"Nikolai Lugansky is much talked about as a young pianist whose star is waxing with particular brilliance at the moment."
- Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph
"It was an unalloyed pleasure to encounter a virtuoso as impressive in his delicacy as in his power."- Michelle Dulak, San Francisco Classical Voice
"...Lugansky's late teacher, the legendary Russian Tatiana Nikolaeva, pronounced him 'the next one.' Thursday night her meaning came clear as her former student exhibited a consummate technique, tireless concentration, interpretive fire and unerring taste ...."- Timothy Pfaff, San Francisco Examiner
"Lugansky is not the most famous Russian pianist of our time; he is one of the major artists of our epoch. The public makes him aware of this by a standing ovation."
- Alain Lompech, Le Monde
"Part of the fascination of Lugansky's playing lies in his phenomenal technique. It seems to rise above the limits of the human body and to defy physics. Through his brilliant fingerwork, he succeeds in performing even the most blazing virtuoso passages with unbelievable precision and clarity."
- Neu Zurcher Zeitung
"It is a long time since this sort of playing has been heard - powerful, precise, as wide-sweeping as an orchestra, yet as subtly fine as an oboe. Dominating, yet full of charm."- Le Nouvel Observateur
"In the tradition of great Russian pianists, the young virtuoso knows how to get past difficulties to reach the poetic spirit of the works."- L'Evenement du Jeudi
"... exceptional virtuosity and magnificently controlled power."
- Le Figaro
"The Russian piano school keeps on producing amazing interpreters, like Nikolai Lugansky. Technically, he undertakes Chopin's revolutionary virtuosity with breathtaking brilliance, and he achieves this without allowing his perfection to diminish the romantic atmosphere that Chopin created in his two collections of etudes. A communicative temperament, freshness and expressive eloquence make Lugansky's version a modern reference."- Javier Perez Sanz, El Pais
"Lugansky's Chopin is of a formidable commitment and audacity; Chopin 'through a glass darkly'.-Bryce Morrison, Gramophone
" Utterly composed and intent, this 30-year-old set to his performance with a kind of stoical authority which wrong-footed us into expecting something cool and calculated. On the contrary, as Lugansky's mercurial thoughts burst forth, a performance of simmering drama and harnessed energy evolved into one of rapt excitement. "
-Kenneth Walton, The Scotsman
"Nikolai Lugansky has an all-too-rare ability to make every note sing. His phenomenally assured technique transcends the barriers of difficulty, enabling him to concentrate purely on the music behind the fireworks."-Oliver Condy, Classic FM Magazine
"...a pianist of absorbing sensibility who puts the music, rather than himself, first."
- Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph
