Press Reviews
 
 
 
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Concert Reviews 2010
 
Vanity Fair website
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Vanity Fair on NYC Debut, January 2010
Somebody give Rustem Hayroudinoff Directions to Carnegie Hall!
"The 13 Preludes of Rachmaninoff’s opus 32 made up the second half of Hayroudinoff’s program, and it’s hard to think of anyone who plays them better… Hayroudinoff brings to them electrifying power and passion, but always expressed with a beautiful tone, even in fortissimo. And he is positively a genius at digging out the inner voices that most pianists don’t realize are even there. The first part of the program was made up of three Preludes and Fugues from Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues (opus 87) in a rendition so authoritative that one wishes Hayroudinoff would record the entire set…The only question that remained after the recital was, Why isn’t Hayroudinoff better known and playing a larger venue, such as the big stage at Carnegie Hall?"
 
 
Cleveland's Plain Dealer website
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Plain Dealer, Cleveland, USA, January 2010
Russian pianist Hayroudinoff makes a masterful Impression.
"The performances showed him to be an insightful and dashing interpreter, able to tap into Rachmaninoff’s richly emotional world while also bringing utmost clarity to the complex piano writing…contrapuntal lines and inner voices emerged in requisite and vivid context. Rachmaninoff’s darkness received ample urgency, with torrential passages evoking sonic storms minus a hint of harshness. Hayroudinoff’s fleet fingers and crisp articulation ensured that the technical aspects were but means to musical ends. Three preludes and fugues by Shostakovich sounded like the creative explosions they are when a forceful guide is in the driver’s seat. The acerbic passages fairly leaped from the instrument, the brooding statements gripped the heart and the fugue that ends the collection burst with manic passion. And then there was Chopin, whose Ballade No. 4 received a performance full of temperament and gorgeous tonal resources. Impetuosity and elasticity, so crucial in this composer’s music, appear to be hallmarks of the pianist’s artistry…everything Hayroudinoff touched bore the stamp of a master."
 
 
20%2008
Rachmaninoff
Complete Études-Tableaux
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Chandos
 
 
 
 
Radio 3 Building a Library - First Choice CD
"Rachmaninoff asks everything of his pianist: a steely rhythmic sense, coruscating virtuosity, spiritual depth and introspection. Tartar-born Rustem Hayroudinoff marshals all these qualities.
His classically contained but never underpowered approach is likely to have delighted the composer-pianist and it comes closest to Sviatoslav Richter…".
BBC Radio 3, July 2008
 
2007
20%2007
Rachmaninoff
Complete Études-Tableaux
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Chandos
 
 
Gramophone recommends...
"Hayroudinoff takes the composer at his word, a courtesy to Rachmaninov not granted by every pianist. Temperamentally he is right inside the music. This is powerful Rachmaninov playing that transcends the artificial constraints of the recording studio".
Gramophone, February 2007
BBC Music
Best Instrumental CD of the Year Nomination 2008
"These forthright, beautifully weighted performances keep the emotion in check but never at bay. With Hayroudinoff's playing equal even to the greatness of Richter, Op. 39 No. 7 emerges as one of Rachmaninov's greatest creations in a drama of life and death."
BBC Music Magazine
 
 
 
"Rustem Hayroudinoff plays these extraordinary miniatures with sensational aplomb, transforming some of the most note-spattered pages in the piano repertoire into sublime poetics. My piano record of the year so far".
Classic FM Magazine, February 2007
 
 
 
 
Instrumental Choice of the Month CD
"…there’s little doubt that Hayroudinoff’s warmly recorded interpretations are not only brilliantly characterised and absolutely masterly in terms of technique, but also sufficiently varied in colour and timbre to enable him to extract the maximum degree of impact throughout each piece - an extra dimension that makes his performances sound even more vibrant and imaginative…whilst conveying more vividly the increasing desperation that engulfs the music. Benchmark recording".
BBC Music Magazine, January 2007
Reviews 2007
 


“The piano soloist was a sensationally gifted pianist from Russia, Rustem Hayroudinoff, in Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto. What a performance this was, demonstrating the emotional range of this wonderful work, full of mercurial brilliance, impassioned melody and breathtaking virtuosity.
The Independent, January 2007
2005
Dvorak Piano concerto/Violin concerto
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra,
conductor Gianandrea Noseda
 
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“Among many Dvorak issues I’d like for my collection…the problematic Piano Concerto with the inspired young Russian, Rustem Hayroudinoff, bringing out a rare joy.”
 Gramophone, December 2005 - Best CDs of 2005
 
 
"Hayroudinoff is excellent: he has an invigorating manner, and a clear enjoyment of the work and belief in it which are very convincing".
 International Record Review, March 2005





 

