Nicholas Angelich

“Throughout a work once dubbed "a symphony with piano obbligato", the Frankfurt orchestra play superbly for Paavo Järvi, the strings burnished and deep-toned, the woodwind gracious agents of tenderness and consolation. Though Nicholas Angelich commands ample Brahmsian heft, his playing tends to emphasise the music's lyrical pathos, rather than its turbulent heroism. Momentum can suffer in the first movement, especially in Angelich's ultra-dreamy treatment of the assuaging chorale-like theme. But he distils a mystical inwardness in the adagio - a wordless requiem for Schumann - and balances muscular stoicism with luminous delicacy, even a touch of playfulness, in the finale.” The Telegraph, 10th May 2008 (on Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor)

“Angelich's solo Brahms scarcely prepared us for the conviction and rapt intensity in this showpiece. With French pianist Frank Braley, Angelich also brings infectious zest to nine of the 21 Hungarian Dances for four hands, including the celebrated No 5 in F sharp minor.” The Observer, 13th April 2008

“A delight to encounter precise, hand-in-glove ensemble-playing that manages not to sound pre-planned. ” Gramophone Magazine, June 2008

“Both conductor and soloist take a lyrical approach to this Concerto. Paavo Järvi's tapering of the opening melodic gesture modifies its usually brusque, implacable drama, and Nicholas Angelich's expansive ruminations in the second theme, although expressive and dignified, borders on the languid.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2008 ****

"These annual live sets from the Lugano festival are one of the delights of the year." The Observer

“EMI's latest collection of Lugano recordings is one of the best so far, largely because it is dominated by the great lady herself - and because this is clearly the atmosphere in which Argerich is most relaxed and able to give of her dazzling, inspirational best...All the performances convey a sense of sheer enjoyment.” The Guardian, 25th April 2008 ****

“Some superlative music-making from Martha Argerich herself, and indeed from the classy line-up of colleagues around her.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2008 ****

“These coyly named discs from one of the world's finest pianists, recorded live in concert at the Lugano Festival, I now await each summer with the certainty of heart-lifting delight” Guardian, June 2006

“Trenchant, focused Brahms from a formidable player . . . . Nicholas Angelich is an American pianist, trained in Paris, whose performances on this disc are of a wholly exceptional drama, sweep and impeccable craftsmanship. Few young pianists have so little truck with flighty, salon-ish alternatives to seriousness, and his Brahms is sufficiently authoritative to make one long to hear him in the piano concertos. . . . . Angelich’s is nonetheless among the finest recordings of Brahms’s formidable masterpiece.” Gramophone

“Trenchant, focused Brahms from a formidable player (…). Nicholas Angelich is an American pianist, trained in Paris, whose performances on this disc are of a wholly exceptional drama, sweep and impeccable craftsmanship. Few young pianists have so little truck with flighty, salon-ish alternatives to seriousness, and his Brahms is sufficiently authoritative to make one long to hear him in the piano concertos.Gramophone

"honest and powerful performances at their best in the darker regions of Liszt's teeming imagination." The Gramophone