In 2008/09 James Rhodes saw his profile go from complete unknown to rising star, attracting celebrity followers including Stephen Fry and Sir David Tang. He swiftly went on to headline London's historical Roundhouse, where he was the first classical pianist to perform since its re-opening.
In 2010 he made his television debut in the BBC Four documentary Chopin: The Women Behind the Music and in 2011. James went on to present and perform in his very own television series James Rhodes: Piano Man on Sky Arts.
This new disc – recorded live at The Old Market theatre in Brighton – captures the energy of Rhodes in concert as he performs and entertainingly discusses works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninov and more in this 85-minute programme.
19th May 2012
“he brings his natural dynamism and considerable talent to bear. Particularly impressive is his signature opener, the limpid Adagio from Marcello's Concerto No 3.”
September 2012
“Both the Rachmaninov C sharp minor Prelude and Schumann/Liszt 'Widmung' feature lovely interweaving between melody and accompaniment...Rhodes obviously has it in him to be a persuasive Beethoven interpreter. Whatever persona Rhodes chooses to cultivate in terms of presentation, he certainly is a serious musician.”
September 2012
***
“He's at his best when the music is most abstract. In the Bach-Busoni Chaconne he grips the polyphony with a probing intensity, a manner revisted in miniature in the grave, brittle dance of the Marcello-Bach Adagio...Rachmaninov's C sharp minor Prelude is convincingly shaped as a crescendo in anguish, while the Schumann-Liszt Widmung becomes rapture personified.”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
