Denis Kozhukhin

Recording: Brahms Ballades & Fantasies

“These are masterfully formed interpretations, expressive and inspired, with perfect timing, phrasing and dynamics.”
opusklassiek.nl, January 2017

Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor / Chicago Symphony Orchestra cond. Krivine

“[Kozhukhin’s] dazzling performance … must have lifted Orchestra Hall a few feet off its foundation. It was hard, in fact, to imagine any pianist seizing this formidably difficult concerto in a mightier grip than this Russian firebrand… Even in a day when keyboard virtuosos are thick on the ground, Kozhukhin is special.”
Chicago Tribune, November 2016

“Kozhukhin is one of the most technically equipped pianists of our time, and he romped through the myriad challenges and digital landmines of this score with remarkable accuracy and finesse… The concluding pages were simply spellbinding, Kozhukhin throwing off Prokofiev’s spiky virtuosity at a speed that often left his hands a blur.”
Chicago Classical Review, November 2016

Wigmore Hall recital / Haydn, Brahms, Weber, Bartók, Albéniz

“[He] combines a prodigious technique with penetrating musical insights about the works he is playing… Kozhukhin’s virtuoso credentials were clearly on display and some of the passage-work [in the Albéniz] was absolutely dazzling.”
Seen and Head International 

Brahms Piano Concerto No.1 / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra cond. Thomas Dausgaard

“But Thursday night really belonged to that wonder from Russia, Denis Kozhukhin, for his astounding performance of Brahms’ First Piano Concerto, which was everything it should be, with the pianist’s structural mastery of the colossal first movement, the real passion, emotional crescendo and catharsis of the slow movement, and the gobsmacking vigour and virtuosity of the finale. I was blown away.”
Herald Scotland, May 2016

Recording: Tchaikovsky & Grieg Piano Concertos

Editor’s Choice “Above all, [Kozhukhin] is natural, and this naturalness allows him to create an impression of unaffected simplicity and directness. Of course, this could only be achieved by deeply cultivated musical instincts and a technique as developed and varied as it is unobtrusive. His inerrant rhythmic sense is pliant yet taut; his sound unalloyed silver. Listening to Kozhukhin, you’re left with one thing: the music – incontestable, complete.”
Gramophone, May 2016

“Kozhukhin’s piano playing has an endless amount of facets and sound colours … he breathes new life into these well-known pieces … His new CD shows him once again to be a tasteful and style-conscious virtuoso for whom the piano is much more than an instrument of self-expression. Very few pianists have such a musical breadth as [Kozhukhin]. Denis Kozhukhin is already one of the greats of the black and white keys.”
radiobremen.de, April 2016

“…these two works are the best known concertos in the repertoire and a brave choice for [Kozhukhin’s] first orchestral disc … If you want to add these old warhorses to your music library, however, there are few better places to start than here.”
Herald Scotland, April 2016

Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 / Philharmonia Orchestra cond. Ashkenazy

“Technically flawless and musically imperious … the outrageous first-movement cadenza was astonishing, no holds barred … this was something special. Throughout, Kozhukhin’s attention to detail and articulation was immaculate, and his daredevil playing was thrilling … Kozhukhin was a knockout.”
Classical Source, April 2016

BBC Radio 3 Wigmore Hall lunchtime recital / Haydn, Brahms, Liszt, Bartók

“Kozhukhin combined poise, grace and a brilliant witty clarity … with sensitive lyricism … He brought a full, rounded tone to [the Brahms], his fortes and fortissimos muscular and colourful rather than simply loud.”

“[In the Liszt, he allowed us] to bask in sweet sonorities and ravishingly spacious phrases, creating a sense of relaxed ecstasy … his delicacy of touch and dynamic shadings made one believe the piano had lost its hammers as sounds shimmered and fluttered around the hall.”

“[The encores] further demonstrated his ability to segue apparently effortlessly between myriad styles and genres of music.”
Bachtrack, February 2016