Listening to the album, it becomes clear after a few bars that Chochieva’s Mozart can stand comparison with the best and does not have to hide from greats like Maria João Pires or Mitsuko Uchida. (…) Chochieva never repeats phrases in exactly the same way, there are always new nuances and shadings, without this sounding precious. (…) In Scriabin’s Tenth (and last) Sonata she achieves brilliant climaxes over the shortest distance without becoming hectic, supported in her efforts by the wonderfully balanced-sounding Bechstein concert grand.

Zlata Chochieva offers up an irresistible combination. On her album “Chiaroscuro” she combines Mozart Variations with Sonatas by Scriabin. And suddenly a lot of things become easier and clearer.

In the two sonatas especially, one hears an extraordinary ebb and flow, a clarity of thought and feeling that progresses with a logical inevitability and cohesion unusual in even the finest Scriabin-playing.

What Chochieva presents over 77 minutes is of such clarity, lightness and depth of soul that the kinship becomes compelling. (…) She does not temper contrasts but her fluid, delicate style is here unmistakable. Wonderfully sensitive piano artistry.

“Bowled over” and “knocked out” come to mind as I think about the impression made on me by Zlata Chochieva’s recital for the Miami International Piano Festival on May Day of this year. […] Ms. Chochieva achieved identification with Schumann [Davidsbündler Tänze] that, in my experience, has eluded earlier interpreters of this complex work. So, affecting was that identity that the suite’s longueurs simply vanished. After the quiet ending, I wished for more. Can there be a greater compliment? […] 

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