"With KOSHKA, Oleg takes the music in exciting new directions while still
retaining that Russian Gypsy magic that has won him hearts everywhere...
nothing less than incandescent virtuosity for the duration of the show..."
                                                                                      THE SCOTSMAN

"KOSHKA's claim to Celtic Connections fame is as the only group to receive
two standing ovations at this year's festival's late-night club......
Mostly...the trio get on with the business of being virtuosos.
The pace varies from doleful, soulful, very Russian ballad through rhythms
that quicken with the deliberation of a steam train into blurry fingered
stuff that's still played with the great feeling."
                                                                                   GLASGOW HERALD

"We don't know many bands who play rhythm on the fiddle, use it for percussion
and accompaniment, use the guitar as lead then swap it all about."
                                                                                                  THE LIST

"KOSHKA is an astonishingly gifted trio..... The best folk and world."
                                                                                                  THE LIST

"Their version of World, Gypsy and Jazz sends a huge emotional surge that
never lets up, twinned with masterly musicianship and an extraordinary range
of tones and timbres."
                                                                            THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

"The hottest gig in town.....a consummate performer, Oleg will mesmerize you
with his virtuosity and passionate style..."
                                                                                            FIDDLE 2002

"Glasgow-based trio Koshka's members chart a geographical link between
Astrakhan, Vladivostok and Cathcart and their repertoire is similarly
broad-ranging, their two violinists stringing together Hot Club swing,
conservatory expertise, expressive ballad and mirthful slapstick episodes
while guitarist Nigel Clark variously holds it all together, propels his
colleagues and matches their quicksilver intricacies."
                                                                                                    HERALD

"The charming Lev Atlas, fiery Oleg Ponomarev and Nigel Clarke are all virtuosi;
the violins agile and by turns soaring and brooding, the guitar astoundingly fluent
with a plectrum on nylon strings. Gypsy jazz, achingly beautiful Russian airs,
cafi-style music, and some pieces in homage to the Hot Club style of Grapelli and
Reinhardt.
In the wrong hands, playing like that can degenerate into a flash showcase for
virtuosity,but all three have their hearts in the music, and while their copious
abilities are necessary to play their material, they never overshadow the
communication"                                                                   BBC Scotland

"Anyone who came to the Russian Gypsies concert a couple of months ago
will remember Oleg Ponomarev, the violinist in leather trousers
who brought the house down with his tremendous playing and caused
several hearts to flutter.
Oleg is returning for this new concert, together with Lev Atlas
whose astonishing virtuosity on the violin is well known to us
and Nigel Clark, guitarist, a fantastic player in his own right
and a vital member of this brilliant team.
On Friday 12th he performs as part of a trio called KOSHKA,
who play everything from Django Reinhardt to the wildest of gypsy dances
and other treasures thrown in."                                     THE ARRAN BANNER