Denis Kozhukhin

Recording: Haydn Piano Sonatas (ONYX 4118)

“Still in his twenties, Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin has already notched up an impressive array of awards and star appearances… On the face of it, these are rather ‘straight’ readings, meticulously fingered and judiciously paced; Kozhukhin never rushes detail or stabs at the keyboard for emphasis, nor does he resort to decorating repeats or adding brief cadenzas at fermata… Yet his apparent restraint discloses an intent thoughtfulness and a subtlety of dynamic shading through which the highly contrasted characters of Haydn’s various movements emerge all the more compellingly.

All this is evident in his fine account of the relatively familiar E flat Sonata composed in 1789 – yet even more so in the CD’s three earlier sonatas from the 1770s. The darkly rocking F minor slow movement of Sonata No. 38, as sensitively contoured by Kozhukhin, sounds like a pre-echo of the nocturnes of Field and Chopin some 60 years in the future, while his playing of the central minuet of Sonata No. 47 glows with gentle affection. We are not told the make of Kozhukhin’s modern concert grand, but it sounds lucid and even-toned in Onyx’s focused recording.”
BBC Music Magazine, February 2015

“Kozhukhin proves himself an incisive and thoughtful interpreter of Haydn. His grace, lyrical fluency and sensitivity to every aspect of these works is impressive, humour never overdone, with a lithe energy throughout.”
Classical Music Magazine, January 2015

“Denis Kozhukhin offers an absolutely remarkable version, evident from the very first notes. He highlights both the fluidity and accentuation of the discourse… Sonatas No. 38 in F major and No. 47 in B minor are some of the best known, and we are grateful to Denis Kozhukhin for having also selected Sonata No. 39 in D major. Its second movement, a delicate minor Adagio, continues directly into a final Presto which is extremely difficult to perform, with melodic fragments relentlessly passing from one hand to the other in dazzling musical fireworks before an abrupt conclusion. There are many CDs available containing similar programmes, but this one is a must-have.”
Musikzen, December 2014

“Acerbic and architecturally pointed, Kozhukhin’s playing totally mesmerizes our love of the keyboard palette [Sonata No. 47]… Kozhukhin negotiates the demanding shifts of texture and touch with seamless facility, brilliant and eminently arresting.”
Audiophile Audition, December 2014

“The four pieces, composed in the 1770s and 1780s, are given dry, sophisticated readings in which the humor in the music often sneaks in the back door of perception rather than being stated broadly. In an era in which the pianistic qualities of Haydn’s sonatas are perhaps overstressed, it’s nice to hear well-balanced readings like Kozhukhin’s here, and they fill an empty niche… The pianist’s work here is both brilliant and daring, with the “Sturm und Drang” content of the Piano Sonata in B minor, Hob. 16/32, scaled back about as far as it can go, but still holding together convincingly. An impressive and somewhat unexpected outing.”
Allmusic.com, January 2015