Frederic Chiu - Concert Pianist

THE PRESS SAYS...

Amazon.com
Editorial Reviews
...In Debussy's "Beau soir," pianist Frederic Chiu partners Bell so beautifully that one wishes he had supplanted the orchestra in all the songs with piano accompaniment. - Edith Eisler

New York Sun, August 22, 2006 - Joshua Bell teamed with pianist Frederic Chiu, Miro violist John Largess, and cellist Edward Arron [in Mozart's G Minor Quartet]. Their reading was deliciously politically incorrect, with Mr. Bell's inborn romantic nature sculpting the phrasing in mid-19th-century style. Mr. Chiu was especially unMozartean, confidently intoning his lusty piano part as if he was performing Brahms. No lily-livered periodicity for this group — this realization brought out the underlying passion that always bubbles just beneath the surface in these ostensibly polite Enlightenment works. This was not Mozart playing for purists. I loved it. - Fred Kirshnit

August 22, 2006
A virtuoso, his violin, and the whisper of a Grammy to come CNN -- Violinist Joshua Bell proves that art, like science, loves an "elegant" formula when Sony Classical releases his new Grammy-worthy CD on September 5: "Voice of the Violin."
... in the 11th track, Bell finally leaves behind even the warm Orchestra of St. Luke's and conductor Michael Stern. He takes along only pianist Frederic Chiu to record the stunning zenith of this CD. - Porter Anderson

FANS CHEER RETURN VISIT BY MASTERFUL PIANIST CHIU
"When it was learned that pianist Frederic Chiu would return in February for his third appearance in Des Moines, the Art Center's Levitt Auditorium was sold out weeks in advance. Saturday night's intelligent, intense and spectacularly played recital thoroughly fulfilled all the eager anticipation.
If the most astonishing thing about Chiu's performance is his dexterity in managing fistfuls of notes, the most riveting is his constant, intense mental concentration. No physical histrionics, no facial clues or emotional cues, just close attention to the keyboard as if he were inventing the music on the spot. Chiu's seemingly improvisatory - even obsessive - way of finding and underlining each mazurka's, or each etude's, single most obsessive figure or color proved both convincing and compelling. This is not your great-grandmama's drawing-room Chopin!"
By Bruce Carr - Special to the register.

"Chiu achieved some of the most exquisite pianissimos I've heard from any pianist - ever!"
"The Vivace-Allegro ben marcato movement (the last in the sonata) was coruscating and breathtaking."
Howard Tuvelle, Danbury (CT) News-Times

"Mr. Chiu's Bach had an appealing buoyancy and lightness to its textures... He demonstrated an impressive clarity of articulation and an ability to find lively colors and smart harmonic contours within the rapid stream of notes...Mr. Chiu met the demands for virtuoso display [in Mendelssohn's Double Concerto] with his special combination of robust technique and pianistic intelligence."
Jeremy Eichler, New York Times

"On a peine à imaginer que ce jeune homme aux yeux rieurs est un des pianistes les plus recherchés par les salles prestigieuses partout dans le monde."
Presse Ocean, France

"Chiu plays with genuine sympathy and a blistering technique when required. The recording is near demonstration quality. This disc I have been replaying for pleasure since finishing the review. What more needs be said."
American Record Guide

"...exhilarating Prokofiev series...the superior spring of the playing, dynamic nuance and subtle toying with rhythms are obvious. The rest is sheer élan, especially in the brilliantly adapted sisters' quarrels from Cinderella and Chiu's own intelligent homage to Lieutenant Kijé, with superb pianistic handling of the balalaika-thrumming in the famous 'Troika'."
BBC Music magazine

"...incandescent poetry. Frederic Chiu belongs to an extremely rare species, able to fill silence with music. This sovereign balance between intention and realisation is a pure delight; it is a rarity for will-power to integrate to such an extent with ingenuity. What results is an tremendous sense of freedom, that of a bird and of youth."
Le Figaro

"Chiu is a stunningly virtuosic pianist with a dynamic range that almost defies the capabilities of modern recording techniques."
BBC Music Magazine

"I cannot imagine more effective advocacy for [the Mendelssohn Piano Sonatas]. Chiu makes his enthusiasm for them brilliantly evident in his absolutely wonderful playing, which is instinctively elegant, charged with exhilarating vitality and at the same time unfailingly tasteful. This is the way to play this music."
*Best of the Year*
Stereo Review



