“Spotted for his “immense digital faculties” in Bach's Goldbergs in 2019, Stern has captured what makes Liszt such a genius according to Charles Rosen: reinventing the sound of the piano.”

“As soon as the curtain rises on Messiaen's Coulis cendré, we are struck by the evocative softness of Gabriel Stern's touch.”

“Perfect technical virtuosity, but which becomes incidental as the ability to color the playing, to draw nuances, to sculpt sound matter is mastered.”

“Gabriel Stern likes to take his time, the time to understand, deepen and mature. It's his trade secret.

“A real pianistic firework and, even more, an approach of superior intelligence in the management of time and the rhetoric of discourse. The dreaded Snowplow becomes a veritable keyboard opera.”

“We find here his conquering pianism and his very personal options. [...] From one end of the journey to the other, he behaves as much like a painter as an architect, without forgetting to dream.”

“Gabriel Stern takes on Franz Liszt's Études d'exécution transcendante.”

“PODCAST - Pianist Gabriel Stern has just released a magnfiic interpretation of Franz Liszt's Études d'exécution transcendantes (Mirare label). A highly musical version.”

“PODCAST - Pianist Gabriel Stern devotes his second disc to Liszt's Etudes d'exécution transcendante, which have long inhabited the pianist's mind.”

“The entire Romantic century sings and dreams here, exalts and thinks under the fingers of this admirable pianist whose Goldberg Variations (Lyrinx) had already surprised me in a good way, and even the Romanticism beyond Liszt.”

“Here is virtuosity that sees far ahead, faithful to the letter without ever betraying the poetic spirit.”

“Although Stern undoubtedly possesses the technique and temperament to project these works through the proverbial ramp, he treats the Etudes first and foremost as music, rather than athletic stunts.”

“Gabriel Stern proves to be an ideal interpreter for these 12 fantastic pieces, always keeping control of the work and allowing virtuosity only where it truly benefits the music.”

“Gabriel Stern's technical resources are impressive, but the tour de force of this disc is to plunge us, as if in apnoea, into crazy music, precisely with a skilful use of resources.”

“Gabriel Stern deployed a sound brimming with color, that of a hundred orchestral musicians”.

“Everything is seductive, and makes you want to follow closely the next exploits of this highly gifted musician, with his intense, no-nonsense playing, capable of being an acrobat or a poet.”

“With ease, brilliance and relaxation, Gabriel Stern strings together these studies, diabolical yet difficult.”

“Gabriel Stern finally reveals the full extent of his artistry in Olivier Messiaen's Le Courlis cendré, adorning it in a rainbow of chosen colors, making its jubilant trills shine, listening to its resonances, imagining its space as a landscape.”

“Infallible technical means at the service of a musicality and artistic sensitivity that seem limitless. An intensity of reflection and personal commitment that borders on the mystical.”

“Prodigious pianistic ease, without any effect despite phenomenal virtuosity, formal ease and musicological knowledge, as articulations, ornaments, tempos and polyphony go hand in hand with an expression that pushes the “Moi! Me! Me!” like uncertainty to let the music come into the world.”

“This mastery, this valour, is not given to everyone! And when the passion of Harmonies du soir, long contained, finally exults, the fever of the performer is not far from being transmitted to the listener. A name to remember.”

“Gabriel Stern, a breathtaking hope.”

“[...] the young pianist impresses with his mastery of the keyboard, his triumphant musicality and his maturity. Striking Glas and icy coldness in “Funérailles”, then the mad rush of “Mazeppa”, the elusive dance of “Feux follets” and other pages of bravura in the formidable “Douze Etudes d'exécution transcendante”.”

“[...] The “Funérailles”, from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, confirm Stern's mastery, but also the passion and seriousness he conveys in his interpretations. Concentrated, he alternates energetic, lively passages with meditative calming. The instrument takes on a tragic quality, violently evoking the deaths of patriots executed during the Hungarian Revolution, while the left hand distinctly utters a heart-rending lament. Accelerated rhythms, like last breaths of life, lead relentlessly to silence. This rise in intensity leads to even greater complexity in the Twelve Etudes d'exécution transcendante, reputed to be among the most formidable works for solo piano. As with the Goldberg Variations, recently recorded by Gabriel Stern, the long time span and the succession of bravura pieces are as successful for his versatility of tone as for his technical solidity.”

“PODCAST - Sunday Bach”

“This determination is evident from the very first bars of the Aria. The three beats are counted with impressive regularity, the notes follow one another without the slightest hesitation, the lines flow straight. But this reading, which might seem intimidatingly severe and discouragingly cerebral, is enhanced by a dreamy sound, bursting with sap and color, without the slightest dryness or harshness.
All in all, Stern reveals a clear musical maturity. The piano must now reckon with him.”

“The performer's signature is already evident in the full, ductile sonority and ornamental fluidity of the Aria. The limpidity of the fast variations, the detachment of the unison canon and variation XVIII are irresistible. [...] The ornate slow variations (XIII and XXV) sing, the counterpoint seduces and moves. A wind of freedom blows through this work of rare spiritual concentration.”

“So much intelligence, vivacity, varied articulations, absence of over-added expressive intentions; so much pertinence in the segues, the rich ornamentation always integrated into the articulation of lines thought out over long periods yet as if improvised in the moment. Such sensitivity, and the feeling that this young pianist is always on the lookout, that he is the receptacle of all the possibilities of this world-work, stunned me and, to put it bluntly, moved me even more.”

“PODCAST - A perfection of execution, a phenomenal power that evokes the orchestras of Liszt and Wagner, a constantly renewed energy, a sense of construction for those epic frescoes so difficult as Mazeppa, Chasse Sauvage, Vision, Appassionata or Chasse Neige. And, in Ricordanza or Harmonies du Soir, a dreamy touch, poetry, colors, a celebration of vocality.”

“This analytical approach brings out, with real originality, the full diversity of the Variations. The personal touch: perhaps this is what we expect of a pianist when he tackles works that have been played and replayed. And with Gabriel Stern, there's no doubt that we're dealing with a pianist of dazzling technique and strong personality.

Jean-Jacques Millo (2019-08-09), Disque Variations Goldberg, Opus Haute Définition E-Magazine

“The balance of voices, dynamics and virtuosity are all present in an approach that is both warm and rigorous. But all this would be nothing if it weren't for the depth, nuance and emotion that are present from start to finish in a music that is, once again, revealed.”

“PODCAST - This time, it's not virtuosity that's admired, but concentration, intellect and height of vision [...] No extravagance here with Gabriel Stern, but a vision of saving clarity. Each variation finds its place within the cycle, which never falters under the pianist's guidance.”