Paul Lewis – piano
Collected Press Reviews from Oct 2001
Edinburgh
Festival Recital, 18 August 2003:
“Like Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisitors, pianist Paul Lewis’s
chief weapon is surprise. Running Schubert’s
Six German Dances, Schoenberg’s Six
Little Pieces Op. 19, and Liszt’s monumental
B minor Sonata together in one seamless gesture,
as if they were one piece, was an extraordinary
and revelatory way to fill up the second half
of his spellbinding Queen’s Hall recital.
The effect was dreamlike. It actually took a few seconds
for the ear to recognise the shift in gear
from Schubert’s delicate tunefulness to the
splintered aphoristic world of Schoenberg.
But such was the refinement of Lewis’s playing,
and the definition of tone he created, that
the hundred years of musical turmoil separating
the two Viennese musical styles were more
binding than antagonistic.
Stepping back in time to the heaving turmoil of Liszt was
no less torturous. Even on its own, Lewis’s
performance of this great Romantic warhorse
would have been a blistering experience. From
near-inaudible pianissimos and teasing silences,
to climaxes that rocked the rafters, Lewis’s
probing mind left no expressive avenue uncharted.
Though more conventionally presented, the first half of
the recital framed the juicy soft centre of
Janácek’s In the Mist, with two Haydn
delicacies, performed with mind-blowing unpredictability.”
*****
Kenneth Walton, The Scotsman, 19 August 2003
“It is not often that a recital redefines the concert experience,
but the second half of Paul Lewis’s Queen’s
Hall programme managed just that…with a conjuror’s
sleight of hand, Lewis segued the end of the
Schubert seamlessly into the opening of Schoenberg’s
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19. There was
no pause for applause, instead Lewis melted
the final phrase of the Schubert into the
lamenting chromatic sigh of the Schoenberg.
The difference between the two composers is usually thought
to be a vast gulf of language and aesthetic,
but Lewis realised the profound connections
between them: Schoenberg’s miniature suite
sounded like a ghost of Schubert’s sequence
of dances, a dark echo of their innocence.
Even more astonishing was the way Lewis elided the end of
the Schoenberg into Liszt’s B minor Sonata…Lewis
made them seem part of the same, spectral
sound-world, as if Liszt’s piece were a logical
continuation of the Schoenberg. Lewis turned
the structure of the sonata into a vivid,
distorted hallucination of conventional musical
forms and styles, and it ended in another
musical limbo. He created a single, overwhelming
experience from these three pieces using a
combination of brilliant imagination and assured
technique.
His first half, with music by Haydn and Janacek, was another
lesson in programme-building and spellbinding
performance.”
***** Tom Service, The Guardian, 20
August 2003
“Monday morning’s Queen’s Hall recital confirmed Paul Lewis’s
growing reputation as a young British pianist
of rare sensibility. Whether playing Haydn
or Janácek, he has a gift for revealing the
music’s inner logic without a trace of affectation.
His mentor is Brendel, and it shows.
Mind you, his daring experiment of going from piece to piece
without pause, let alone applause, disconcerted
some…I found it rather refreshing. Our concentration
wasn’t broken by continual clapping and bowing,
and we all got to lunch earlier.”
Richard Morrison, The Times, 20 August
2003
“Remember the name: Paul Lewis. The 31-year-old British
musician could be the next Murray Perahia.
He has the burning intensity, the flagrant
technique, the fervid imagination and the
command of detail these ultimate examples
of Schubertian inspiration demand. Here, Lewis
delivers the entire kaleidoscope of the composer's
pianistic genius. These performances are articulate
and spontaneous, seraphic and
overheated,
and filled with both passion and grace.”
Daniel Cariaga, Los
Angeles Times - Sunday, July 13, 2003
“Osborne and Lewis then changed upper and lower parts in
Debussy’s sensuous Six Epigraphes Antiques,
producing the most magical pianissimi and
pastel colours even though, on a horribly
humid evening, their fingers must have been
sticking to the keys.”
Adrian
Jack, The Independent, 23 June 2003
“Despite their independent solo careers, Osborne and Lewis
are seasoned duettists. Debussy’s Six épigraphes
antiques and Schubert’s F minor Fantasy
D940 are well entrenched in their repertoire,
and it was their experience and insight that
told here. Osborne and Lewis found a lightness
and poignancy here for the tender F minor
theme that tops and tails the Fantasy,
bringing a breadth to it while preserving
a gently flowing rhythmic pulse…Such sharp
definition of individual sections was impressive,
but even more so was the way that the performance
drew the whole piece together, tailoring it,
nurturing its melody but at the same time
establishing a structural continuity and integrity.”
