Songs without words
Variations sérieuses

“Korstick plays (the pieces) with the refinement they deserve; the cantilena phrasing is impeccable and the quick, more virtuosic pieces never lose the sense of a singing line. Korstick’s readings are the best I’ve encountered from recent decades.”
American Record Guide

“Korstick is a gifted interpreter who always strikes the right note in his recordings. Regardless of whether he is playing Milhaud’s piano concertos (reference!) or recording Liszt’s mighty ‘Années de pèlerinage’, every note fits, is well-considered and always subject to a coherent and comprehensible concept. This double CD is a musical and artistic delight!
pizzicato.lu, Supersonic Award

When it comes to combining pianistic brilliance with a sense of sound and interpretative intelligence in the service of music, Korstick is in his element. And the 48 “Songs without Words”, which run through Mendelssohn’s catalog of works as his very own invention, are about nothing else. Many of these pieces are no less demanding pianistically than comparable works by Chopin, and Korstick shows that they can cause just as much of a sensation as the better-known repertoire. Not for nothing did the Horowitz and Giesekings of this world like to play “Songs without Words” as encores. Korstick takes each of these miniatures seriously, giving them a face and character. He emphasizes the dramatic, the irritating, and does away with old prejudices of smoothness and shallowness. New reference recording …”
Fono Forum