Presto Recordings of the Year, Prokofiev (composer)

So impressive. Janine Jansen essentially strips these pieces of all the years of what one might call ‘performance adornment’ and takes them back to their elemental roots. — Gramophone Magazine, July 2024 More…

This is certainly a golden age collection from Trifonov, and it’s admirable that these two discs are always more about the music than about him...If I were to choose a compendium of Russian... — BBC Music Magazine, January 2021, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Throughout, Bavouzet displays a light touch and laudable levels of physical stamina, with a firm grasp of the very different personalities of each piece. Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic perform... — Gramophone Magazine, March 2014 More…

His account of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet suite affords further evidence that he is one of the world’s most accomplished poets of the keyboard, and I have never heard ‘Ondine’ so dainty and... — BBC Music Magazine, February 2024, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Poltéra has all the warmth and variety of tone, plus technical address, the score demands...There are plenty of distinguished versions of this repertoire on CD, but at bargain price none that... — Gramophone Magazine, July 2024, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Hahn praises the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France as one where ‘emotion is embraced rather than exaggerated’, and the disc is an embodiment of this crucial virtue...She admits [the Prokofiev... — BBC Music Magazine, April 2021, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Gerstein's interpretation is his ability to make the piano writing sound much lighter and more transparent than usual...Instead of the conventional barnstorming... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2015, 5 out of 5 stars More…

From the austere opening bars...it's clear that this violin-and-piano duo is capable of the subtlest interplay. Steven Osborne is the lion, or the demon, that needs taming by Alina Ibragimova's... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2014, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Karabits, supported by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's outstandingly responsive playing, gives an utterly compelling account of the Third...Karabits's performance of No. 7, with both its... — BBC Music Magazine, June 2014, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Here at last is a recording to persuade sceptics that Prokofiev's Cello Concerto is not just an interesting but rather drab failure...both Isserlis and Jarvi leave their competition standing... — BBC Music Magazine, Awards Issue 2015, 5 out of 5 stars More…