The Swedish cellist Jakob Koranyi has firmly established himself on the classical music scene as one of Europe’s most interesting young soloists. In the last season alone he has toured Europe extensively performing in recital as well as a soloist in Vienna, Cologne, Hamburg, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Stockholm and Luxembourg to name a few. Recent orchestral highlights include performances with the Stockholm Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchèstre de Paris, Orchestra Filharmonia Veneta, Weimar Staatskapelle, Gothenburg, Malmö, Helsingborg and Norrköping Symphony Orchestras, working with conductors such as Okku Kamu, Eiji Oue, Krzysztof Urbański, Lionel Bringuier, Andrew Manze, Stefan Solyom, Thomas Söndergaard, Susanna Mälkki and Christian Lindberg. A committed chamber musician, Jakob Koranyi collaborates with distinguished musicians such as the winner of the 2010 Queen Elizabeth Competition, pianist Denis Kozukhin, and has appeared in chamber music concerts alongside such international stars as Yuri Bashmet, Kirill Troussov, Kim Kashkashian, Leonidas Kavakos, Misha Maisky, Daniel Hope, Renaud Capuçon, Lawrence Power and Julian Rachlin. He was a Rising Star of the European Concert Hall Organization in 11/12 and during that season was also awarded the Norwegian Soloist Prize. An

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"A force to be reckoned with..."

The Strad Magazine

"Four introductory notes so beautiful that you can lose yourself in them. They give, we'll see, a completely accurate picture of what is to come this afternoon with Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Jakob Koranyi and Simon Crawford-Phillips are now touring with the five sonatas for piano and cello, but divided into two different programmes. At this concert three of them were played and first up is No. 1 in F major op. 5, No. 1, from 1796, a time when Beethoven began to make a name for himself in Vienna, where he moved four years earlier. In the Adagio sostenuto - Allegro it is immediately eminent how remarkably clean the sound of the cello is, the intonation is straight to the core without any search for it. The character of the Allegro vivace is alternating between great power and outward direction to the soft and gentle. The interplay of the duo is extremely tight. Tempo shifts and common trills could reveal shortcomings in this, but the glue is holding together all the way and the music's breathing and direction is one. In addition, although the cello and piano are such essentially different instruments there is a marvelous tonal unity. A more mature Beethoven is expressed in Sonata no. 4 in C major op. 102 No. 1, from 1815. In this two-plus-two-movement sonata one notices how directly the cello strings respond in all the rapid imitation passages, with rich and present tonal quality. Twelve short variations in F major over the theme of Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen from Mozart's Magic Flute, Op. 66 from 1798, feel playful when they float by and pave the way for the Sonata no. 5 in D major op. 102, no. 2 from 1815. Here the Adagio con molto Sentimento d'affetto absolutely must be seen as the concert’s highlight. So expressive, so sensitive, dormant and still. So beautiful! All the stress becomes quiet. In the Fugato part one’s perception of rhythm is challenged when the composer plays with emphasis, the music's own inner power and resistance increases. The encore is Beethoven's seven variations over the theme Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen from Mozart's Magic Flute. Outstanding musicians with great stage presence have given us food for the soul, and we thank them with warm, strong applause."

Eleanor Anderson, Smp.se Feb 11th 2013

"The lyrical cello, played brilliantly on the front bow of the stage by the Swedish Jakob Koranyi as part of the Cello Biennale, braces itself against the percussional eruptions of the four students of the Amsterdam Conservatory behind him."

