02 April 2015

Reviews on Naxos CD with Piano Quintet and The War Suite

Reviews on Naxos CD with Piano Quintet and The War Suite

The CD issued by Naxos on Autumn 2014, received a high praises in the media. We're presenting the reviews placed on the Naxos Web-site:


Here is the review in GermanErnst Hoffmann Ensemble Magazin für KammermusikDecember 2014 View PDF   

And here is the review in Russian from Yuri Abdokov, Professor of Moscow Conservatory (who was a pupil of Boris Tchaikovsky):


Here is the list of the reviews in English from Naxos Web-site, with the quotations:
   Fanfare, March 2015 
   MusicWeb International, January 2015 
   Pizzicato, January 2015 
   American Record Guide, January 2015 
   MusicWeb International, December 2014 
   Classical Lost and Found, November 2014 
   Gramophone, November 2014 
   Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review, September 2014 
   The Guardian, September 2014 
   David's Review Corner, September 2014 


Barry Brenesal
FanfareMarch 2015
…there’s no lack of precision, tension, or involvement; and Olga Solovieva…is a powerful, almost elemental, presence. © 2015 Fanfare Read complete review

Michael Cookson
MusicWeb InternationalJanuary 2015
All the musicians play with convincing ensemble and attractive tone. The performances are both committed and intelligent and the Piano Quintet is particularly engaging. This disc is a most accessible and agreeable way of exploring the music of Boris Tchaikovsky. © 2015 MusicWeb International Read complete review


Remy Franck
PizzicatoJanuary 2015
Boris Tchaikovsky—not related in any way to his famous colleague—had an extremely fruitful imagination. His rich language is accordingly dramatic. The performers play both compositions with panache. © 2015 Pizzicato

Stephen Estep
American Record GuideJanuary 2015
The musicians all understand this music and play it exceedingly well… © 2015 American Record Guide Read complete review on American Record Guide

Steve Arloff
MusicWeb InternationalDecember 2014
Their [RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet’s] sensitive playing is in evidence throughout this disc. Maxim Anisimov is a brilliantly evocative player whose mellow tone shines brightly at every appearance. As a Boris Tchaikovsky Society Award Winner in 2010 the pianist Olga Solovieva is the perfect choice for the piano quintet…
This is a thoroughly enjoyable disc making a fine introduction to the music of this great Russian composer. © 2014 MusicWeb International Read complete review

Bob McQuiston
Classical Lost and FoundNovember 2014
Russian soloists Olga Solavieva and Maxim Anisimov join the Irish Vanbrugh Quartet for these technically accomplished, sensitive performances. They make a strong case for this remarkable music. © 2014 Classical Lost and Found Read complete review

Philip Clark
GramophoneNovember 2014
The Vanbrugh Quartet and pianist Olga Solovieva put real intellectual muscle behind the physical weight of their playing… © 2014 Gramophone Read complete review on Gramophone

Grego Applegate Edwards
Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music ReviewSeptember 2014
This is music of great gravitas…the music speaks eloquently for itself, as a bellwether of Boris Tchaikovsky's inventive originality…the “Piano Quintet”…is filled with dramatic impact, modernist stridency and Russian brio. On this basis alone I find myself wanting to hear more of him.
All modern Russophiles will no doubt find this disk rather essential. It is music that holds its own for originality yet partakes of the Russian modernist ethos, both of which situate the works nicely as part of a continuum. The Vanbrugh Quartet, pianist Olga Solovieva, and clarinetist Maxim Anisimov give us impassioned performances filled with brio and lyrical clarity.
Very impressive music, very well played. This is a good one! © 2014 Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review Read complete review


Tim Ashley
The GuardianSeptember 2014
The performances…are exceptional. © 2014 The Guardian Read complete review

David Denton
David's Review CornerSeptember 2014
Born in 1925, Boris Tchaikovsky was one of the most highly productive pupils of Shostakovich, and like his mentor he could quite happily work in many genres. The present disc finds him in the concert hall with the 1962 Piano Quintet, and then two years later in the film studio for the emotive While Defending the Front Line. In whichever medium he was working his musical parentage is never in doubt. Maybe that has been the reason that his music is not widely known outside of Russia, Shostakovich occupying so much of today’s concert hall coverage, there is no room left for more of the same thing. That is certainly regrettable in the case of the Piano Quintet, as it would be highly popular had it carried his mentors name. Indeed the hard-driven scherzo is among the finest string quartet music from the second half of the 20th century, while the final Adagio is full of sadness for reasons the sleeve notes do not explore. As a whole this is an extremely fine score I greatly commend to you. Recorded in Moscow…they are a really splendid group who have previously appeared on the label, their technical prowess easily dealing with the music’s many demands. Very good sound quality. © 2014 David’s Review Corner