Press reviews for the CD “Sorabji – Toccata seconda per pianoforte” (Piano Classics PCL10205)

“[Piano Classics’s] new release brings us the premiere recording of Toccata Seconda of 1933–34, a lengthy work in nine movements, masterfully presented here by the Spanish pianist Abel Sánchez-Aguilera. […] … in the “Notturno” he could not be more fluid as he lays out the quasi-improvisational theme above suspended harmonies with all the nuance of Bill Evans. It is an assured performance, and the piano is beautifully recorded, making this two-disc set an absolute winner.” (Fanfare)

“Sánchez-Aguilera remains in control of the grand scheme and plays everything so compelling that you as a listener as matter of course go along with the composer’s sense of time and simply forget time itself.” (Klassieke Zaken)

“This disc represents a double revelation. […] pianist Abel Sánchez-Aguilera’s first recording, a musician of ample trajectory in the most complex margins of 20th century keyboard […] an entirely unusual artist. […] This disc is exceptional as an antechamber. If your ears can adjust to the architecture, you will have a world to discover.” (Scherzo)

“Abel Sánchez-Aguilera (piano) has given us a colossal performance of a seemingly endless work; the accuracy and rigour of someone who knows well the ill-named contemporary repertoire, and the perseverance and courage found in very few pianists who venture to record and perform live works of this calibre and magnitude, bringing them to light, giving them voice and space in a pianistic world dominated by the Romantic repertoire.”(Melómano)

“The two and a half hours of this Toccata do not only test the performer, who has a colossal task ahead, but also challenge the listener to listen actively without fainting. Regarding the former, Sánchez-Aguilera amply surpasses the challenge and shows us masterfully the great musical richness of the preludes, fugues, chorales and other forms that appear in the nine sections of the work.” (Ritmo)

“[Toccata Seconda is] Sanchez–Aguilera’s recording debut, and it puts him firmly in the pantheon of people who have tackled Sorabji and won. Only in the Coda–Stretto is he too careful or reticent; he puts everything else across astoundingly well, especially the difficult Scherzo.” (American Record Guide)

“…a pianist of considerable resources was needed to illuminate the design of these plethoric chords. Abel Sánchez-Aguilera succeeds, mastering the insane architecture of these demiurgic pages.” (ClicMag)

“Abel Sanchez-Aguilera succeeds in making the long work attractive by well contrasting the different parts of the Toccata, brilliantly juxtaposing the virtuoso passages with the very reflective and lyrical ones.” (Pizzicato)

“I would certainly bow to his superior intellect as well as his phenomenal skills at the keyboard. May he make further recordings, preferably of modern music such as this, for years to come!” (The Art Music Lounge)

“Abel Sánchez-Aguilera plays it gracefully and brings an unexpected amount of expression to the fugue” (The Absolute Sound)(https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/kaikhosru-shapurji-sorabji/)

Concert reviews

“This sophisticated handling of the sound, such knowledge of the style, not getting lost in impressionistic sonorities but highlighting the structural thought. And besides a stupendous virtuosity.” (DrehPunktKultur, Salzburg, 2013)

“[Scriabin’s] Fourth sonata, which dates from his mature period, and the fantastic poem Vers la flamme, one of his last pieces, were skillfully defended by Abel Sanchez-Aguilera, who underlined with subtlety this mixture of sounds and colours.” (Classic Toulouse, 2016)