Barbara Nissman
"...one of the last pianists in the grand romantic tradition of Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Rubinstein"
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Comments About Barbara Nissman
What was far more important about this was Nissman's phenomenal playing; she is one of the truly great pianists of the day.
New York Daily News
Nissman was brilliant, playing with an innate sense of mastery that knew no difficulties; she approached these works as music rather than as some sort of pianistic decathlon.
New York Newsday
A winning blend of technical command and interpretive insight.
The New York Times
A refined combination of delicacy and passion- her effortless technique went along with a restrained classicism.
Barbara Nissman is probably the reigning Prokofiev specialist of the day.
The New York Post
With pianist Nissman, Slatkin, and the CSO you got the sense of three mighty forces of nature coalescing: I don't expect ever to hear the piece (Ginastera Piano Concerto) done better.
The Chicago Tribune
Nissman and Slatkin interacted with one another to produce a performance of stunning power and conviction.
The Chicago Sun-Times
Virtuosity with her is the handmaiden of musical understanding; where color, intensity, and poetry are required, Nissman delivers the goods.
Nissman is a musician who seems undaunted by technical obstacles. She made her way through Rachmaninoff's torrent of keyboard demands with a virtuosic flair. Her playing of the rapturous music was poetic, and in passages calling for velocity and accuracy she had confidence and strength in abundance.
The Pittsburgh Press
Nissman gave a performance of rare emotional coherence.Taking Rachmaninoff's quick tempos at their word, she achieved a fleet lyricism that's rare today,and Nissman's phrasing drew upon color, dynamics, and articulation for beautifully nuanced lines.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Barbara Nissman, the pianist, made an ideal exponent.
(Prokofiev's Concerto #4/National Symphony)
The Washington Post
That a musical performance literally can be breathtaking was demonstrated at 9:35 p.m...at the end of pianist Barbara Nissman's ravishing performance of the Chopin Db major Nocturne, an audience held its collective breath for what seemed an eternity. No one wanted to shatter the magic.
The Kansas City Star
Sheer bravura, rhapsodic lyricism, and classical restraint-she played like natural speech, with perfect control of nuance.
The Times, London
Extraordinary bravura-just an amazing performance.
Die Welt, Berlin
The American pianist presented herself brilliantly.
Die Welt, Hamburg
A perfect balance between her artistic mastery of the keyboard and her soul .
Het Parool, Amsterdam
Most Recent Concert Reviews
Rach 3 Rocks with Nissman and the Austin Symphony!
(February 26, 27, 2010)
Click link to read full review.
http://www.scena.org/blog/2010/03/rach-3-rocks-with-nissman-and-austin.html
Noelle Mann Memorial Concert 12/8/10
London Queen Elizabeth Hall
http://www.musicalpointers.co.uk/reviews/liveevents10/NoelleMannmemorialconcert.html
2007 Barbara Nissman Concert Reviews
MONTERREY, MEXICO: Llena la noche su virtuosismo
Seduce la pianista Bárbara Nissman en Festival de Sala Beethoven
La estadounidense Bárbara Nissman conquistó a la audencia regia con su recital en el Auditorio San Pedro.
Apasionada y versátil, virtuosa y poética, la pianista norteamericana Bárbara Nissman se robó nuevamente el corazón del público la noche del martes, como hace cinco años, en aquella legendaria presentación en que fue proclamada "reina del piano". Calificada por sus compatriotas como "Tesoro Nacional", esta gran dama del piano se presentó en el Auditorio San Pedro elegantemente ataviada en un modelo vintage de los años 30 para dar luz a memorables interpretaciones de Rachmaninov, Liszt, Barber y Ginastera. El programa inició desde lo más alto con una obra de bravura, la "Toccata, Adagio y Fuga en Do Mayor" de Bach, en una transcripción de Ferrucio Busoni, que el italiano arregló transformándola en una obra de apasionado romanticismo. Este fue el matiz general que la rubia intérprete generó desde la "Toccata", delineada con tanto Ãmpetu y energÃa que por momentos sobrepasó las posibilidades fÃsicas del piano. En el "Adagio" dio un momento exquisito para terminar con una "Fuga" bien trabajada. MagnÃfico fue el recuento del "Nocturno" (Homenaje a John Field) de Samuel Barber, en el que estuvo elevadÃsima e inspirada, aquà volcó toda su sensibilidad, fineza y capacidad comunicativa. Su versión de la sonata "Waldstein" de Beethoven fue esbozada con gran