"Guido Sant’Anna delivered one of the most intense performances of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto heard in recent years. He shaped the opening melody with a fire and inner tension that made it instantly clear he does not merely play this music — he lives it. His technique was flawless: double-stops felt chiseled in stone, the harmonics sparkled with crystal clarity, and his runs carried an effortless lightness that belied their difficulty. The emotional force of his interpretation went straight under the skin; every note felt like a declaration, every phrase like an exposed feeling. The orchestra under Jukka-Pekka Saraste breathed with him, at times delicate as snow, at others rising in full symphonic strength. In the Adagio, Sant’Anna played with an intimacy that seemed almost unreal, before the finale erupted into a furious, nearly demonic dance in which soloist and orchestra pushed each other to the limit. He performed with a blend of wildness and precision reminiscent of the great masters, yet infused with a youthful freshness that felt vividly alive."

Online Merker, Dirk Schauß, 24.11.2025

"Most notably, it was in Sibelius’ Violin Concerto that violinist Sant’Anna introduced himself to the audience—and his debut was impressive. He entered into a vibrant dialogue with the richly resonant orchestra, capping the first movement with a flourish, his bow held high. In the following movement, the ensemble's playing surged like a stream, with the violinist joining in seamlessly; his beautifully phrased conclusion came across with great dignity. The enthusiastic applause after the final third movement was directed especially at the soloist’"

Westdeutsche Zeitung, Martin Hagemeyer, 27.05.2025

"The now world-renowned Brazilian violinist Guido Sant’Anna shaped the dominant long solos of the concerto entirely in the improvisational spirit with which Sibelius, himself a violinist, had once developed for the piece, the audience applause interrupting every movement. Conductor Ricardo Castro and the Neojiba Orquestra da Bahia concentrated on a dynamic balance that always gave the soloist priority."

Hamburger Abendblatt, Helmut Peters, 23.05.2025

"A discovery was the Brazilian Guido Sant'Anna, only seventeen years old, who gave his brilliant debut at the Rheingau Festival in Lalo’ Symphonie espagnole. [...] Sant'Anna mastered it with breathtaking naturalness, holding himself against any orchestral force with his rich tone including fast, non-cloudy vibrato, and symbiotically combining it with his sonorous instrument, a nineteenth-century violin by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, which exactly fits the work's character. The young man has charisma, stage presence, and in his playing, an astonishing maturity and depth."

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Guido Holze, 26.06.2023

"The 17-year-old Brazilian took on the virtuoso part in Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole and the audience responded with applause after each movement, with Alain Altinoglu and Sant'Anna brushing it off nicely. Far and wide, the soloist conveyed a brilliant sweetness to the audience, which you don’t see presented every day in an artist’s debut concert. [...] A mature performance, a very stable playing, confirmed by a movement from Eugène Ysaÿe's Solo Sonata No. 5 as an encore."

Frankfurter Rundschau, Judith von Sternburg, 25.06.2023