Piano Street's Classical Piano Blog

Pianist Arcadi Volodos, called “one of the greatest pianists of our time” by the “Berliner Morgenpost,” has been celebrated as a wizard at the keyboard since his 1997 debut recording. His new CD, “Live in Vienna,” on SONY BMG EUROPE, features his virtuosity as a pianist and his skilled story narration and sense of timing. On March 1st 2009 Volodos played at the Musikverein in Vienna, and subsequently toured the Vienna concert program in several German cities such as Essen, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Baden-Baden, Schwetzigen, and has received sensational reviews.
Arcadi Volodos, fluent in both Russian and French, was awarded the German “ECHO Klassik” as best instrumentalist in 2003. He was born in 1972 in Leningrad and initially studied voice. The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” wrote that Volodos converts a score into discourse: “In Volodos’s hands, the music turns into natural speech.”

Listen to samples from the 2 CDs

Reviews:

“The Russian whirlwind Volodos, who appears to have 50 fingers, appears slightly becalmed in this live Vienna recital, recorded… in March last year. The expected thunder and lightning finally strike in Liszt’s Dante Sonata — a tingling performance.”
The Times, 27th February 2010

“The performance is an awesome display of keyboard command…The recorded sound does gorgeous justice both to the playing itself, and to the surrounding Vienna Musikvereinsaal acoustic.”
BBC Music Magazine, May 2010

“…the sense that technically Volodos is in complete command, and that the piano is not in pain – even at the most extreme moments – is extraordinarily compelling. And through all the handfuls of notes he never loses sight of the work’s form…Volodos is absolutely up there with the best of them”
Gramophone Magazine, June 2010

Critics’ choice was Arcadi Volodos´ Liszt recital on Sony, considered a stunning piano sensation in 2007. The recording session was held at the Berlin Teldex studio, which isn’t a particularly intimate venue, and thus the listener has the impression of a champion pianist playing for his own pleasure in a large recital room.
This video pick, however, offers a different acoustic setting altogether, with the grand piano on a boat in the Amsterdam canal. The water level placement of the instrument, the crowds seated all around, and the surrounding townhouses are clearly audible.

Arcadi Volodos performs Liszt´s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 at the Prinzengracht Concert in 2001:

What was once a free festival of classical music presented on the canal bank in front of the Hotel Pulitzer in Amsterdam has expanded into a five-day programme consisting of approximately 90 concerts attended by some 50,000 visitors each year.
Named after the canal on which it is performed, the Prinsengracht Concert has its focal pointon an open pontoon moored in front of the hotel. Crowds arrive on foot and by boat to savour chamber music drifting on the early evening air.
Organised by the Pulitzer Hotel, the performances by renowned musicians take place on the banks of the canal, on boats and on various bridges over the canal. The waterside trees are illuminated, creating a magical effect for the event. An alternative indoor venue is available in case of bad weather.