreDavid Brophy, conducting the Irish Chamber Orchestra, elicited a detailed, clearly defined and balanced performance that was sensitive to the drama while carefully revealing the score’s fascinating textural qualities.
Alan Neilson, Operawire, 2025
Read MoreDavid Brophy obviously had both a clear vision and good understanding of what the resulting performance should be, with emotional swells and restrained intimacy in all the right passages. Much of the credit must go to the human dynamo that is conductor David Brophy. His boundless energy and enthusiasm made the concert possible, and his passion for Horner’s work was clear for all to see
Kim Spildrejorde, 2016
Read MoreBrophy took the weight of the complexity and allowed the performers to connect with the music
Aidan Cuffe, GoldenPlec, 2014
Read More“Mr. Rysanov's playing is so suave and assured. Boldness from the Kissin keyboard and plucking from the violist lead to a heartfelt unison song, which gets quite grand.”
Oberon, Oberon’s Grove, 2025
Read More“Rysanov maintained a hushed, focused tone, never drawing undue attention to the line but shaping it with luminous concentration. He played with a radiant inwardness that gave even the silences shape.”
Edward Sava-Segal, Seen and Heard, 2025
Read More“His rendering of the viola sonata was out of this world“
Wendy Lesser, Three Penny Review, 2025
Read More“Rysanov and Kissin delivered a full, unerring performance of the great Viola Sonata. Rysanov played the pizzicatos quietly but intensely, a way to draw in the listener sitting in a crowd of people whose phones were sounding all through the concert.”
George Grella, New York Classical Review, 2025
Read More“The highlight was Maxim Rysanov and Kissin’s flawless account of the composer’s last composition, his intensely personal Viola Sonata. Both artists played with great expression and control”
Susan Stempleski, Classical Source, 2025
Read More“With Rysanov, we’re presented with a well-rounded, masterful musical personality”
Kristóf Csengery, Bartók Radio, 2025
Read More“Director Ellie Slorach leads us through this beautifully imagined dreamscape. The singing is wonderfully communicative, sensuous in places, and quick witted. I loved this.”
BBC Radio 3 Record Review, 2025
Read More“Bax is an elite virtuoso, and he savored the cascades of notes that poured from the piano while keeping the discursive work firmly on course”
Mark S Jordan, Seen and Heard, 2025
Read More“Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 requires a soloist who can dazzle, charm, and converse, and Alessio Bax, making his Cleveland Orchestra debut, met the challenge with style. Though the score brims with theatrical flourishes, Bax approached it as chamber music on a grand scale”
Kevin McLaughlin, Cleveland Classical, 2025
Read More“A top-form RSNO under Ellie Slorach's crisp, precise direction"
David Kettle, The Scotsman, 2025
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