Rachmaninoff: Complete Piano Concertos, Paganini Rhapsody

“These performances, recorded during lockdown in Prague, prove to be every bit as exciting… As with the finest Rachmaninov interpreters, Vondráček brings a wealth of colour to the solo part, paying exemplary attention to high lighting polyphonically interesting inner parts in the composer’s so­metimes texturally involved writing. Most importantly, he has a clear view of the emotional trajectory of each work, exploiting to the full its contrasting moods of melancholy, grotesquerie, nostalgia and exultation. The Prague Symphony Orchestra under Tomáš Brauner establish a formidable partnership with Vondráček, responding incisively to every twist and turn in his playing.”
BBC Music Magazine, May 2023

“He inspires not only our admiration but our respect, and I’d place his playing of these mighty works alongside performances by Giltburg, Pletnev and others. The excellent recordings have plenty of presence.”
Rob Cowan's Blog, May 2023

“Chaque concerto est individualisé, le Premier flamboyant, athlétique (Vondráček m’y rappelle Sergio Fiorentino, mêmes tempos, mêmes accents, même furia débordante dans le Finale), le Deuxième lyrique et sombre jusque dans un Finale incendiaire, et le Troisième telle une immense rhapsodie où la poésie alterne avec des échappées épiques : soudain le piano devient un instrument au sein de l’orchestre, Vondráček et Brauner le pensent non plus comme un concerto, mais comme une symphonie.”
Artalinna, June 2023

“Das Orchester aus Prag ist perfekt auf diese Werke eingestellt, kann mit Transparenz die Ideen des Komponisten zum Leuchten bringen. Man spürt die Hingabe, mit der Vondráček all seine Energie in diese Interpretationen gibt, sich geradezu verausgabt, ohne dabei müde zu werden… Vondráček vermag immer wieder zu erstaunen, wagt er sprunghafte Wechsel der Dynamik und des Charakters und findet zu einer so lebendigen Interpretation, so dass man diese Gesamteinspielung sicherlich problemlos eine neue Referenz nennen kann.”
Piano News, April 2023

“Vondráček favours broader tempi and plenty of introspection in Concertos 2 and 3, nicely matched by Tomáš Brauner’s Prague Symphony Orchestra. Supraphon’s re­cording balance has a very realistic concert-hall feel, the dynamic range wide. Vondráček’s di­alogues with the orchestral winds are well-judged, with a charismatic principal clarinet in Concerto No. 2’s slow movement. No. 3 shares similar virtues, its central; ‚Intermezzo‘ sweetly flowing before a finale which takes time to build up steam but hits the heights in the closing minutes. I’m more and more intrigued by Concertos 1 and 4, particularly the latter’s edgy, brittle brilliance.”
The Arts Desk, September 2023

“Mais c’est dans la narration exaltée du Concerto no 3 que le pianiste tchèque se montre à son meilleur, la prise de son restituant la moindre inflexion de ce contour sûr de ses effets. Sans conteste, le sommet du double album.”
Diapason, October 2023

“On ne peut qu’admirer dans le Concerto n° 3 avec quelle subtilité Vondráček enrichit la polyphonie en soignant les nuances et en rehaussant certaines voix médianes… La pyrotechnie est en revanche synonyme d’inventivité dans une Rhapsodie sur un thème de Paganini des plus réjouissantes ! Bravo au symphonique de Prague dont les timbres se marient idéalement au piano si orchestral de son soliste.”
Classica, November 2023

“If Rachmaninoff is like warm bathwater to you, Vondráček will raise whitecaps in your tub. That edginess, however, is tempered by the pianist’s ability to play not just with force, but also with extreme delicacy and clarity. His trigger reflexes allow him to adjust dynamics, tone color, and tempo as quickly as it comes to mind. His is a brilliant, gleaming sound that continues to glow hotly even in the music’s more relaxed moments… No matter whose recordings you already know and love, I encourage you to give Vondráček a try. A “once in thirty years” pianist? Time will tell, but on the basis of this release it could be so.”
Fanfare, January 2024