convicción y virtuosismo, la proyección de una gran artista que tuvo un "Rondó" final elocuente y grandioso. Lo que se escuchó en la "Sonata No. 3" de Ginastera fue una verdadera lección pianÃstica. Durante cinco minutos fulgurantes presenciamos una interpretación dominante. Y cómo no podrÃa serlo si el mismo compositor depositó en ella su dedicatoria hace 25 años. Para Nissman esta sonata es una ejecución emblemática, única en su repertorio. Prueba de la total comunicación del autor y el intérprete, como pocas puede admirarse en vivo. Uno de los momentos de más elevada calidad fue sin duda la confrontación con las piezas de Rachmaninov. Nissman transformó los tres Preludios y los tres Etudes-Tableaux del compositor ruso, en seis hermosÃsimas joyas sonoras, seis brillantes de enorme peso técnico y superior emotividad. Pero todavÃa faltaba concluir el recital, y qué mejor manera que con el tempestuoso virtuosismo del "Vals Mefisto" de Liszt, en el que mostró un pianismo apasionado, una voluntad de recorrer los extremos de mayor dificultad, de cautivar con un bagaje técnico poderoso y altamente calificado. Aquà como en todo su recital, pudo advertirse el gozo que la pianista experimenta frente al teclado, con el rostro lleno de satisfacción, de alegrÃa, de entrega total por su arte. En suma, un cierre que arrancó los aplausos y el respeto del público, que le exigió volver con una pieza más. Ella correspondió con una interpretación vehemente de dos "Danzas Argentinas" de su compositor fetiche, Alberto Ginastera.
MONTERREY, MEXICO: AN EVENING FILLED WITH VIRTUOSITY
Pianist Barbara Nissman seduces the audience during the Sala Beethoven Festival. The regal North American Barbara Nissman conquered the audience with her recital in the San Pedro Auditorium.
Passionate and versatile, virtuosic and poetic, the North American pianist Barbara Nissman once again stole the audience's heart on Tuesday evening, as she did five years ago during her legendary concert when she was proclaimed the Queen of the Piano. Declared by her compatriots to be a National Treasure, this great lady of the piano arrived at the San Pedro Auditorium, elegantly dressed in a Victorian vintage gown from the 1930s, that illuminated memorable interpretations of Rachmaninov, Liszt, Barber, and Ginastera. The program opened with Bach's great bravura Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C Major, from a transcription by the Italian Ferrucio Busoni that transformed this composition into a work of passionate romanticism. This was the general tone that the fair-haired interpreter generated with the Toccata, delineated with so much impetus and energy that some moments even surpass the physical possibilities of the piano. The Adagio was exquisite, finishing with a well-executed Gigue. Magnificent was her interpretation of the Nocturne (an homage to John Field) from Samuel Barber, inspired and played on the highest level, exposing all her sensitivity, finesse, and communicative gifts. Her version of Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata was imbued with great conviction and virtuosity, the projection of a great artist that made the final Rondo both eloquent and magnificent. What was heard in Ginastera's Sonata No. 3 was truly a lesson in pianism. During its five brilliant minutes, we were in the presence of a masterful interpreter. And how could this not be if its very composer 25 years ago had dedicated this work to her? For Nissman, this Sonata is a spellbinding performance piece, unique in her repertoire- proof of the total communication between composer and interpreter, that few can bring to life. One of the highest moments was undoubtedly bringing the audience face to face with the works of Rachmaninov. Nissman transformed the three Preludes and the three Etudes-Tableaux from the Russian composer into six beautiful sonorous jewels, of enormous technical weight and superior emotion. What better way to conclude the recital than with the tempestuous virtuosity of the Mephisto Waltz from Liszt, in which she brought out a passionate pianism, a willingness to go through the extremes of major difficulties, captivating us with her broad, powerful and highly developed technique. Here, as in all her recital, we couldn't help but notice the pleasure experienced by the pianist at the piano, with her face showing plenty of satisfaction, joy, and a total surrender to her art. In sum, a finale that inspired the audiences applause and respect, and demanded one more piece. She obliged with an impetuous interpretation of two Danzas Argentinas from her favorite composer, Alberto Ginastera.