	THE PRESS SAYS... Amazon.com Editorial Reviews ...In Debussy's "Beau soir," pianist Frederic Chiu partners Bell so beautifully that one wishes he had supplanted the orchestra in all the songs with piano accompaniment. - Edith Eisler New York Sun, August 22, 2006 - Joshua Bell teamed with pianist Frederic Chiu, Miro violist John Largess, and cellist Edward Arron [in Mozart's G Minor Quartet]. Their reading was deliciously politically incorrect, with Mr. Bell's inborn romantic nature sculpting the phrasing in mid-19th-century style. Mr. Chiu was especially unMozartean, confidently intoning his lusty piano part as if he was performing Brahms. No lily-livered periodicity for this group — this realization brought out the underlying passion that always bubbles just beneath the surface in these ostensibly polite Enlightenment works. This was not Mozart playing for purists. I loved it. - Fred Kirshnit August 22, 2006 A virtuoso, his violin, and the whisper of a Grammy to come CNN -- Violinist Joshua Bell proves that art, like science, loves an "elegant" formula when Sony Classical releases his new Grammy-worthy CD on September 5: "Voice of the Violin." ... in the 11th track, Bell finally leaves behind even the warm Orchestra of St. Luke's and conductor Michael Stern. He takes along only pianist Frederic Chiu to record the stunning zenith of this CD. - Porter Anderson FANS CHEER RETURN VISIT BY MASTERFUL PIANIST CHIU "When it was learned that pianist Frederic Chiu would return in February for his third appearance in Des Moines, the Art Center's Levitt Auditorium was sold out weeks in advance. Saturday night's intelligent, intense and spectacularly played recital thoroughly fulfilled all the eager anticipation. If the most astonishing thing about Chiu's performance is his dexterity in managing fistfuls of notes, the most riveting is his constant, intense mental concentration. No physical histrionics, no facial clues or emotional cues, just close attention to the keyboard as if he were inventing the music on the spot. Chiu's seemingly improvisatory - even obsessive - way of finding and underlining each mazurka's, or each etude's, single most obsessive figure or color proved both convincing and compelling. This is not your great-grandmama's drawing-room Chopin!" By Bruce Carr - Special to the register. "Chiu achieved some of the most exquisite pianissimos I've heard from any pianist - ever!" "The Vivace-Allegro ben marcato movement (the last in the sonata) was coruscating and breathtaking." Howard Tuvelle, Danbury (CT) News-Times "Mr. Chiu's Bach had an appealing buoyancy and lightness to its textures... He demonstrated an impressive clarity of articulation and an ability to find lively colors and smart harmonic contours within the rapid stream of notes...Mr. Chiu met the demands for virtuoso display [in Mendelssohn's Double Concerto] with his special combination of robust technique and pianistic intelligence." Jeremy Eichler, New York Times "On a peine à imaginer que ce jeune homme aux yeux rieurs est un des pianistes les plus recherchés par les salles prestigieuses partout dans le monde." Presse Ocean, France "Chiu plays with genuine sympathy and a blistering technique when required. The recording is near demonstration quality. This disc I have been replaying for pleasure since finishing the review. What more needs be said." American Record Guide "...exhilarating Prokofiev series...the superior spring of the playing, dynamic nuance and subtle toying with rhythms are obvious. The rest is sheer élan, especially in the brilliantly adapted sisters' quarrels from Cinderella and Chiu's own intelligent homage to Lieutenant Kijé, with superb pianistic handling of the balalaika-thrumming in the famous 'Troika'." BBC Music magazine "...incandescent poetry. Frederic Chiu belongs to an extremely rare species, able to fill silence with music. This sovereign balance between intention and realisation is a pure delight; it is a rarity for will-power to integrate to such an extent with ingenuity. What results is an tremendous sense of freedom, that of a bird and of youth." Le Figaro "Chiu is a stunningly virtuosic pianist with a dynamic range that almost defies the capabilities of modern recording techniques." BBC Music Magazine "I cannot imagine more effective advocacy for [the Mendelssohn Piano Sonatas]. Chiu makes his enthusiasm for them brilliantly evident in his absolutely wonderful playing, which is instinctively elegant, charged with exhilarating vitality and at the same time unfailingly tasteful. This is the way to play this music." Best of the Year Stereo Review