United States

Los Angeles Times

"...Sultanov conquered immediately -- and unequivocally... the impassioned articulate and sensitive playing that flows from his arms and fingers with the naturalness of a lion's roar or a bird's cooing expresses something more -- much more -- than mere good training. It expresses a successful bonding between performer and listener."

Herald Tribune, Sarasota

"With minimal body movement, Sultanov played pearly scales and made forceful statements with nonchalant ease in the Chopin Concerto. Apart from his formidable technique, his arching phrases are spacious and his dynamic shading sculpts the musical lane to create the larger form. He can be liquid or commanding or delicate, as the music requires. It was an enchanting performance in sensitive rapport with the orchestra."

Rapid City Journal

"Sultanov is without a doubt one of the shining stars in the new generation of virtuosi pianists."

The Detroit News

"Here, with the facility, were grace, a grasp of style and dramatic structure, a readiness to flash strength and the maturity to forbear. Add to that Sultanov's silvery tone and his sense of ensemble partnership with the orchestra, and he comes of looking very good indeed: A gifted artist with a vision and a purpose."

Detroit Free Press

"He knows how to expand a phrase so that it sings naturally. He produces a consistently beautiful tone quality in every register of the piano and he possesses a technique that is not only accurate but exciting."

State Journal Register, Springfield

"He has incredible power, and incredible sensitivity. He played Chopin like it was meant to be, and the way that the most pianists only dream of."

The Houston Post

"His playing had plenty of dramatic thrust but it also showed quite a lot of agility."

Daily Camera, Boulder

"And, when necessary he can extract from a piano every decibel of sound of which the instrument is capable. But more impressive is the manner in which he uses his strength as a means of control-as he did in the reverie-like conclusion of the central Adagio sostenuto of the concerto. Here Sultanov laid bare the magic and mystery at the heart of this score."

Palm Beach Daily News

"The quite moments of the Ballade were superb. The passages calling for great restraint were carefully controlled and played with exquisite tonal quality and lyricism. The more technical sections were electrifying."

The Miami Herald

"No doubt about it - Sultanov is an enormous talent."

The Commercial Appeal, Memphis

"...Chopin's Scherzo was devilish technically, and Sultanov's was a titan technique. The middle section, which can be static in less skilled hands, moved forward with grandeur. The contrasting textures of the lines sounded beautifully all-of-a-piece."

Europe

The London Times

"Sultanov is a young man of exceptional dynamism and strength of will, massively in control of a formidable technique."

Abendzeitung, Munich

"Alexei Sultanov- definitely a name to be remembered."

Gazeta Polska, Warsaw

"Sultanov has fascinated the audience because he showed it something which this audience has not heard in the last half century- piano music in the style of the great masters of the beginning of the 20th Century."

Trybuna Warsaw

"In Chopin's Piano Concerto Sultanov presented the performance of really great dimension, imposing with technical ease, leading continuos flow of musical narration, and beautifully interlacing it's dramatic and poetic streams, and in the finale also with it's dancing element."

De Telegraff, Amsterdam

"Technically he knows no bounds. Yet in Liszt's unplayable Mephisto Waltz something else was added: a musical dimension, which causes shivers down the spine. By wonderful coincidence a piano tiger like Sultanov also surprised us with one of the most refined and veiled Mozart performances heard in the past few years at the Concertgebouw."

Het Parod, Amsterdam

"Alexei Sultanov could be called the greatest pianist on earth."

Kultura, Moscow

"The way Prokofiev was played by Alexei Sultanov- was an event of a life time."

Asia

Hokkaido Shimbun, Sapporo

"He was provocative in his demonstration of pianism demonstrating with each piece exquisiteness, magnificence and fluidity."

Geijutsu Gekijo, Tokyo

"The Beethoven was unbelievable. A hurricane- like driving force for fortes followed by singingly clear pianissimos that took your breath away."

Musika Nova, Tokyo

"The album ("Sultanov Plays Chopin" 99) shows an excellent mastery of delicacy of feeling. He renders Chopin dramatically and in three dimensions."

Onagaku-no-Tomo, Tokyo

"A powerful player performing on a grandioso scale he demonstrated extraordinary skills."

Helsinki Sanomat

"Sultanov's piano "touch" was brilliant and crystal clear. His technique was outstanding and his artistic temperament triumphed with the great dynamic and astounding expression."

Others

The Mid-Ocean News, Bermuda

"Not only did the well-balanced program allow the artist to display a technical mastery far beyond his age, but it also revealed an extraordinary understanding of the dynamics and tonal shading of music drawn from two contrasting eras: Romantic and Modern."

Keyboard Classics

"Magic- Sultanov has it."