El Norte, 11/8/07
Monterey Symphony/Brahms Second Concerto
Sunday's afternoon Carmel audience left the Sunset Theater glowing with enthusiasm after hearing this expansive, lush program, which was crowned by a performance of Brahms Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major featuring soloist Barbara Nissman. Nissman, a petite woman, dressed in a green gown, made her debut with the symphony in the concerto, giving us a polished, sophisticated account of the demanding work. The Brahms B-flat Concerto ranks among the grandest in the repertoire. It contains the breadth and spaciousness of a symphony, the dramatic arc of an opera, the tenderness of an intimate love song, and the authority of an epic masterpiece. For the pianist, Brahms No. 2 is scaling Mt. Everest, a challenging, difficult and heroic journey. For the listener, the concerto evokes deep feeling and an uplifting sense of the vastness of the human spirit. Nissman opened the mighty opus with charm and indomitable strength. Earlier this year, someone described this artist as a grandmother on a rocket ship. Her raw physical power alone is enough to earn such a phrase, but she also possesses powerful keyboard technique and poetic suppleness and fluidity. This combined with her enchanting personality for a dazzling performance. Nissman seemed undaunted by the virtuosic demands of the concerto transmitting its beauty and might with transparency and grace. She was met magnificently by Bragado and the orchestra sharing the immense musical journey as joyful partners. Throughout the concert, the orchestra displayed the brilliance and impeccability that have become its signature under Bragado's leadership. A happy audience granted the event a robust standing ovation.
The Monterey County Herald 10/16/07
NISSMAN CHARMS KSO CROWD - Knoxville Symphony/Ginastera Piano Concerto
Pianist Barbara Nissman joined the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra on Thursday and Friday nights for a rousing performance of Alberto Ginastera's "Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra," Op. 28. On Thursday, looking like a charming West Virginia farmwoman, Nissman tore into the concerto with the aggressive energy of a rock star and the intelligence of a chess master. Written in 1961 when Ginastera was in his mid-40s, the concerto is like a game of survival played on a terrain of crushed glass and needles. There are moments in dense forests when the piano and orchestra play hide and seek. One tries to lure the other out into the open. There are also agitated confrontations in open plains when the two forces ram into each other like bull elk in rutting season. All the while, Nissman operates like a member of the orchestra instead of a superstar on an oblivious ego trip. In the passages of playful desolation, her interpretations are light-hearted, tender and poetic, but moments later she hits with the force of a bulldozer. Throughout all these changes in topography, from the dark woods to the open vistas, Nissman held the audience spellbound until the roaring conclusion that brought a thundering ovation and roars of approval. Then, obviously delighted to be playing Ginastera, about whom she is an authority, like a grandmother on a rocket ship, she brought the adoring crowd to its feet again by roaring through an encore of "Danzas Argentinas," Op. 2, written in 1937 when Ginastera was only 21 and still a student.
News Sentinel 1/27/07
2006 Barbara Nissman Concert Reviews
Oberlin College: Stellar Pianist Performs for Oberlin AIDS Project
In Franz Liszt's Piano Sonata in b minor, pianist Barbara Nissman took my very soul out of my chest and played it back to me. She performed beautifully onstage at Warner Concert Hall last Sunday as a part of the AIDS Quilt project with several colorful but rather daunting 12 by 12 sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt hanging behind her.The concert opened with a short introduction by Robert Frascino, OC '74 HIV-positive College Trustee. Then he gave the stage to the music, and what amazing music it was.
Chopin's Nocturne in D-flat was mesmerizing, magical, subtle and enchanting, full of shadows, colors, and emotions. Barbara Nissman possesses extraordinary pianism, which allows her to craft her interpretation to the highest level of perfection. Her hands freely floated above the keyboard and transformed mere hammers hitting strings into a transcendental experience. Nissman touched the keys lightly, tenderly, with much elegance and grace. The transparent texture was satiated with so much meaning. Such bright, crystal melody lines, such naturally placed breaths, such adorable beauty are rarely to be heard. Her musical taste, which was following the right concept of style, was a pure delight. After the last chord, there was no candy unwrapping.
In her introduction to Chopin's Polonaise-Fantasy, Nissman explained that it was written in a very dark period of the composer's life when he was physically ill and horribly depressed. The mood was set. Any printed music carries the problem regarding sincerity and spontaneity of the performance. It is hard to bring the cold text on the page to life. Obviously, not for Nissman: from the beginning she played freely, as if she were improvising it right at the moment. She grabbed the audience's attention and guided them through every note. Diverse and fresh, each new phrase started without letting the listener take a breath after the end of the previous one. The determined, heroic passages in forte lacked the usual battering quality that Chopin often receives from a number of performers. The virtuosic runs lost the cold showiness usually associated with the term virtuosic- light and charmingly fluttering, they sparkled through Warner like pearls. The Polonaise's many contrasts were achieved with almost fearsome ease. Nissman changed colors in an instant, wavering from one exuberant state to another, without tiredness, without a stop and the listener had to follow, because there was no way out of her music. An absolute splendor.