Geoffrey
Norris, The Daily Telegraph, 19 June 2003
“Presenting him with his South Bank Show award, André Previn
predicted a career as illustrious as those
of his fellow finalists, Oliver Knussen, and
Sir Colin Davis. The finest British pianist
in decades and an outstanding interpreter
of Schubert, Lewis follows his acclaimed HM
recording of D784 and D958 with two of the
late sonatas. The quixotic A major makes
perfect sense in his sensitive, intelligent
reading, that wonderful rondo seeming a logical
climax to the explosive agonies preceding
it. Lewis’s light touch is especially suited
to the B flat major, in which he displays
a maturity belying his 30 years – much Schubert’s
own age when he wrote them”
The
Observer (Schubert Sonata D959 & D960)
20 April 2003
“Seventy years ago only Schnabel among leading pianists,
played Schubert; today we have Brendel, Kovacevich,
Schiff, Uchida and many others. And Paul
Lewis. His recording of the last two sonatas
ranks him among Schubert’s most passionate
and convincing champions. Perhaps the freedom
of tempo that marks his performance of the
A major from the very beginning become a little
self-conscious in the andantino, where
the desolate theme loses something of its
simplicity. In general, though, it serves
to emphasise the ambiguities that constantly
disturb the surface of both works. Despite
generous pedalling and glowing sonorities,
the shifting harmonies and inner voices of
the B flat are brought out with memorable
vividness.”
David
Cairns, (Schubert Sonata D959 & D960)
The Sunday Times 27 April 2003
Tour
of New Zealand and Australia, solo and with
Leopold String Trio, April – May 2003:
“Next the orchestra set in motion a precise rendition of
Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, which
threatened to lack drama until British pianist
Paul Lewis struck his first note. Caressing
the piano, Lewis moved from sensuous to impetuous,
urging the orchestra members away from their
classical comfort zone to more romantic heights.
His smooth tone and subtle dynamics captivated
the audience – definitely the highlight of
the afternoon.”
Elizabeth
Bailes, Hobart Mercury, 4 June 2003
“Lewis and the trio played in a sumptuous style, producing
a full and rich sound…Lewis rejoined the trio
for Dvorak’s Piano Quartet No. 2. The rich
style favored by the players generated a tremendously
passionate sound, fully exploiting Dvorak’s
romantic moods. A fitting end to an enjoyable
evening’s playing.”
Martin
Ball, Australian, 19 May 2003
“The group has collaborated for some time with British pianist
Paul Lewis…On Monday he collaborated in two
works. These were exceptional performances
in which Lewis distinguished himself by his
subtle participation, an object lesson for
all music lovers. Even with the Steinway open
on long stick, Lewis performed with delicacy
and dynamic consideration.”
Clive
O’Connell, Age, 16 May 2003
“From the first angelic notes of the F minor Variations
by Haydn, Lewis established an entrancing
atmosphere. The playing had nuance and colour
with phrasing that grabbed attention by its
effortless expression. For anyone who appreciates
fine piano playing this was an unforgettable
experience. The Sonata in A major by
Schubert was performed with spine-tingling
understanding and the utmost integrity for
the whole of its 40 minutes duration. Lewis
made this extraordinary music with its titanic
dimensions, utterly convincing and powerfully
effective. This was a recital of the highest
quality which gave the rare opportunity to
hear a consummate performer of exceptional
talents.”
Lynette
Smith, The Mercury, 12 May 2003
Headline: “VISIONS OF MORTALITY FROM TWO RISING STARS”
“Two of the brightest young stars in the pianistic firmament,
Paul Lewis and Steven Osborne, joined forces
last night in the Director’s Festival at the
Wigmore Hall. It was a prospect to relish
and they did not disappoint us.
Their joint item was Schubert’s most searching work for
four hands, the Fantasy in F minor…a magnificent
performance by Lewis and Osborne. Precision
of ensemble and exquisitely modulated tone
could almost be taken for granted with these
artists, but their performance also had a
sense of the numinous – of something beyond
our mundane existence.
