Александр Кобрин

“His ability to bring out the descriptive and the depictive in music has crucial bearing on his performances of Chopin’s sonatas on this disc.”

“But every once in a while, a pianist comes along who does have the ability to break through my involuntary unresponsiveness to Chopin, and Alexander Kobrin is such a pianist.”

“…he’s in his prime and still has many years of continuing success and fame to look forward to.”

“…the Romantic ethos is strongly felt in his playing of Chopin’s sonatas. You can hear it in the pulse-quickening drama he brings to the scores and in the tonal nuances and emotional expression he brings to his phrasing, his shifts in tempo, and in the coloration of his dynamics.”

“I find myself more drawn to Chopin by Kobrin than I am by many of the pianists who are well loved for their playing of the composer’s music, pianists such as Horowitz, Rubinstein, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Van Cliburn, among a bevy of other famous names. But anyone who can make me appreciate Chopin in the way Kobrin can has to be an artist of very special talent and communicative power. Imagine just how much more admiring of Kobrin I’d be if only I actually liked Chopin.”
Jerry Dubins
Jerry DubinsFanfare Magazine
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...his strengths as a pianist are on display throughout the recording even in his less unusual choices. I particularly appreciate his knack for bringing a clear sense of direction to the extended harmonic sequences that Chopin uses in the First Sonata’s first movement. Similarly, Kobrin never simply repeats a passage (including when he repeats a movement’s exposition); he always finds something new in it—but never gratuitously. Kobrin’s sense of a repeated passage is always influenced by what has come before it; we hear the music take a journey in which familiar motifs bear the impact of what has been experienced.

As I suggested at the beginning of this review, this level of musicianship alone would make Kobrin’s Chopin worth hearing. His unique approach to numerous passages in the sonatas make this recording urgent hearing. Excellent sound quality is a welcome bonus.Myron Silberstein
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"A dignified, exquisitely played invitation on French horn opens the piece, and Kobrin's response on the piano immediately establishes him as a master, pulling every iota of drama and delight from the score as he, Scaglione, and Symphoria perform with exceptional unity. Passion rises to climactic heights in the second, highly dramatic movement, and Kobrin's virtuosity becomes increasingly evident."

"An expertly performed cello solo opens the third movement, the andante, with sweet melody, which is embellished by piano, and clarinets are highlighted in the mid-section of the movement. By the final movement, dance-like and joyful, audience members were mesmerized by the performance, sensing the satisfaction of a thrilling conclusion but hating the idea of having the concert end."

"When the final notes faded, the crowd leapt up as one, cheering as Kobrin and Scaglione embraced, then shouting and continuing to applaud as Symphoria soloists were recognized for their contributions. This Symphoria concert will be talked about years from now as a landmark moment in the return of a classical music orchestra to Central New York."
Linda LoomisSyracuse.com
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"Schumann’s Waldszenen... was indeed where Kobrin’s artistic center lies, and I think most people who know Schumann and this glorious piece in nine short movements—sketches, really, in which the composer cuts directly to the feelings and impressions evoked in the sylvan titles. Kobrin played these with sweep and atmosphere, with more pedalling than in the Beethoven, but with a fine sense of what is appropriate. Few listeners would fail to be convinced, or even carried away by Kobrin’s brilliant technique and intuitive sense of Schumann’s poetry.

"His unique personal insight into this aspect of Beethoven’s writing is, once one understands it, convincing and valuable."

"Alexander Kobrin’s playing is deeply thought out and intuitive at once—truly individualistic, but not quite idiosyncratic—and his recital was fascinating. I look forward to hearing more of his playing..."Michael MillerNew York Arts
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