The evening was an awesome physical feat for any performer, but at the very end, Parker’s fingers were as nimble, as accurate, his touch as relaxed, his playing as clean and rhymic as it all had been at the start. And after it, he played an encore, a quiet, rippling Rachmaninoff prelude. Continue reading Jon Kimura Parker Takes on Mussorgsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev & Stravinsky
As in any typical piano recital, technical virtuosity and emotional expression were certainly on display.
However, this concert showcased a wider spectrum of Valdes’ talents as a performer, sending the pianist on a tour of her instrument — reaching inside the case to pluck the strings, creating sheets of sound by slamming her forearm on the keys, and playing alongside pre-recorded piano sounds. Continue reading A Piano Recital For the 21st Century With Cristina Valdes
I had reviewed some of Dossin’s recordings for the now defunct magazine Clavier, and expected good things. It was more than good. I was bowled over by the technique, the musicianship, the beauty of his interpretations and the way he made himself invisible, allowing the composers’ intentions to come through. Continue reading Pianist Alexandre Dossin Shines in Russian “Winter Nights”
There’s no doubt about O’Riley’s ability. There were beautiful moments of thoughtful touch, sensitive phrasing, fine technique throughout, but in fast, dense and loud passages—and Liszt loved these and inserted them as major portions of his compositions—O’Riley tended to go overboard and the results often were not as clean as they might have been. Continue reading NPR’s Christopher O’Riley Takes Liszt Over the Top
Thursday, June 21, the Sunna Gunnlaugs Trio plays at jazz club Tula’s in Belltown. It’s a 7:30 p.m. show with a $10 cover. (Tula’s, if you, like me, haven’t been, features a Mediterranean menu. I thought it was a rule jazz clubs had to be Italian? But no, they’ve got spanokopita on the menu, large as life.) Continue reading The Week Ahead for Fans of Icelandic Music