…Then it was Lewis’s turn, and he gave us a no less rapturous
rendition of Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A
major, D959. Simply to play every note as
cleanly, every phrase as eloquently, as he
does is a formidable achievement.
What takes the breath away are the depths of melancholy
he plumbs in the andantino, anticipating its
central anarchic outburst with the plangent
accents of its opening section. That, and
the superb handling of the rondo finale, whose
lyrical paragraphs seemed to unfold into eternity.
This was pianism of the highest order.”
Barry
Millington, Wigmore Hall (Directors Festival),
Evening Standard, 15 April 2003
“Still in his early thirties, Paul Lewis has long been winning
plaudits for his Schubert playing. And even
in a catalogue groaning with recordings of
these visionary last sonatas, his are performances
to reckon with. There are no gimmicks here,
no indulging the music in the name of “profundity”.
Instead, Lewis combines a rich sense of wonder
and delight in the Schubertian moment – a
sudden withdrawn pianissimo, a breathtaking
shift of key – with a crucial command of the
bigger picture.
Lewis shapes and colours the lyrical melodies with the flexibility
and imagination of a master Lieder singer;
and like the best Schubert pianists, he reveals
the strength and inevitability of the composer’s
vast structures.
Moments that linger in the memory include the coda of the
A major’s first movement, the main theme sounding
as if through a gauze of dream, and the hint
of neurosis, even desperartion, beneath the
rarefied playfulness of the scherzo…there
is no doubt that this is Schubert playing
of uncommon conviction and poetic insight.”
Richard
Wigmore, Schubert Sonata D959 & D960,
The Daily Telegraph, 12 April 2003
“So bald and equivocal a marking as Molto moderato
for the first movement of D960 doesn’t faze
Paul Lewis. He starts fairly slowly but moves
up a notch when the opening theme reappears
in G flat. It is an example of how he responds
to changes in expressive content, laying them
bare through a variegated range of dynamics
and, controversially, liberal distension and
contraction of the pulse. Nevertheless, structures
don’t collapse, because Lewis’s sense of rhythm
is unimpeachable.
… Here is a musician who doesn’t choose the path of least
resistance. No mawkish sentimentality in the
slow movement of D960. Instead, the tempo
variations within Andante sostenuto
clearly define the contrasts between melancholia
and optimism; and the central section of the
equivalent movement of D959 is minatory rather
than overtly stormy, the succeeding Scherzo
strangely macabre, offering no relief. Lewis’s
interpretative reach is wide. What really
matters though is that in Paul Lewis we have
a young artist of uncommon erudition and individuality.”
Nalen
Anthoni, Schubert Sonatas D959 & 960,
Gramophone Magazine, May 2003
“Paul Lewis has shown his mastery of Schubert's and Beethoven's piano music
in recitals, broadcasts and recordings. The
hallmarks of Alfred Brendel, Lewis's regular
coach, are there in the delicacy of touch
and subtle intensity. Lewis shows a sureness
of touch and tempered intellectualism in everything
he does. His second disc of Schubert sonatas
for Harmonia Mundi is no exception. He captures
the ambivalence of the late A major D959 and
B flat D960 sonatas to a tee - the mix of
lyrical ease and profound frustration which
marked the composer'smiserable last years.
Captivating.”
Kenneth
Walton, (Schubert Sonatas D959 & 960) The Scotsman, 4 April 2003
“Paul Lewis is one of the current names to watch, a pianist
who has been going from strength to strength
since winning second prize in the 1994 World
Piano Competition. He’s a protegé of Alfred
Brendel, but here he stakes out his own territory
with performances of the great D959 and D960
sonatas that mark him as a soloist of rare
emotional depth. A recital that repays repeated
listening.”
Andrew
Clarke, Schubert Sonatas D959 &
960
The Independent, 12 April 2003
“The
chemistry here though was, fascinatingly,
about relationships: each pair of pianists,
the one to the other – and both to the two
Steinways which snuggled close to each other
for safety. They seemed never happier than
when cajoled and caressed by the fingers of
Imogen Cooper and Paul Lewis in Mozart’s Concerto
for Two Pianos in E flat major. From the audacious
opening double trill this was perfect casting.
And, with Lewis daring and defining, and Cooper
singing out with ever new refulgence, the
BBC Philharmonic’s own soloists, under the
baton of Sinaisky, were kept on the tops of
their own exuberant toes.”
