By Kenneth Herman
“Sunday (February 7) at the La Jolla Athenaeum, San Diego…the young Israeli pianist Victor Stanislavsky played a sparkling, expansive all-Chopin recital. The intimacy of the venue...proved ideal for Stanislavsky’s supple, polished, and eloquent technique. His Chopin was intimate, but never precious; rhapsodic, but never exuberant at the expense of clarity.
For his Athenaeum program, Stanislavsky chose later works of Chopin, opening with the probing, spiritual “Polonaise-Fantasie,” Op. 61, and closing with the “B Minor Sonata,” Op. 58, perhaps to underline that this 27-year-old performer has a mature grasp of the repertory. Whatever his motivations for the programming, his interpretive maturity came through conclusively.
For some recitalists, it is enough to master the formidable technical challenges of Chopin and simply glory in that achievement. What sets Stanislavsky apart is his consistent subjugation of technical flourish to cultivate the composer’s kaleidoscopic melodic invention against unexpected shifting harmonic colors and subtle transformation of textures, cardinal traits of Chopin’s improvisatory genius. In the “Polonaise-Fantasy” and the first movement of the Sonata, Stanislavsky captured the improvisatory character of these movements with winning confidence.
“Ha’aretz”
By Noam Ben Zeev
“…This is the third year of “Ein Hod” festival and in its last day afternoon it presented young Israeli Pianist; Victor Stanislavsky, a breath-taking Virtuoso who chose two of the monumental pieces of the repertoire; the sonatas by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Stanislavsky, with unimaginable technique though with emotional restrain – left his mark…”
"..Victor Stanislavsky played Beethoven's concerto no.3 with clean, strong, dramatic, emotional sound, all in the right places. Quite a while since I've heard a pianist who plays in a way that each note is heard separately and still all combine together to an exquisite melody and playing. A deep and impressive performance that well expressed the drama, outburst and the maturity of the piece while maintaining a remarkable dialog with the Orchestra. The charisma and power in his playing created an astonishing experience and brought the chamber orchestra to moments of elation. No wonder that the audience was excited and received the experience with enthusiasm and applause. From all the soloists - who all where good – I preferred him…"
All-Mozart Program, Jerusalem Theater
“Dallas News”
2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
by Scott Cantrell/Classical Music Critic
"Victor Stanislavsky (26, Israel). This Ukrainian-born Israeli was the most consistently engaging and musically satisfying performer so far. That was true even in Schumann's long and rambling Humoresque, in which he perfectly balanced the impetuous and the dreamily improvisatory. A Scarlatti sonata and the first movement of a Mozart B-flat major Sonata…both sparkled wittily. The Mozart's slow movement was as lovingly done as a great singer's aria. Two Capriccios by Hungarian composer György Ligeti finished off his recital with spiky exuberance"
By Ora Binur
"..Victor Stanislavsky's performance of Rachmaninoff preludes was highly impressive and created a true fascination and intrigue on the highest level.."
