“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“Evgeny Kissin was joined by Maxim Rysanov, who spun long melodic lines that just kept on going.“
Erica Jeal, The Guardian, 2025
Read More“I do not want to listen recordings of this repertoire for a while, lest I forget the atmosphere Rysanov created.“
N Lilla, Kadencia, 2025
Read More“Rysanov created an impressive variety of sound from the orchestra; sometimes virtuosic and playful, sometimes gravely solemn”
Maria Fanni Juhos, papageno, 2025
Read More“Rysanov let the music speak for itself. His sound was very natural. It may sound exaggerated, but Kissin and Rysanov were really two kindred spirits in this music.”
Hugo Jager, Trouw, 2025
Read More“Maxim Rysanov brings a terrifically full-bodied performance to the concerto’s powerful outer movements, while adventuring deep into the timbral possibilities of the instrument in the work’s more mysterious inner movements.”
Kate Wakeling, BBC Music Magazine, 2023
Read More“He’s a breathtakingly perceptive, charismatic player, taking the audience with him on every note of his turbulent journey.”
★★★★★
Scotsman, 2017
Read More“Superb player Maxim Rysanov gave the Scottish premiere performances of ... Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. The Ukrainian musician has a bowing technique is captivatingly graceful to watch as well as listen to.”
Herald Scotland, 2017
Read More“Agile, expressive and with a mastery of line and dynamics, Rysanov is a prince among viola players, and this is one of his finest albums to date.”
Rob Cowan, Gramophone, 2017
Read More“I fell in love with the incredibly beautiful sound of his instrument. In his playing I could feel an uncommonly high emotional tension.”
Pēteris Vasks (composer), 2016
Read More“I really enjoyed the Slavic passion and dramatic pauses in his solos that provided a certain atmosphere.”
Par Olli Lehtonen, Bachtrack, 2016
Read More“Maxim Rysanov is the kind of musician who can do the musical equivalent of reading from the phone book and making it exciting.”
Joseph Magil, American Record Guide, 2015
Read More“Words to describe Rysanov's passionate and penetrating performances don't come easily. He is, of course, the main character on stage.”
Jerry Dubins, Fanfare, 2015
Read More“Maxim Ryasnov's seductive viola in late works by Martinu would grace any sensible Want List.”
Phillip Scott, Fanfare, 2015
Read More“Maxim Rysanov's radiant viola playing catches the Bohemian spirit that runs through his Martinu programme.”
Adrian Edwards, Gramophone, 2015
Read More