Hilary Finch, The Times, 24 March 2003
“No
such drawbacks for the immensely gifted Lewis…Like
the assured player he is rapidly becoming,
Lewis drove the performance as dynamically
as the most relaxed yet galvanising of soloists,
boldly driving the orchestra in the animated
antics of the outer movements, gently restraining
it in the lyrical adagio.” (Mozart A major
Concerto K 488, St John’s Smith Square, London
Chamber Orchestra)
Anthony
Holden, The Observer, 23 March 2003
“Lewis, who recently won the South Bank Show classical
music award for his masterly series of Schubert
Sonatas in 2001-2, brought to Beethoven’s
Fourth Concerto the blend of quiet authority
and purposeful strength that always gives
his playing such a sure foundation. Perspective
and proportion were finely judged, figuration
was elegant, the tone was limpid. This was
a performance in which the restraint and fantasy
of this most introspective of all Beethoven’s
concertos achieved an ideal fusion.”
Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph,
7 February 2003
“The first Haydn piece…was played with the vitality and
subtlety only to be expected of a pianist
of this calibre…The first half ended with
Haydn’s Sonata in E flat. From the grand opening,
through the peaceful adagio and the lively
finale the soloist had the music completely
under control…The opening of this work [Liszt
Sonata] was precisely judged and in the lyrical
passages the right sort of emotion was evident.
The climax, with the double octaves brought
this impressive recital to a starry finish.”
John Packwood, Bristol Evening Post,
27 January 2003
“The
Fandango’s electric charge was still coursing
through the orchestra in their introduction
to Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto. No déjà
vu here, though. Paul Lewis, a pianist who
is re-inventing himself in stronger colours
and sharper insights, gave a thrilling performance.
Lewis’s
playing lives dangerously, as a quicksilver
imagination sparks through scales and octaves
which make the spine tingle. The central slow
movement contained a world of thought within
its opening bars. Here was a melody yearning
for words, yet already transcending them,
so eloquent was Lewis’s shaping and shading
of figure and phrase.”
Hilary
Finch, The Times, 27 July 2002
“By any standards, last night’s performance by Paul
Lewis of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto
was one of tremendous and inspiring distinction.
Earlier this year, Lewis’s international career
took a further step forward when he appeared
for the first time at Vienna’s hallowed Musikverein,
playing this same concerto.
Any young British pianist might face with trepidation
the prospect of playing Beethoven on the composer’s
home soil, but those who have been following
Lewis’s career, and those who heard him play
last night, will know that the time was right
for him to do so.
Lewis is one of the exceptional artists who compels
you to concentrate closely on the music, because
his playing is so obviously the product not
merely of acute stylistic instinct, but also
of deep interpretative thought.
There is a sharp intellect at work and a wonderfully
fluid musicality, as he showed recently in
his outstanding recitals of Schubert’s piano
sonatas.
Here in the Beethoven concerto, with the Bournemouth
Symphony Orchestra under Paul Daniel as alert
partners, there was a repsect for the work’s
late 18th-century scale, but at the same time
a sense of the music being reinvigorated with
lively insights into the texture, dynamics
and melodic inflection. Ease and eloquence
were allied to subtle shadings of colour.
The serene, mellow beauty
and limpid piano tone of the slow central
movement were offset by the finale’s rhythmic
vitality and ebullient spirit. This was one
of those performances that had a personality
of its own and yet struck right at the music’s
expressive core.”
Geoffrey
Norris, The Daily Telegraph, 26 July 2002
“In
between, Paul Lewis played Beethoven's Third
Piano Concerto with the honest, deeply involved
and self-effacing musicianship that has made
him one of the most important pianists of
his generation.”
Stephen
Pettitt, The Evening Standard, 26 July 2002
“For
Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto the soloist
was a real rising star – Paul Lewis, a pupil
of Alfred Brendel. His mentor’s influence
can be divined in his lack of indulgence,
the way he seems never to play beautiful just
for the sake of it but always for good reason.
Yet he is very much an individual. After a
warm orchestral introduction, Lewis announced
his presence with boldness, setting the mood
for a fiery performance, full of drama. In
the finale, the big, raw sound from the strings
supported Lewis’s bright clear tone as he
pulled Beethoven’s leaping lines around.”
