"Among the many who would rightly like to redeem Liszt's piano works from the virtuoso ghetto, Alexander Krichel is one of the most superior of them: on this debut CD, the only 22-year-old from Hamburg plays the B minor Ballade as well as the Dante Sonata quite naturally as a grand, almost visionary narrative. In between, the Petrarch Sonnets and "Venezia e Napoli" set more intimate and folkloristic accents."

"Happily a couple of this year’s debutants seem to have it all: the technique, instinct, culture, intellect, intuition, and the imagination for truly superlative Liszt playing. One of them is Alexander Krichel. He is a native of Hamburg, will be 22 this year, and has won prizes for his work as a mathematician as well as for his piano playing. (…) Indeed no one will mistake his interpretations for anything less than genuine artistry. No doubt in the future, aspects of his music making will continue to grow and ripen. But this is a young man from whom, given time and the alignment of whatever stars may govern a life in art, we may reasonably expect great things."