Liszt's Sonata in b minor followed. This piece is about the spiritual journey between life and death, said Nissman. The dark beginning, with its lonely, profound basses, was breathtaking. All the virtuosic effects-octaves, trills, parallel thirds- were powerful and triumphant without being aggressive. And there was beauty, such a supreme beauty even in the simplest scale. Even as the music was getting faster and faster and I was afraid that it might stumble over the edge, Nissman held everything in control without an effort. Liszt's lyrical melodies are so easy to lose in the hoard of chords, arpeggios and other typical Lisztian fireworks, but Nissman didn't allow that in her performance. It was all about layers upon layers. It was emotionally exhausting to listen to and yet, I was crying for more.
After the intermission Nissman played Alberto Ginastera's Sonata No. 3, the last work he composed. It was dedicated to Barbara Nissman and she remembers that the composer intended it as a concerto for piano, percussion and orchestra, but since he wrote it from his hospital bed days before his death, the piece turned into a short piano sonata. A stunning short piano sonata. "I'm playing this for all the pianists in the hall with the hope that they will like it and want to perform it," Nissman said. Another powerful beginning started off. More virtuosic octaves rolled around with no difficulty, glissandos occupied the whole range of the keyboard, Nissman bravely jumped at dangerous chords. Offbeat sharp accents and repeating elements, the music was building up and down in energy level in a matter of seconds.
The last piece in the program was Prokofiev's Sixth Sonata, one of the so-called war sonatas. "Prokofiev took off where Liszt ended," said Nissman. "He is considered the Russian Liszt and actually the Russians labeled him the football composer. Still, I consider him a Romantic composer." She also said that she likes to program Prokofiev because she wanted to redeem him. Exact, strict chords dominated the texture, as Prokofiev loves to do. There were crossing of hands, enormous contrasts all flawlessly delivered by Nissman. Even tenderness and lightheartedness found their way through- something that is not typical for Prokofiev, who is considered cold and ironically humorous. Various characters were brought to life, amusingly differing from one another. Nissman called the first and last movements the two pillars that hold up the sonata. The lighter second and third movement followed. Nissman demonstrated the thousand existing ways to approach and touch the piano. The jazzy third movement, she believed to be part of a common influence between Prokofiev and Gershwin, who had recently become acquainted around that time. The rapidly changing harmonies were dreamy, sometimes serious, sometimes even tipsy. The fourth movement delivered the promised virtuosity beyond belief, which Nissman presented without a notion of tiredness. It also sounded mystical in some sections. Bright and flashy statements in upper octaves burst out, some recitative-like passages sounded even distressed- all interpreted with the exceptional freedom of Barbara Nissman.
The evening ended with an encore of a Liszt Consolation. Beautiful, natural, living and breathing, it was crafted like a porcelain statue, longing. I have to say beautiful at least once more. "I played with all my heart and the evening's performance here, in Oberlin, was very special to me," Nissman said.
It was pure soul music.
The Oberlin Review 3/3/06
2005 Barbara Nissman Concert Reviews
Old School Steinway Society The Bay Area, 2/12/05, 2/13/05
Keyboard virtuoso Barbara Nissman concluded a marathon recital for the Steinway Society The Bay Area, Saturday, February 12 with two striking dances by Alberto Ginastera, offered as an encore for a program that had included music by Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninov and Beethoven. An accomplished pianist trained under Hungarian wizard Gyorgy Sandor, Ms. Nissman sports a big, formidable technique that relishes knotty and intellectually demanding scores; and her penchant for the Romantic, colossal repertory makes her a throwback to the piano traditions of the old school. Utilizing the lecture-concert format, Ms. Nissman contributed a few preliminary remarks prior to each of her selections.
Nissman opened with a group of three Chopin nocturnes, the E Major, Op. 62, No. 2; the D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2; and the C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1. Having categorized the nocturnes as Chopin at his most vulnerable, Nissman addressed Chopin's iconoclastic classicism, an individualized sense of form entirely self-contained, where a fluid and plastic melodic line finds support in unruly and audacious harmonies, especially the Neapolitan modes. The E Major and C Minor entries had Nissman carefully balancing lyric and declamatory impulses, while the D-flat could show off her pearly play and brilliant fioritura.