Erica
Jeal, The Guardian, 25 July 2002
“He
may be just 29 years old, and this may be
his first commercial disc (there was an impressive
recital offered as a magazine-cover disc about
a year ago), but Paul Lewis already has a
burgeoning reputation, especially in Schubert.
And, lest you be suspicious of hyped reputations,
rest assured that his playing exudes class.
Lewis, regardless of all the promotional garb,
looks set to be one of the standard bearers
of his generation. From the first movement
of the C minor Sonata you are aware of Lewis's
technical polish, his dramatic sense of timing
and his dynamic involvement with the music.
He takes you on a journey, as all the best
Schubert players do.”
Tim
Parry, International Record Review
Headline:
“THRICE BLESSED WITH SUBLIME SONATAS”
“For a young pianist to tackle three of the most
elusive and sublime masterpieces in the repertoire
all in one recital may seem an act of hubris.
But Paul Lewis's odyssey through the complete
sonatas of Schubert brought him last night
to the trio of great sonatas from the composer's
last year. Any one of these on its own would
have been a challenge. To bring off all three
in such superlative performances is a feat
of extraordinary concentration. With his tousle-haired
appearance and singing tone, Lewis enables
one to imagine Schubert - only a few years
older than him when he wrote these works -
at the piano. Certainly, he offers a very
convincing solution to their interpretative
dilemmas. How far are dramatic tensions and
contrasts to be absorbed into the poetic serenity
of their songfulness? Lewis gets the balance
exactly right for my taste. No sooner had
he sat at the piano than he launched into
the vehement declamation of the first movement
of the C minor, D.958. But when he reached
the more lyrical, second-subject material
in the relative major, he took all the time
he needed, allowing the music to breathe naturally.
A
similar strategy was adopted in the A major,
D.959, the second subject unfolded in a glorious
burst of song, just as one imagines Schubert
would have done. In the B flat Sonata, D.960,
contrast was skilfully afforded by a crisply
articulated second subject. Drama was there
when required - the cataclysmic eruption of
D.959's slow movement was given its due -
but the overriding impression was of perfectly
weighted chording and immaculately executed
phrases throughout. This was Schubert playing
of the highest order.”
Barry
Millington, The Evening Standard, 7 May 2002
“At
the ripe old age of 70, I am writing my first
fan letter ! My partner and I were privileged
to hear you play the Schubert sonatas Nos.
19, 20 & 21 at Tonbridge school for the
Tonbridge Music Club on April 19th.
We were bowled over by your superlative playing
and so moved by your interpretation of the
works. Indeed, we were so transported that
my partner found it difficult to concentrate
on negotiating the traffic through Tonbridge
High Street. So maybe the programme notes
should include a warning; “owing to the ecstatic
effect Mr Lewis’s playing has on a number
of individuals, great care must be taken while
driving afterwards.” That should take care
of it.”
letter
from member of the public May 4 2002
“In
lesser hands, the sonatas have seemed like
a set of variations on a theme. Not so with
Paul Lewis, whose mastery of these works underlined
the reputation he is acquiring as the outstanding
Schubertian of his generation. His big-boned
performances of big-boned music contained
a catalogue of insights, even to those of
us who would profess to know theses pieces
intimately.
In
music that offers its pianists myriad temptation
to be exquisite, muscular, virtuosic, and
poetic – or to show off – Lewis chooses instead
a path forged by sheer brainpower.
The
intelligence he brings to late Schubert is,
it seems to me, comprehensive: in his articulation
of structure (every tiny phrase and each huge
span locked logically into place), in his
sensitivity to colour contrasts (nobody betters
him in understanding the emotional effect
of Schubert’s heart-wrenching harmonic sideslips),
and in his telling use of silence (one of
the most powerful and under-appreciated weapons
in Schubert’s expressive armoury).
In
an evening of unbroken concentration and compelling
pianism, the unforgettable moments were the
astonishing outburst, almost operatic in its
intensity, in the slow movement of the A major
sonata, and – more than once – Lewis’s revelation
of Schubert’s visionary ability almost to
deconstruct his own material towards the end
of a piece: a devastating emotional coup.”
Michael
Tumelty, Glasgow Herald 1 May 2002
“The last time I cried listening
to the radio was 10 days ago, when Paul Lewis
placed Schubert piano sonatas from the Wigmore
Hall.”
