Press Quotes
“…a stroke of genius!”
Maddy Shaw Roberts, Classical FM, May 2020
“CRITIC’S PICKS | Virtual Concerts You Absolutely Need To See This Week (Streaming Edition)”
Joseph So, Ludwig Van Toronto, April 2020
“…a new virtual live streaming project that is making waves internationally”
Broadway World Toronto, May 2020
“Pianist Vnukowski revives music of a neglected composer in impressive Carnegie debut…this assertive, fearlessly virtuosic Chopin style was filled with thoughtful exploration and a kind of questioning illumination. For his insight and daring, no less than his advocacy of a forgotten compatriot composer, Vnukowski is a pianist to watch.
Linda Holt, New York Classical Review, May 2019
“He didn’t simply play. He engaged.
William Littler, Toronto Star, Oct 2019
“Daniel Vnukowski strikes me as an ideal advocate for this music. He is more than equal to its technical demands, and he brings subtle gradations of dynamics and shading to what could easily become an overwhelming welter of sound. More importantly, Vnukowski communicates the emotions within the music. I was moved at several points throughout the recital.
Myron Silberstein, Fanfare Magazine, Issue 43:1 (Sept/Oct 2019)
“These technically demanding works are played to the hilt by the Polish-Canadian Daniel Vnukowski.
Bruno Repp, American Record Guide, July/August 2019
“A virtuoso pianist…Vnukowski plays with sympathetic understanding.
Phillip Scott, Limelight Magazine, July 2019
“The New York performances at the Festival having further demonstrated that he is a formidable pianist, it seems that Karol Rathaus has found a brilliant new champion.
Roman Markowicz, ConcertoNet.com, February 2019
“A fierce inner conviction and sense of discovery […] mandatory listening for anyone with a serious interest in early 20th-century music.
Jim Svejda, Issue 42:1 (Sept/Oct 2018) of Fanfare Magazine
“It’s Polish-Canadian Daniel Vnukowski who shoulders the filmic, ballet, sonata and other burdens in the recital and he proves a most able exponent, suggesting Rathaus’ vitality and also his more crabbed, harmonically aloof self.
Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International, April 2019
“The dashing pianist, Daniel Vnukowski, launches upon a jaunty atonal string of notes, only to swerve into virtuosic pomposities recalling an earlier age…and the performances do him proud.
The Sunday Times, Geoff Brown, March 2018
“Violinist Daniel Hope and pianist Daniel Vnukowski join rapturously together in a glowingly recorded collection guaranteed to keep your index finger returning to the repeat button.
International Record Review, March 2015
“After an energetic beginning, an electrifying music unfolds, enabled by the precise, rhythmic finesse of pianist Daniel Vnukowski. Also in the finale, the interpretation is thoroughly convincing through its sheer elegance and underlying irony. (Translation from German)
Stefan Drees, das Orchester 03/2018, Page 69
“With virtuoso brilliance, Daniel Vnukowski captivates as a soloist in the piano concerto. This particularly comes through in the third movement, which sounds joyfully light but maintains a spirit of underlying solemnity.
Oliver Fraenzke, The New Listener, December 2017
“I’ve been a fan of Vnukowski’s since I heard him perform at the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. I was particularly impressed by his commitment to reviving works of exiled Jewish composers of the 20th-century including Wladyslaw Szpilman, Alfred Schnittke, Josef Koffler and others.
Robin Rogers, Ludwig Van, March 2018
“The varied program of solo pieces for piano, songs and chamber music is performed with commitment and sensitive inspiration.
– Remy Franck, Pizzicato, November 2014
“Here are intimate piano solos, nostalgic songs and bittersweet violin music. Daniel Vnukowski is the devoted pianist, well supported by violinist Daniel Hope, and singers Rebecca Nelsen and Christian Immler.
Richard Fairbarn, Financial Times (Life & Arts), December 2014
“The pianist Daniel Vnukowski and the violinist Daniel Hope take on Arlen’s works with great commitment and engagement.
Peter Sommeregger, Opera Lounge, December 2014
“Vnukowski proved that he is endowed with extraordinary musicality and technical skill, while always maintaining the spirit and mood of the composition on hand. The Mazurkas were performed with a youthful energy and dynamism. The pianist exhibited an authentic rhythmic portrayal of this dance form. At the end of the concert, an enthusiastic audience gave him a standing ovation.
Kazik Jedrzejczak, Maestro.net.pl, December 7, 2018
“Vnukowski performed elegantly and with impeccable virtuosity, providing us with a faithful interpretation lavishly prasied by its narrator.
Francesco Calvani, Spoleto News (Italy)
“He came into his own in the enormously variegated 24 Preludes Op. 28 by Chopin, where he displayed not only his affinity with the style but also the big guns to deal with some of the atrociously difficult ones as if they were child’s play; this was great playing and show Vnukowski to be a distinguished Chopinian.
Pablo Gardin, Buenos Aires Herald
“It was gratifying to hear how Vnukowski kept the same tempo throughout the many variations, or the lightness and subtlety with which he performed the lengthy passages in the high registers of the keyboard, forming a successful and convincing interpretation.
Carlos Singer, Mundo Clasico (Classical World)
“Vnukowski performed the Chopin Concerto with great passion and with a thorough understanding of Chopin’s compositional language. This was coupled together with a beautiful sound and the appropriate use of dynamics.
Adam Czopek, Nasz Dziennik (Our Daily)
“Vnukowski’s musicality is especially evident in the sensitive, expressive phrasing of his Mozart and in the lyricism and emotional drama of his Schumann. His dynamic range is phenomenal.
David Gregson, Sandiego.com