4 Responses to “Recordings”  

1. 1 Colin White on July 15, 2007 said:

   Jonathan,

   I would just like to state a few things. First, I find your endeavor to be a grand one, as unappreciated as it may be. I’m not sure how much outright appreciation you receive as a pianist working mostly with modern works, but I want to be the first to state that I am immensely glad you are here. This difficulty of the material you’re working with (and conquering) is legendary, and I have no doubt in my mind that you are one of the finest pianists I have ever heard touch the keys.

   The density of this material, and your seeming ease with it, is unbelievable. The endless morass of passages and mazes are easily handled with your skilled fingers. Sorabji has never been given such great justice. I am in awe of the music he has composed, and you bring it brilliantly to life. Thank you very much for posting the first section of his mammoth Opus Clavicembalisticum for free on your site. It is appreciated VERY much.

   Bravo to you sir! Bravo!

   -Colin

2. 2 John Oster on July 18, 2007 said:

   Jonathan,

   Thank you for posting these wonderful live concerts, especially the excerpts from Sorabji’s O.C. I attended that concert (flew from CA just for it!) and can honestly say it was one of the most amazing concerts that I have ever attended. I’m so thrilled to see/hear someone undertaking it and other such transcendental music in an age when most musicians play it “safe” with established repertoire.

   All the best,

   John

   P.S. We met and talked briefly about our mutual fear of flying (among other topics) before the performance. Your concert instigated my first flight in over fifteen years!

3. 3 clint tibbs on November 25, 2007 said:

   Dear Jonathan Powell,
   I had the good fortune of seeing you perform Sorabji’s OC in New York in June of 2004 (at the time, a Ph.D. student in biblical studies at The Catholic University of Americe in Washington, D.C.). I just want to say that your performance that day was beyond words, beyond expression. If it had been recorded for Altarus and sold at retail, that CD would be one of the greatest recorded solo piano performances ever. I am no music scholar or even a pianist, but your performance that day, as well as your CDs of Sorabji’s dense and filigreed piano music is some of the most unparalleled there is. Your recitation of the last 5 minutes of the OC brought the house down! I’ve never heard such cascades and such evenness of otherwise blistering pianism in my life. Your commitment to this music is much appreciated, and, I am sure, it deserves greater appreciation by the music field at large than it probably gets. I look forward to your future Sorabji projects. Please keep up the good, hard work.

   c. tibbs

4. 4 Jorgen Lundmark on January 28, 2008 said:

   Dear Jonathan,

   I’ve been in contact with you before regarding your texts on different composers.
   Let me start by thanking you for the many excellent recordings of Sorabji’s music — I hope that you’ll get to play in Sweden soon!
   Perhaps a joint recital with Fredrik Ullén?

   I’m also very grateful for your generosity with mp3-recordings from your concerts. I’ve just downloaded the first movements from OC and very much look forward to listening to them!

   I’m very happy to see that you are playing the Strauss/Sorabji arrangement. Ever since I heard Michael Habermann do the Ravel and Bach (C.Fantasia) in concert, I’ve been wanting to hear this arrangement of the final scene of “Salome”. Are there plans for a CD recording? I hope the Strauss foundation isn’t making this impossible.

   All the best,
   Jorgen L.

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