“… Ravel's 'Miroirs' ratchets the attention up a notch: fluid, shimmering, imaginative playing; a biting 'Alborada del gracioso', a tearful 'Vallées des cloches'. The second CD increases the rapidity of our heart palpitations: Liszt's 'Feux follets' and 'Chasse-Neige' are extraordinary feats of exhilarating virtuosity dominated by intelligence. Schulz-Evler's unplayable paraphrase of 'The Blue Danube' explodes in a firework display of bravura and charm. An artist to discover, from the confident to the wildly exuberant.”

- Philippe Cassard, L’OBS ****

June 2023

“Chochieva, stylistically convincing in Schumann, here could be taken for a different pianist, so completely does she inhabit Ravel's sound world. <…> Disc 2 begins with two of Liszt's most technically challenging Transcendental Etudes (tone poems in all but name). Both of them leap off the page in Chochieva's hands with fabulous left-hand articulation, tonal colouring and sheer pianistic relish. <…> Altogether a terrific programme from a greatly gifted pianist.”

- Gramophone, Jeremy Nicholas 
Editor’s choice
June 2023

<…> She plays freely in the melancholic and suspenseful F-sharp minor of Op. 23 No. 1, spins delicate reveries in the major key pieces, and approaches the swirling C minor piece, foaming in intricate passagework, with more of a mysterious veiled quality than – as is often heard – bluff virtuosity. In doing so, Chochieva creates space for infinite crescendos, with ever more clarity and intensity of expression, despite the small size of the concert hall and the imposing grand piano. <…>  As for the encores, the No. 6 from the "Études-Tableaux" Op. 39, referred to by Rachmaninoff himself as "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf," becomes a game of life and death, flight and fatigue, the likes of which have never been heard before.”

- Tagesspiegel, Isabel Herzfeld

[F]ew pianists of recent generations come close to playing as considerate of composers’ intentions and as masterly of their demands as Zlata Chochieva.

Miami International Piano Festival
Frank Cooper, Lecturer in Residence,
05/05/2022

“…hear her in the Bach-Rachmaninov Partita and you will be astonished by her unfaltering brio, style and command. She has technique to burn and glories in the opulent clothing Ignaz Friedman gives to Bach. Chochieva’s arresting brilliance never precludes sensitivity and a broad tange of emotion, such as in the Schubert-Liszt Litanei, where she even challenges Cortot’s legendary recording…”
By Bryce Morrison for International Piano, Critics Choice

“…’(Re)creations’ is one of the best programmes to come my way in a very long time… everything is captivating… Rachmaninov’s three movement Bach Suite just sparkles, and his notoriously difficult Mendelssohn ‘Scherzo’ from A Midsummer Night’s Dream is truly a light, quick Scherzo…”
By James Harrington for American Record Guide, Critics Choice

“One cannot help but be won over by a program of such richness, admirably championed by a pianist with airy, lively, luminous playing, and so sensitive when it comes to making the piano sing.”
By Jany Campello for Resmusica

“…once again, behind all her technical bravura, the Berlin-based pianist succeeds in providing completely new insights into the fine structures and the realm of the inner soul of these mostly large-scale works, thus also revealing the deeper meaning of such "transformations".  For they are, without exception, highly musical recreations that illuminate anew the spirit of the original from the point of view of the arranger.”
AC, as Classical CD of the Month for Stereoplay.de

“Zlata Chochieva follows her recent splendid albums of Chopin and Rachmaninov with something as intriguing as it is compelling: transcriptions that reveal both the form and a formidable pianist at their very best.”
By Martin Cullingford for Gramophone Magazine

“…Right from the first note, you realise Chochieva has not just drifted into the studio on a whim or simply to fulfil a contract. This is music-making of real purpose and conviction… I should like to hear Chochieva in the other five [Gärtner-Friedman waltzes]. Or in anything else she cares to play.”
By Jeremy Nicholas for Gramophone Magazine

“…This CD of transcriptions is a great artistic success that invites intimacy and complicity. Let us leave the last word to Zlata Chochieva: In addition, it is a genre which leaves a great freedom of expression while requiring a deep spiritual and intellectual connection with the two composers - that of the original work as that of the transcription . Connection assumed and ensured brilliantly! Here is a pianist whose career will have to be closely followed…”
By Jean Lacroix for Crescendo Magazine
https://www.crescendo-magazine.be/un-eventail-de-transcriptions-par-zlata-chochieva/

“The piano can simply do everything - if you master it like Zlata Chochieva. In these virtuoso arrangements from Bach to Schubert to Mussorgsky, the Russian pianist playfully replaces vocal soloists and entire orchestras.”
For Tagesspiegel Berlin

“…everywhere [she] succeeds with finesse in letting the original radiate from the transcribed version while relishing the act of fashioning the grand Romantic arc.  How technically prodigious and musically accomplished she is can be confirmed by admirers of late-Romantic lustre via another remarkable box set: for the complete solo piano works by Rachmaninov…
SAL, Der Spiegel, Germany

“…Zlata Chochieva has done music a great service with this latest recording – (re)creations – where she performs with great aplomb piano transcriptions by a range of composers…Chochieva’s artistry makes a very strong case for the validity of transcriptions as a musical art form…”
For Music and Arts Blog, Canada

“She keeps everything bright and sparkling, no matter how complex the harmonized counterpoint is. …It’s a pleasure to welcome a gifted pianist whose abilities stand out even on the current scene, which is awash with keyboard talent. What is special about Chochieva is that such musicality is combined with astonishing technique.”
Huntley Dent for Fanfare, July 2021

“Completely void of artificial affectations, and negotiating Chopin’s filigree passagework with effortless, liquid finesse, her performance was a triumph of natural expression and unswerving musicality.”

- The Scotsman, 07/02/2020

“This concert immediately turned out as a thrilling finale—almost as if everything Chochieva’s pianist colleagues (who had been exclusively male so far) had performed before was directed towards Sergei Rachmaninov’s D minor Sonata, Op. 28, which concluded the Moscow-born pianist’s recital, and served as a final chord to the whole festival. <…>

BEST MUSICAL EVENT OF 2019 IN VANCOUVER

“<…> The current concert of the Etudes Op.25 and Rachmaninoff’s Corelli Variations did not disappoint: the pianistic strength, thoughtfulness and individuality of this 34-year-old Russian artist are exceptional by any standard. But it was not just her strong technical capabilities that impressed.