Nissman concluded the first half of the program with Franz Liszt's monolithic B Minor Sonata, an epic one-movement work which subdivides into four sections but whose motives and syntax derive from all of the materials laid out in the exposition, a brilliant economy of means that counteracts its hectic and ecstatic sensibility. Alternately percussive and sensuously layered, Nissman took the heroic approach to Liszt's titanic, emotive battlefield, where the forces of life and death wage ceaseless war. In its meditative episodes, Nissman might have been surveying passages from Dante or the Book of Revelations. Nissman's Liszt is cut in the same, epic mold as that of Bolet, Arrau, and Richter, with nothing of the distaff in her digital armory. Each repetition of the stentorian, ballade-like passage had its own, affective nuance, a nod of affirmation to the infinite.
The post-intermission entries, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and three of Rachmaninov's dense Etudes-Tableaux from Op. 39, made only a momentary contrast with the bravura of the Liszt. The opening of Beethoven's most popular sonata might have provided a brief respite from the whirlwinds, but after a dancing Allegretto, the Presto agitato from Beethoven's C# Minor Sonata Quasi Fantasia struck us like a thunderbolt, especially as Nissman allowed no space between movements. Nissman emphasized the dramatic harmonic progressions in the third movement, aligning this moody work with Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D Minor.
Rachmaninov's Op. 39, claims Nissman, is merely his own D Minor Piano Concerto compressed into selective affects. Buried under tons of tremolandi one finds the inevitable intoning of the Dies Irae from the Requiem Mass, a sequence whose intimation of mortality haunted the Russian composer. What made the Rachmaninov group engaging were not only Nissman's striding tempos and impressive stretches, but the improvisatory character with which she imbued the etudes, particularly No. 9, whose rapid staccato figures could daunt lesser talents, as could the emotional fury of No. 5, a kind of homage to Scriabin's own D# Minor Etude.
The final work of this program, which may have had more notes per square foot than most contemporary recitals, was Liszt's Spanish Rhapsody, a setting of both La Folia of Corelli fame and Glinka's Jota aragonesa, here in Liszt's own two-section style we know from his Hungarian rhapsodies, performed with enough panache to enlighten Rimsky-Korsakov. Liszt lets out all the stops, allowing a shimmering, orchestral palette to engage the piano, calling for Herculean parallel octaves which Nissman ran off with aplomb to spare. Eliciting roars and whistles of applause, Nissman graciously accepted the audiences accolades, sitting down to the piano for her Ginastera encores with the quip, 'If youre not tired, neither am I."
Gary Lemco (www.calderacademy.com)
2004 Barbara Nissman Concert Reviews
Norton Series Starts Masterfully
The ninth season of the Norton Building Concert Series got off to an impressive start Sunday, featuring internationally renowned pianist Barbara Nissman in a solo concert of music by the masters of piano literature. Nissman took full advantage of the setting and not only displayed musical prowess, but intellectual insight, tempered by an unpretentious attitude. She opened with The Appassionata of Beethoven which Nissman described as beyond the piano. Her symphonic rendition of the music certainly fulfilled that description with a particularly moving second movement. Her passionate playing of two Chopin nocturnes was surpassed only by the famous Polonaise, reminiscent of Horowitz, but she replaced his version with a more sophisticated style. The second half of the program featured music of Schumann and Rachmaninoff. She captured the confused and troubled mind of Schumann as expressed in his Fantasy, Op. 17 and showed insight into the work which can be an emotional and musical quagmire. Nissman can only be described as a national treasure.
The Star, Chicago 9/23/04
CONFERENCE: Prokofiev in America- University of London 8 May 2004
Introductions from Peter Dickinson and Noelle Mann; Arnold Whittall - Prokofiev in Theory: American Lines and Angles; Barbara Nissman - Gershwin meets Prokofiev: Prokofiev meets Gershwin; Fiona McNight - Towards a new Simplicity in America; Harlow Robinson - Prokofiev and Hollywood; Noelle Mann - Prokofiev, Diva and the Nightingale; Alastair Macaulay - Balanchine's Prodigal Son in America; David Nice - Prokofiev's Music in the Context of American Concert Life. Piano recital by Barbara Nissman: Organ Prelude & Fugue in D minor Buxtehude/Prokofiev; Tales of an Old Grandmother; Four Pieces Op 32; Sonata No 6.
The all-day conference at Senate House, University of London, was delightfully varied, with international experts gathered to discuss Prokofiev's unhappy experiences of America. His two major biographers dealt with his music in American Concert Life - conservative and unready for him, "America still in its musical infancy" (David Nice). He met many influential musicians there but was frustrated in achieving a career there, but film projects came to nothing and only posthumously was he "embraced in Hollywood films" (Harlow Robinson). Alastair Macaulay, dance critic of Times Literary Supplement, gave us a virtuoso solo 'walk-through' demonstration of father, son and siren in the Balanchine/Prokofiev Prodigal Son, making at least one listener keen to acquire the video/DVD.
