Isabel Fedrizzi, Magazine “Piano News”, the review on Elena’s CD “La Folie”

“The Russian pianist Elena Tarasova desires a certain drama in her solo performances, crafting a program concept that allows for emphatic displays of self-expression. She seeks “arcs, parallels, and hidden lines to unite her pieces under a single higher idea…”. This description may have been used to characterize her 2018 album “Sound Illusions”, but it is no less applicable to her new album “La Folie”, in which she traces the theme of insanity through different epochs. The album invokes Couperin, Liszt, Rachmaninov, and Debussy, among others, for a voluminous sound that maintains its structural serenity, rigorous baroque linearity, and romantic gesture, filigree touch and powerful expression of will. She feels at home in the florid world of Couperin, with all its baroque inflections, and she masterfully commands the sharp contrasts of Liszt and Rachmaninov in dynamics, tempo, and musical pattern. Elena amazes audiences with her artful display of musical devilry, underscoring the “insane” energy of every piece with outstanding power. Her finesse and expertise are just as unmistakable in her expressions of the more quiet and intimate (Scriabin), as they are in her wonderous unraveling of melodic lines, be it bass or upper registers (Rachmaninov). She sculpts impressive emotional intensity with apparent ease, combining 200 years of musical history into a series of performances that truly showcase her versatile talents. Let’s hold our breath for what is yet to come!”.