Paul Donovan, The Sunday Times “Radio Waves” May 2002
“The
pacing of his performance was superb, never
flagging once – even when Schubert seemed
to be repeating himself, Lewis pushed his
energies onwards – performing around two hours
of music from memory like this is an awesome
achievement. Lewis’s cycle has been a real
pleasure. Schubert’s sonatas need players
like this to bring them earnestly off the
page and into the live situation. We can only
hope he will return to the Queen’s Hall soon
with another cycle, perhaps Beethoven?”
“Paul
Lewis (among the best of young British piano
talent) was the immaculate soloist in Beethoven’s
3rd piano concerto. Sensitively
partnered by Elder and the orchestra, he produced
an exquisite performance characterised by
stunning finger dexterity, lovely phrasing,
delectable dynamic control and an overall
series, committed approach to Beethoven’s
genius.”
Westmorland
Gazette April 6 2002
“He
played the opening passages of the Sonata
in B, for example, with sharp articulation
and a sense of the tension buried in the movement,
thereby pushing it closer to the spirit of
the dramatic G major work. But he didn't force
the issue. Mostly, he let the music breathe,
and let its textures ring out with an inviting
transparency.
That
quality was striking in Mr. Lewis's reading
of the more complex Sonata in G as well, and
there one had to add an admiration for more
technical niceties — the perfect balance he
brought to chordal figures, for example, and
the degree to which he let the music's rich
bass create an impression of solidity, over
which the rest of the music flowed. In both
works, he applied a supple rubato — not so
much that it called attention to itself, but
enough to make the music sound as if it was
unfolding as an organic discourse rather than
as something learned and repeated.”
Alan
Kozinn, New York Times, 31 January 2002
“Paul
Lewis’ performances of these two Schubert
sonatas reveal not only a profound grasp of
Schubert’s style but also the comprehensive
technical command to bring that understanding
fully to fruition….. The keen intelligence
with which Lewis unfolds the bleak harmonic
and textural landscape in this music (the
1823 A minor sonata) gives a chilling portrayal
of Schubert’s shocked realisation of the inevitable
consequences of his disease. Lewis highlights
its obsessively persistent motives with impressive
concentration, reaching a powerful climax
in the tarantella finale’s relentless flow…Lewis’
achievement here (the mature C minor sonata)
lies not only in the taut rhythms, beautifully
conceived dynamics or pearlescent lyricism
but also in his glorious vindication of Schubert’s
creative triumph over his physical adversity.”
Nicholas Rast, Daily Telegraph 7 November
2001
“SCHUBERT’S
piano sonatas have a tendency to be lost in
the shadow of Beethoven’s. Yet they have a
peculiar charm of their own, as Paul Lewis’s
first ever commercial recording (like his
current Edinburgh Schubert cycle, which began
last week) well illustrates. He captures beautifully
- in the late C minor Sonata (D958) and less
turbulent A minor (D784) - Schubert’s natural
melodic fragrance. But with it comes an absorbing
intellectualism and profundity, heated and
passionate in the C minor, considered and
pensive in the A minor. Lewis’s career is
moving apace at the moment.”
Kenneth
Walton, The Scotsman, 15 October 2001
“So
the first thing to be said about Paul Lewis’s
Schubert cycle in Edinburgh – four programmes
spaced out between now and April – is that
it is hugely to be welcomed.
….
Each sonata – each phrase of it, each rhythm,
each tempo, each pulsation – seemed to have
been pondered in a way that drew attention
to it afresh and challenged traditional attitude
to the music.
Thus
the terse A minor Sonata, D784, which formed
the evening’s centrepiece, was made to sound
much larger than usual, thanks to the sheer
breadth of Lewis’s performance and his awareness
that a Schubert pause is definitely a pause.
As a result, the dark, haunted side of the
work, written when the young composer was
first aware that he might soon die, was chillingly
caught, especially in the hurtling, hammered
out, yet not over-pressed account of the finale.”
Conrad Wilson, The Glasgow Herald 9 October 2001
“When
performances are so complete, so reasoned
and so thoroughly immersed in the music as
these were, it seems almost perverse to analyse
them to see what it was that made them so
remarkable. But that would be to deny oneself
the pleasure of commenting on playing that
draws you deep inside the music, using tonal
shading, rhythmic subtlety, refined phrasing
and intellectual acumen to make each work
live and breathe with a rare fusion of fresh
invention and thoughtful preparation.”
Geoffrey
Norris, The Daily Telegraph 8 October 2001