“Rustem Hayroudinoff sounds as though he believes in every note of the Piano Concerto, making even the most commonplace of phrases sound utterly magical. Dvorák was by no means an expert pianist, as is reflected in page after page of awkward, unidiomatic writing, yet Hayroudinoff somehow clarifies and illuminates even the most densely-textured terrain, making it glisten and radiate emotional warmth. Even Richter’s celebrated EMI recording must cede to this outstanding newcomer.”.
 Classic FM Magazine, London, August 2005



 
“The Piano Concerto has never had the same popularity as some other Dvorák works, but Rustem Hayroudinoff is a persuasive exponent of its grandeur, its rhythmic thrust and the passages of delicacy and decoration that establish an exciting dialogue with the orchestra”.
 The Daily Telegraph , London, July 2005

 

 

 
“It says much for the Russian pianist Rustem Hayroudinoff that he gives such a commanding performance of the Dvorak Piano Concerto…just as dazzling and just as electrically compelling. Hayroudinoff even more than Richter brings out the joyful, carefree quality of Dvorak’s inspiration, demonstrating what a wonderful fund of good melodies it contains. The clarity of his articulation in the trickiest passagework is phenomenal, and his phrasing in the central Andante Sostenuto is limpidly beautiful, even warmer than that of Richter.…an outstanding modern version.”
 Gramophone, July 2005
Shostakovich Symphony No.4, Op. 43
arranged by the composer for two pianos
(with Colin Stone)
 
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"Revelatory version of a spectacular 20th - century orchestral masterwork. Hayroudinoff and Stone impress with their knowledge of the score, giving a well-prepared, gutsy performance…".
Gramophone, July 2005



 
"That this is a major Shostakovich release goes without saying, but, more than that, it will hopefully lead to frequent hearings, during the composer’s centenary year and beyond, of what is here revealed as an absorbing and perceptive transcription."
 International Record Review, May 2005
2004
Rachmaninoff Works for Cello and Piano
(with Alexander Ivashkin):

 
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"Rustem Hayroudinoff proves himself to be a player in the great Russian virtuoso tradition."
Gramophone, May 2004
 
"As far as Rachmaninoff's 'complete' cello music goes, this is the best I have heard."
American Record Guide, New York, 2004
 
 
"Rachmaninov clearly wrote the piano part with his own formidable capabilities in mind, but Hayroudinoff meets both the technical and emotive challenges ably."
Pianist, London
 
Rachmaninoff 
24 Preludes
 
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"This is one of the most rewarding and exciting new piano releases I have heard. Hayroudinoff's performances are so entrancing that listeners may be loath to set it aside, much like a book that 'one cannot put down'. Rachmaninoff's ubiquitous C-sharp minor Prelude … proves to be the most beautiful account of this hackneyed piece imaginable. The pianist moves from one revelation to another, his conceptions of the Preludes remarkably rounded and rife with touches and gestures of the old-style pianism. His understanding of the composer's tonal language is precocious, and his playing is full of evocative shading, pedalling, and nuance. The collector can choose from several outstanding recordings of Rachmaninoff's Preludes. At the top is Richter, with this recording by Hayroudinoff a close second, though in several of the Preludes … I think he surpasses Richter."
American Record Guide, NY Jan/Feb 2004
 
 
 
"How rare to hear Rachmaninoff playing of Rustem Hayroudinoff’s enviable ease and inclusiveness. Musicianly to the core, without a trace of exaggeration, whipped-up rhetoric or histrionics, he makes you fall in love all over again with both the Op 23 Preludes and the still richer Op 32 set. Even Op 3 (the Rachmaninov Prelude) takes on a special distinction in such a devoted recreation of all of its drama. …In Liszt’s immortal description of a true virtuoso, everything is allowed to ‘weep and sing and sigh’. Competition may be strong from the urbane Howard Shelley, from Ashkenazy and most of all from Moura Limpany…, but Hayroudinoff, a young Russian resident in London, speaks with a voice all his own."
Gramophone, London, January 2004
2003
Rachmaninoff 
24 Preludes
 
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"One of the qualities most needed in Rachmaninov’s music is the graceful lack of apparent effort, and that is precisely why Rustem Hayroudinoff is so engaging. It is not at all the same thing as nonchalance, or being cool, and if you compare his recording of the very first Prelude, in C sharp minor, with Lympany’s most recent version, you are at once aware that the level of expressive intensity is greatly heightened. Hayroudinoff brings a sense of urgency – dark fatalism, even – to the music’s message…Hayroudinoff’s razor-sharp rhythmic attack is hardly blunted,…while his fluency, heedless of hurdles, and his sensitive balancing of strands within Rachmaninov’s sonorous textures beg, without undue unction, to be relished".
BBC Music Magazine , December 2003
 
"Not many recordings of Rachmaninov’s complete Preludes come on a single disc, although it doesn’t mean that the sensationally gifted Rustem Hayroudinoff rushes his fences. The heavenly E flat Prelude…is magically phrased, as is the skin-tingling D major… the famous G minor thrills and seduces, and the A minor darts about kaleidoscopically to hypnotic effect. Hayroudinoff plays with an electrifying and compelling inevitability that connects the listener with the composer himself. The larger than life recording suites the exuberance of Hayroudinoff’s stunning artistry to a tee".
Classic FM Magazine , November 2003
 
"“Beautifully lyrical playing from Russian pianist Rustem Hayroudinoff… He really imbues these works with passion and intensity. It sounds as if every note is special to him. Rustem Hayroudinoff’s playing combines power with control and lacks any of the over-sentimentality or self-indulgence that is often associated with Rachmaninoff’s works. …the B flat major Prelude is grand and majestic in his hands. Compelling playing…This full-priced recording for Chandos should certainly win him new friends.”".
BBC Radio 3 CD Reviews , September 2003
 
 
 
 
"This complete set [Rachmaninoff's 24 Preludes] is a gem".
Classic FM Magazine , March 2003
 
Reviews 2003
 

“The star of the ship for us was a young Russian pianist named Rustem Hayroudinoff….His Rachmaninov preludes brought the audience to its feet.” 

The Sunday Times , January 2003
2002
Rustem Hayroudinoff
Live Notes
 
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“…a splendid CD of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Sonata … It’s a performance that makes as constructive a case for this suicidally disposed work as you could imagine, showing a penetrating intelligence… served by a strong technique.”
The Independent, January 2002
 
Reviews 2002
 
 
 
 
“Hayroudinoff’s relaxed yet sober account, with an appropriate feeling for Franck’s wistful appeal, was utterly faultless. …He created a powerful sense of orchestration as well as formal perspective in Le Gibet; I felt I understood the whole piece as if for the first time. ...The young Russian ended on home territory, with two Etudes-tableaux and a Prelude by Rachmaninov. These were all stylish, voluptuous without too much apparent effort. His encore, Rachmaninov’s G sharp minor Prelude, was like having your tummy rubbed.”
 The Independent , January 2002
2001
Shostakovich
Theatre Music - Premiere Recordings:
 
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"An absolutely precious disc… A first-rate performance by the pianist Rustem Hayroudinoff, brilliant technically but even more so in the psychological and often drastic transitions from one piece to another."                                            
Compact Discs Classic (Italy), July/August 2001
1999
Rustem Hayroudinoff
Released on Live Notes
 
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"Apart from the brilliant technique his performance on this CD displays the lyricism unusual for many Russian musicians. Particularly striking are the pieces by Rachmaninoff for the sheer singing quality and the Blue Danube Waltz which is full of vitality and vigorous, bouncing rhythm."                                            
Musica Nova (Tokyo), March 1999
 
Reviews 1999
 
 
 
"While demonstrating the clear and beautiful tone and the typical virtuosity of young musicians from Russia, he yet stands out amongst the majority of them as someone who is not satisfied by merely displaying his virtuosity but makes it serve … his powerful interpretation … His is an outstanding talent."
Ongaku No Tomo (Tokyo), March 1999
 
 
 
 
"The moment Rustem Hayroudinoff appeared on the concert platform the audience felt gripped by his powerful stage presence… Hayroudinoff's rendering of Bach's Partita revealed his daring musical imagination and unique style…Chopin's Mazurka op.17 No.4 was equally striking for the ingeniously conceived and executed interplay of tones and colours. In Prokofiev's Sonata…ferocious intensity was effectively counterbalanced by emotional restraint."
Chopin Magazine (Tokyo), March 1999
 
1998-1996
Reviews 1998 - 1996
 
"…an artist of bold personality and intelligence…"                  
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland), October 1998
 

"Rustem Hayroudinoff showed an astounding variety of touch and colour and the prodigious technical mastery matched by equally profound intensity of expression."

Chopin Magazine, June 1998
"Hayroudinoff is exceptionally gifted. He gave outstanding performances."
Chopin Magazine, December 1997
"Liszt's B minor Sonata of slashing firepower…an unusually thoughtful Rachmaninoff Third."
American Record Guide, NY December 1997
 
"…An absorbing mastery of demanding music. One of the most rewarding aspects of his playing was his use of dynamics to create layered textures. In Schubert's Impromtu in B flat D935 one could hear details of parts as they disclosed; and even when going hell-for-leather, Hayroudinoff could keep up that level of clarity, in the fugue from Liszt's Sonata in B minor, for example...He is a young man who thinks things through for himself and whose musical intelligence makes him stand out amongst the many who are primarily concerned with display."
The Irish Times (Dublin) Setember 1996