“Under Serkin’s sharply etched piano touch, the notes moved through the orchestra with a special clarity, as if in their own spotlight, as if the accompaniment were in black and white and the piano were in color, as if he played in 3-D. Each phrase had a geometric, hard-edged, architectural precision and complexity.” — Richard Brody,
The New Yorker
|
"Peter Serkin gave a fine if pointedly restrained account of Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto (1881). Among the most self-effacing pianists of his generation, Serkin sought from the outset to enfold the solo part into the orchestra so that the opening movement emphasised subtle interplay along with its finely integrated rhetoric, whereas the second movement balanced its fiery tuttis with passages of an inward intensity that caught the breath. The Adagio then gave notice of equivocation behind the repose as was daringly to the fore in a Finale which was anything but the blithe run-through it is often assumed to be." — Classical Source
|
“It was a performance of delightful deftness, quick intelligence and mastery.” — Sydney Morning Herald
|
"The qualities of mind, fingers and spirit that make him such a supreme interpreter of new and 20th Century music are the qualities that make him so satisfying a Bach and Beethoven pianist too."
— Chicago Tribune
|
"Peter Serkin is one of the handful of pianist who not only possess a cerebral understanding of the music of our time but the ability to communicate it with feeling. In his hands, even the most formidable works are fluid and expressive."
— The New York Times
|
"…Pianists Julia Hsu and Peter Serkin unveiled their new four hand team recently at a nearby venue, the Olive Free Library, in a piano series curated by [George] Tsontakis. Evidently the two intend their collaboration to be ongoing, a prospect which delights me. They play with amazing precision, beautiful sound, and excellent musicianship. Their half of the program began with six of Brahms’s Chorale Preludes, organ works transcribed by Serkin. If you don’t know the music you might have trouble identifying it as Brahms, since it shows heavy baroque influence. The arrangements were effective, the playing divine." — Boston Musical Intelligencer
|
"Serkin (playing the lower part) and Hsu made the etudes a study in expression. The interpretation had a rare elasticity to it, even rarer that two people achieved it. They played with a single intent, seeming to even breathe together." — San Diego Union-Tribune
|
"Peter Serkin's recital... was one of the most thoughtful and exciting of the season. The carefully conceived, fluently executed performance not only revealed the inner workings and beauty of the music, but made fascinating connections...Serkin made everything sound astonishingly fresh and alive."
— The Washington Post
|
“No pianist currently before the pubic possesses the blend of intellectual rigor and stainless-steel technique of Serkin, and his powerful, deeply expressive performance of Beethoven’s [Diabelli Variations] for the University of Chicago Presents series was one of the highlights of this and recent music seasons.” — Chicago Classical Review
|
"Mr. Serkin played as if channeling the music from another realm."
— The New York Times
|
"Serkin's playing was breathtaking in its limpidity; the instrumental textures were wonderfully nuanced, and the balance well nigh perfect."
— The Guardian
|
"Serkin is a chameleonic pianist, capable of extraordinary changes of dynamic, articulation, color and character within a single phrase, a gift that serves him well…"
— Boston Globe
|
"Peter Serkin is one of the most perceptive and provocative pianists of his generation, as comfortable exploring the music of the past as he is in some of the most stimulating works of our time."
— American Record Guide
|
"Serkin is a great pianist because he is an original musical thinker…Serkin…consistently provided an amazing and illuminating amount of subtle detail; every chord was fascinatingly voiced, every phrase tenderly sculpted, the counterpoint limned a way a great Bach player does."
— Boston Globe
|
