Reviews

“The interaction between viola and piano was so beautiful and could not help but move. It may sound exaggerated, but Kissin and Rysanov were really two soulmates in this music.”

“The Adagio and Allegro op.70 follows, continuing the inward-looking musing with playing of quiet beauty and captivating eloquence before the robust fanfares of the Allegro break the mood, with strong, fluent playing to follow.”

“Rysanov and Kim offer technically immaculate, expressive and intimate performances […]. Rysanov’s nuanced phrasing and excellent variety of tone colour would present a challenge for some actual singers to match, and Kim’s piano playing is a special joy.”

“Rysanov, who conducted the first recording of the Cello Concerto (2008) with Kristina Blaumane on Tabakova’s breakthrough album ‘String Paths’, is ideal, his interpretation formed from two decades of experience playing this alternately contemplative and vigorous music.”

'Disk of the month' December 2023

“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.”

“The colours and contrasts Rysanov manages to extract from the orchestra are truly fabulous!”

“Bartók’s Viola Concerto was given an exemplary performance in the hands of the superb Maxim Rysanov.”

IN SCHUBERT'S COMPANY

“Rysanov is a prince among viola players, and this is one of his finest albums to date”

MARTINU

“Only the Barbican's arid acoustic stops Norman Lebrecht awarding this disc of Martinů's viola music a rare fifth star, so fresh and contemporary are these performances by Maxim Rysanov.”

MOZART SINFONIA CONCERTANTE

“Vilde Frang forms a dream team with Ukrainian viola player Maxim Rysanov [...] The results are fresh and invigorating”

BACH SUITES 2, 3 & 6

“These sharply etched, punchy realizations immediately impress for their power and vitality.”

Dobrinka TABAKOVA - String Paths

GRAMMY nominated album

“This is outstanding in every respect”

PAVANE

“...the playing is absolutely sublime.”

SCHUBERT / TCHAIKOVSKY / BRUCH

“Rysanov's dazzilng performance [of the Rococo] makes us believe that the work was tailor-made for his instrument.”

BEETHOVEN

“It's packed full of delicious surprises....superbly played”

BRAHMS VIOLA 2

“Viola discs are flooding the market currently...but this Brahms chamber music CD from Maxim Rysanov steals the limelight...It's addictive.”

BACH SUITES 1,4 & 5

“No admirer of great viola playing should forgo the pleasures of Rysanov’s playing.”

BRAHMS VIOLA 1

“.....compelling, vivid and packed with moments of great musical insight”

BACH: INVENTIONS AND PARTITA

“Both sets of Inventions receive exceptional performances, bursting with spirit and imagination”

KANCHELI - STYX

Gramophone Editor's Choice October 2007

“In short, here is a disc to blow the mind....”

VIOLA RECITAL: MAXIM RYSANOV, AVIE

Gramophone Editor's Choice October 2007

“....the playing, in its technical command and imaginative grasp, is outstanding.”