“Purcell: The Complete Suites for the Keyboard”
by Graham Rickson
“Sandrin revels in the piano’s ability to make the melodies sing without letting the textures get too thick. The results are beguiling, the expressive range of these rarely-heard pieces a continual surprise. I’d suggest listening to Suites 2 and 3 in succession: No. 2’s “Almand” and “Saraband” are studies in introspection, played with real delicacy, while the G major 3rd Suite is bright, brassy and extrovert . . . A gorgeous album – why don’t more pianists tackle this repertoire?”
Piano News Germany, Issue 3/2025
“Beethoven: Kavatine, Sonatas Opus 109, 110 and 111”
by Carsten Dürer
"Young, magnificent pianist (…) It quickly becomes clear: Sandrin is a wonderful Beethoven interpreter. (...) He plays maturely and thoughtfully, but not without the necessary pressure and the impatience inherent in this music."
Gramophone Review “PURCELL The Complete Suites and Other Music for Keyboard”
by Lindsay Kemp, August 2025
“…what intimate and wounded sorrow Sandrin finds in the Almand of the Third Suite, what an eloquent Purcellian journey is the Seventh Almand, and what emotional unrest, like lovers lost in an enchanted wood, he stirs in the Second Prelude. Sefauchi’s Farewell, one of nine extra Purcell pieces drafted in from other sources and distributed here through the suites, is full of tender melancholy (…) what these clever reimaginings are doing is searching for their soul”
Purcell album featured on Presto Music’s “Piano Music Round-Up - Spring 2025”
by Matthew Ash, 16th July 2025
“his playing allows the music to speak for itself. Purcell had a gift for melody and for structural use of harmony, and Sandrin demonstrates a perfectly judged balance between being historically informed and sensitively using the scope of a modern piano to make a strong case for exploring beyond the music drama.”
BBC Music Magazine selects Cristian’s Purcell album to be the Instrumental Choice of July 2025
review by Kate Bolton-Porciatti
“In the first complete recording of Purcell’s eight keyboard suites on the modern piano, Romanian pianist Cristian Sandrin sets the bar impressively high. His accounts blend an instinctive grasp of the Baroque rhetoric with the expressive breadth of the piano, revealing the ever-changing affects of these jewel-like works. (…) Sandrin brings to these performances all the pathos and lyricism of Baroque opera, making a fitting tribute to one of England’s greatest theatre composers”
Cristian Sandrin’s Beethoven album featured on International Piano Magazine, May 2025
review by Peter J Rabinowitz
“There’s no denying his clarity: fingerwork is immaculate (passagework, trills and tremolos are unfailingly neat) and textures are lucid. (…)If you’re looking for performances that share Richard Goode’s logic and Mitsuko Uchida’s spirituality, you should find Sandrin’s immensely rewarding.”
Review on Corrierebit
The Goldberg Variations at Serate Musicale, 8th February 2025
“In his thoughtful interpretation, lasting over eighty minutes, Sandrin gave a solid performance, with moments of great expressiveness, especially in the more extroverted variations. The audience responded with warm applause, while the pianist showed visible satisfaction with his performance”
Review in the American Record Guide
Correspondances: Ravel, Enescu, Scott
Vol. 86 No. 5 September/October 2023
“This is now one of my favourite performances of Miroirs (…) Gorgeous music, resplendent sound from the Steinway Model D, perceptive notes. A luscious recital and the highlight this month’s listening”
Review in Piano News Deutschland: CD of the Months July and August 2023
Cristian’s CD “Correspondances” (2023) has been selected to be the Recording of the Month by Piano News Magazine in Germany.