The conference provided a welcome opportunity to hear in England again the great Prokofiev specialist, Barbara Nissman, the first pianist to have performed the complete sonatas in three recitals (New York & London, 1989) She gave an entrancing illustrated talk about how Gershwin played for Prokofiev, and wound up the proceedings with a recital of Prokofiev's early piano pieces written in America and a magisterial account of the monumental 6th Sonata. She was provided with a fine Steinway and the Chancellor's Hall in Senate House is acoustically bright and clear and deserves to be used as a concert venue more often, if the University might allow?
Musical Pointers 5/9/04
Riveting Soloist Caps Symphony Performance / Brahms Concerto No. 2
Internationally acclaimed pianist Barbara Nissmans riveting performance of Brahms 1881 "Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major" capped the Santa Cruz Symphony's concert Saturday at the Civic Auditorium. The program was repeated at Watsonville's Mello Center on Sunday afternoon. Pianist Barbara Nissman brought Brahms "Piano Concerto No.2." to vivid life with magnificent interpretive skills. She commanded immediate attention from the instant she arrived on stage resplendent in a bright red satin dress whose fitted long-sleeved bodice gave way to a flowing bouffant skirt. Her fiery playing lived up to that dramatic image. Nissman's powerful pianism easily rose above Brahms densely textured orchestration. The first two movements both speedy and forceful displayed her commanding power, as she swooped down on the keyboard with purposeful vigor. Constant communication, aural and visual, between Nissman and Granger ensured tight piano/orchestra coordination. The third movement, "Andante," saw Nissman's mood go from passionate to pensive. Here she shaped sweet phrases with the subtle pauses and nudges of sensitive rubato. The lively finale, "Allegretto grazioso," sparkled in orchestra and piano, alike. Nissman's involvement and joy in the music were evident as she moved freely and gracefully with the rhythm while playing. At pauses in the piano's part, she directed her attention toward Granger and the orchestra, often with hands on hips, arms akimbo, actively partaking of the music as she awaited her next pianistic onslaught. Nissman's dramatic and illustrative style, though not note-perfect, offers a deep understanding of the music. After this physically demanding concerto, four movements rather than the usual three, Nissman responded to the audience's standing ovation and prolonged applause with a double encore. She played without pause two of Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera's "Danzas Argentinas." The opening "Danza," a sinuous tango with dissonant undercurrents, burst suddenly into the second, a whirlwind of jazzy riffs and full-keyboard glissandos. Saturday was not Nissman's first time in Santa Cruz. I have been lucky enough to hear her here on four previous occasions. Three were solo recitals at Cabrillo College, Watsonville's Mello Center and UC Santa Cruz. But the first time was in a performance of this same Brahms "Concerto" 17 years ago! About 10 current symphony members date back to that performance in February 1987.
Santa Cruz Sentinel/April 6, 2004
Santa Cruz Symphony and Barbara Nissman at the Mello Center /Brahms No. 2
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 by Johannes Brahms featured the well-known and much anticipated Santa Cruz favorite piano soloist Barbara Nissman. I feel quite sure that Barbara Nissman simply doesn't perform the Brahms Concerto; she lives it with artistic commitment and the melancholy bittersweet intensity that bares the undeniable Brahms DNA. To be sure, a Barbara Nissman concert is never complete without an encore and in this case no less than three! She performed two Dances by Ginastera and a work by Liszt. The encores were performed with exuberance, rhythmic zest, harmonic poetry and melodic charm. We patiently await Barbara Nissman's return.
Register-Pajaronian/April 8, 2004
Salem College, Winston-Salem, NC
By the time pianist Barbara Nissman finished her March 13 recital in Salem College's Hanes Auditorium, she had made a convincing case for her thesis that, aside from his own individual voice, Sergei Prokofiev was a natural extension of the aesthetics of Franz Liszt. In the absence of program notes, Nissman prefaced each piece on the program with brief comments that drew attention to stylistic features, relationships between composers, and her approach to the works. Prokofiev as the storyteller was a theme of the opening work, "Tales of an Old Grandmother," Op. 31, the composer's first work written on American soil, in 1918. More than once, I could liken the effect to a Mussorgsky-like Russian tale passed through the prism of Liszt's late Romantic piano technique. The overall effect was simply lovely. Nissman described the outer two movements of the first of Prokofiev's three "War Sonatas" (No. 6, Op. 82) as the columns containing the "meat" of the work, with the brief witty second and romantic third movements serving as cleansing sorbets. There was no lack of fiery pianism in the huge waves of sound and dense texture generated, nor was there any lack of poetry in the delicate quiet passages. In the most complex passages, she excelled in attending to underlying melodic lines, aspects often neglected by many pianists. Rippling arpeggios reflected Franz Liszt's tribute to Chopin's Nocturnes in his lovely and gentle "Consolation" No. 3 in D flat that followed intermission. Nissman said that Liszt had a much higher regard for Chopin than his Polish friend had for him. The performance was a fine display of her ability to weave a delicate line and paint with subtle tone color. The Triangle and Triad have not lacked for performances of Liszt's monumental Sonata in B Minor. Add Nissman's own view to this short list of wholly successful presentations. She succeeded in her stated goal to "make its form lucid on two different levels" while expressing her view that the core Romantic theme is "the Spiritual Journey... from Life to Death." Her two short encores came from Alberto Ginastera the gentle "Dance of the Sad Maiden" and the fiery "Dance of the Clever Cowboy," a piece as taxing as any Hungarian Rhapsody by Liszt! It is too bad that the conjunction of spring break at nearby Wake Forest University and the NC School of Arts kept the audience so small for such a fine musician.
North Carolina Classical Voice 3/15/04
Pianist delivers exhilarating concert
Liszt's Piano Sonata in B Minor remains the Holy Grail of the big pieces, a single movement sonata that embraces the multi-movement gestures of the traditional sonata. Pianist Barbara Nissman gave an exhilarating account of the piece Friday night in a benefit concert for the Clay Center in memory of John McClaugherty. Liszt's music is anchored by a hammered bass theme that draws its vast musical cosmos toward it like the pull of a black hole. Nissman built enough energy into the episodes that spin away from that bass theme that it seemed the structure might fly apart. The central scherzo/fugato, which culminates in fortissimo hammered octaves, had the relentless thrash of a meteor storm, while the slow passages glowed with an otherworldly light. Nissman never let the listener get lost in storm or ether. The bass theme held sway in all transformations, subtle and huge, and the 28-minute piece evolved with a satisfying clarity of structure. ... In Chopin's Nocturne in D-flat, Op. 27, No. 2 and Liszt's Consolation, Nissman struck a beautiful balance of sweetly blurred harmonies and melodic grace. Chopin's Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 55 had a poised fierceness, even in its C major center. She generated a muscular orchestral texture in the famous Polonaise in A-flat, Op. 53. Two Argentine Dances by Alberto Ginastera and Debussy's Au claire de la lune were offered as encores.
Charleston Gazette, Charleston, WV 1/17/04
2003 Barbara Nissman Concert Reviews
Mid-Texas Symphony / Prokofiev Third Concerto
Barbara Nissman was the soloist in Prokofiev's exuberant Piano Concerto, No. 3, which she delivered with muscular athleticism, ample fireworks, and a clear sense of the music's underlying lyricism. Most intriguing and curiously compelling was her way of modeling tempos and shaping lines that suggested the jazz-rooted style of George Gershwin.
San Antonio Express-News 9/23/03
Stanford University, Lively Arts 1/15/03 To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Prokofiev's death & the 20th anniversary of Ginastera's death.
Barbara Nissman is considered today to be one of the leading interpreters of Sergei Prokofiev and Alberto Ginastera. She has recorded all of Prokofiev's piano sonatas and is about to record all five of his piano concertos. She has also recorded Ginastera's complete piano solo and chamber works; the composer dedicated his last piano sonata (No. 3, Op. 55) to Nissman. Not surprisingly, the program of her solo recital on Wednesday in Dinkelspiel Auditorium at Stanford consisted of works by these two composers. Nissman's apparent desire was to demonstrate how much Prokofiev and Ginastera have in common. The program continually switched back and forth from one composer to the other and indeed showed that the soulfulness, unrelenting rhythmic drive, and extravert Lisztian pianism of the Russian was very much akin to the soulfulness, unrelenting rhythmic drive, and extravert Lisztian pianism of the Argentinian. The linchpins of the program were two sonatas by Prokofiev (No. 4, Op. 29, and No. 6, Op. 82) and two by Ginastera (No. 1, Op. 22, and No. 3, Op. 55). This quartet requires a formidable technical command of the keyboard, and Nissman proved once again that she could deftly work through most-demanding pianistic fireworks without breaking a sweat. That was particularly obvious in the explosive reading of Ginastera's motoric single-movement Third Sonata. In Prokofiev's Sonata No. 4, Nissman was forcefully convincing in the first movement and catchingly exuberant in the finale. Ginastera's four-movement First Sonata concluded the first half of the concert. The second movement was eerie and hypnotic. The slow movement spoke eloquently, with occasional heart-rending outbursts. The syncopated ostinato rhythms of Argentinean gaucho dances brought the sonata to a triumphant ending. Prokofiev's monumental four-movement Sixth Sonata concluded the program, rhyming nicely with the ending of the first half (what a well thought-out program!). Here Nissman showed an astonishing range of moods and colors: from brutally fierce to sinister and outright frightening, from ironic and naughty to tender and nostalgic, from apocalyptic to light-hearted to macabre. The rest of the program consisted of miniatures that preceded the sonatas in each half of the program. Prokofiev's four Visions fugitives from Op. 22 (Nos.1, 3, 8, and 9) were alluringly shaded. Ginastera's Rondo sobre temas infantiles argentinos, Op. 19, written for the composer's children and based on popular nursery tunes, was utterly charming. Nissman's wit was especially evident in the Rondo's sudden and humorous transitions. Prokofiev's Etude Op. 2, No. 1, an extremely difficult scherzo laden with double notes and octaves at a finger-breaking speed, was dazzling.