Sander Hiskemuller, The Trouw Nov 1st 2012

"The excellent lecture was framed by the masterful playing of the Swedish Cellist Jakob Koranyi who offered the audience two extremes : Johann Sebastian Bach’s Suite No. 1 G major for Violoncello and a piece entitled “Knock, Breathe, Shine” by the Finish contemporary composer Esa-Pekka Salonen. The latter captivated the audience with refined pizzicato at the beginning and at the end fast with paced virtuosity. The young musician earned a rapturous applause from the overwhelmed audience for his unforgettable performance"

Von Imme Lorek, Neue Westfälische Jul 23rd 2012

"Jakob Koranyi won his audience with the competition piece, “knock, breathe, shine”, by Esa-Pekka Salonen. In a very percussive first movement, the cellist showed his great technic mastery but made this contemporary piece understandable for the public. The two other movements let him express his virtuosity and his beautiful sound. "

Levia Carmina Jun 17th 2012

"Although he takes the sophisticated piano work in a similarly suitable way into the second movement, the interpretation goes against the well-known Konzert in A Minor for Cello and Orchestra Op. 33 by Camille Saint-Saens like a grand, dark and forward-moving ballad. Jakob Koranyi, the young Swedish Soloist will soon become a house-hold name when he so obviously ignores conventional interpretations such as in this case and follows his own intuition and trusts his unobtrusive and flexible musicality and performs together with such an eloquent and elegant tone, which puts both conductor and orchestra under his spell. Lots of discussion has grown out of a short reprobating concert."

Hans-Jürgen Thiers, thueringer-allgemeine.de Jun 4th 2012

"Brahms' First Cello Sonata was for the ears, including the dramatically pointed scenes that develop the perfect combination of Koranyi with pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips. Rich, attractive dances mixed with hints of folk music reveals the second movement, and Koranyi comes up with wonderful harmonic passages. And after the highly expressive Largo at the Frieder Burda Museum there is breathless silence. In the finale the joy of playing the music is savoured fully - the continuous comprehensibility of the score is enhanced by this duo being precisely coordinated. As a reward for the sustained applause, a cello encore par excellence is served: "The Swan" from Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals revolves with sumptuous laps on the romantic wall of his sound."

Udo Barth, Nachtrichten.de May 29th 2012

"In Esa-Pekka Salonen's composition “Knock, Breathe, Shine" the cello stands alone. In this work, the different sound worlds of the cello come apart and Jakob Koranyi skill shines through. Then the cellist whirled a distinctive staccato exchange with varying Pizzicati. In the second movement, entitled "Breathe”, he showed through his soft tone, the sweetness and power of the melody. In the theme entitled “Shine” he expresses technical brilliance and acrobatics like a curvy Formula 1 track. [...] The conclusion of the concert was devoted to Jakob Koranyi's Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor, Op. 38 by Shostakovich. His sophisticated interpretation of compositions by Russian composers are always worthy of an award. And so the cellist and his congenial partner at the piano realised subtle allusions, which Shostakovich worked in to the piece under the terms of difficult and complicated Soviet censorship."

Gerhard Volker, BNN May 29th 2012

"The piece is hardly simple yet sounded incredibly beautiful. The first movement was rather calm and all about harmony and melodies, whereas the second was much more energetic and required some insanely virtuoso playing from Koranyi. At times I wasn’t sure if I was really listening to just one instrument."

Renée Reitsma, Feb 5th 2012

"I was totally unprepared for the duo sonata: which was boffo. Absolutely rock-’em-sock-’em, mesmerizingly perfect: in rhythm, color, texture, dynamics, feeling—everything. The second movement, Très vif, was aggressive and biting while never losing musicality. The following movement, Lent, spoke what I can best describe as a straightforward sublimity. The players never put a foot wrong; they milked the sonata for all it was worth (which is a lot). Yura Lee was almost startlingly alive. I wondered whether the Sunday-afternoon audience would appreciate what they were hearing. They did, calling the players back again and again."

Jay Nordlinger, New York Chronicle Jun 28th 2010

"The two soloists lift an arduous and rather unconventional program to a singular musical experience [...] A total absence of triviality characterizes Jakob Koranyi's and Denis Kozhukhin's performances. They play as if every bar would be the last one, with an enthusiasm which takes the audience's and reviewer's breaths away. But this is the feeling of real art...Musical delight, first rate technique, and total insight, indeed the ovations did not wish to come to an end that Tuesday evening. An unforgettable concert.""

Jan-Olov Nyström, Hudiksvaksvalls Tidning Jul 7th 2009