Deryk Barker expresses his opinion of Volodos:

>I can't say I was especially impressed by this CD. To paraphrase Steve's
>coments about the young Kissin, Volodos seems all fingers and no brain to
>me.

IMHO, the Volodos debut CD is a phenomenal achievement.  It was recorded
in 1996, when Volodos was either 23 or 24 years old (I don't know the
exact date of his birthday).  It is only one CD, so I'm sure it doesn't
reveal all of his strengths and weaknesses, so it wouldn't be fair to
extrapolate how he would play something like a Mozart Piano Concerto or
a Brahms Intermezzo, for instance.  The technique displayed in this CD
not only shows a total mastery of his instrument, but also vast depth of
knowledge and understanding of the instrument.  But, his ability isn't
simply piano-centric, as it is also centered in the music that he plays.
A quote from the liner notes goes "He brings music to the piano instead of
the piano to the music." (said by a world-renowned conductor, whose name
isn't given in the notes.)

I agree with Jeffrey Hall about Volodos' performance transcription of the
march from Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony on this disc.  It's unbelievable.
I wonder how it would sound if played by Pollini or Argerich? Volodos'
performance of his special arrangement of the Mozart Turkish Rondo is also
spectacular.  (I heard him play it at Symphony Hall here in Chicago, when
he performed with the visiting SanFrancisco Orchestra.)

I think people sometimes have a tendency to fault musicians for having too
much technique.  It's kind of like faulting a movie for having good special
effects.  The presence of technique doesn't preclude the presence of good
musical interpretation.  If you ask me, the more technique the merrier.

Mike