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‘The playing, as throughout the recital, was as exciting as it was impeccable.
Whatever the challenges and character of the music, Driver displayed sovereign
technique and sympathetic insight. A wonderful experience.’
[Windsor & Eton Express]
‘Driver has all the makings of becoming a notable musician – one
of integrity and intelligence, commodities all too rare…. his
naturalness, thinking, and understatement reminded,
respectively, of Lupu, Brendel and Curzon’.
[The Classical Source]
‘Driver boasts an impressive technique and a clear musical
intelligence’
[The Observer]
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‘Danny Driver is a thoughtful and musical player and the
possessor of a formidable technique....control of dynamic and phrasing were exceptional’
[Musical Opinion]
‘..a finely judged performance of Schumann’s Kreisleriana..’
[Adrian Jack, The Independent]
‘Pianist Danny Driver…. played Bach’s Italian Concerto and
French Suite no. 5 in G major with a touch that was at once
elegant and sprightly. He brought the same lightness to his
playing of a selection of Debussy’s Preludes, capturing
beautifully all the transparent, shimmering colours of these
miniature works.’
[Rowena Smith, The Herald *****] |
Driver opened with a swirling, energetic reading of Bach's Chromatic
Fantasy & Fugue. Unashamedly using the resources of the modern
piano, Driver pedaled long sustained notes and cushioned chords
as he delivered a dramatic, intensely personal reading..... He conjured
a gripping musical narrative to link the disparate elements of Schumann's
Fantasy in C...in Driver's account, this arch-romantic work
seemed radical again, a revolt against the tidy oppression of the
sonata form. For 32 minutes he let listeners hear this concert-hall
staple as the soliloquy of a divided mind, one that shifted among
ecstasy, rage and yearning.... .’
[Chris Waddington, New Orleans Times Picayune]
‘He absolutely had the measure and florid character of Haydn’s
humour. What was most winning was the gentle delicacy and
clarity of the ornaments in the central movement. Such sonatas…
in the hands of such a player as Driver, take you on exactly the
musical journey you expect, then arrive resplendent with energy
at their destination, affording the listener total
satisfaction.’
[Howard Thomas, Croydon Advertiser]
Driver laid out the themes in broad, beautifully legato fashion.
His delicate entrances rose out of the orchestral textures in a
remarkably well--balanced manner. The cadenza displayed dramatic
virtuosity and contained all the artistry one can find in Alicia
de Larrocha’s performance…’
[Josef Sekon, Capitola Times, USA]
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