San Francisco Classical Voice 1/21/03
2002 Barbara Nissman Concert Reviews
Se tutea' con los grandes
Bárbara Nissman despliega sus dotes de virtuosa y diva en un concierto memorable
Monterrey, México - Prokofiev la hubiera reconocido, Schumann la hubiera adorado y Chopin simplemente la hubiera amado. Ginastera quedó prendado por sus dotes artÃsticas y le dedicó su última composición, la Sonata No. 3 para piano. Si hubiera viajado en el tiempo, Clara Schumann y George Sand hubieran estado celosÃsimas de ella. Es Bárbara Nissman, una diva absoluta del piano, quien además de sus excelsas cualidades en el teclado es poseedora de una gran personalidad, belleza y elegancia. A la hora de sentarse ante el piano es como una reina que hace y deshace sobre el instrumento con un poder absoluto. No hay nada que se le resista en el plano musical e interpretativo. Pero la Nissman es una soberana musical amable y comprensiva, que trata al piano como su más fiel compañero. Hay que verla dialogar con él a través de sus manos, sacarle los sonidos más maravillosos que puedan imaginarse, admirar las expresiones de su rostro que cambian con los distintos sentimientos que la música le produce. Su arte posee además una magia particular, es como una varita de virtud que provoca los más intensos sentimientos en quien la escucha. Por ejemplo, la ejecución sublime del "Nocturno" chopiniano, alado y aéreo nos hizo imaginar la aparición de una bailarina del pasado como la Taglioni o la Grisi. Y qué decir del encore al final, el "Claro de Luna", de Debussy, que dio para corresponder la ovación final de pie. Escucharla en Prokofiev es participar de una leyenda. No por nada la Nissman hizo historia en 1989 al ser la primera intérprete en ejecutar todas las sonatas del ruso en una serie de tres recitales en Nueva York y en Londres. Prokofiev es simplemente como su otro yo, no hay secreto para ella en esta música. Es total. Pero quizá una de las mayores cualidades de la pianista norteamericana es su completa autenticidad como artista. Ella es capaz de un virtuosismo extremo, pero no con el afán de lucimiento que proyectan otros pianistas, sino para servir la música del compositor. Asà lo dejó sentir en las avasalladoras páginas de Schumann o de Chopin. Y qué decir de su Ginastera, otra de sus especialidades. Escuchar la música del argentino frente a los dos grandes románticos confirmó que la Nissman es capaz de pasar de un estilo a otro con total fidelidad, cambiando los colores, los acentos, el fraseo, todo ello gracias a un cabal entendimiento de la música. Sin duda un concierto memorable y uno de los mejores del año.
She is among the great ones.
Barbara Nissman displays her virtuosic, diva-like presence in a memorable concert.
Monterrey, Mexico- Prokofiev would have recognized her; Schumann would have adored her and Chopin simply would have loved her. Ginastera was so taken by her artistic gifts that he dedicated his last composition, the Third Piano Sonata, to her. If she had traveled back in time Clara Schumann and George Sand would have been very jealous of her. Barbara Nissman is an absolute diva of the piano, who in addition to her superior qualities at the keyboard possesses great personality, beauty and elegance. She sits at the piano like a queen who governs the instrument with absolute power. Nothing musically and interpretively is unattainable for her. But Nissman is an understanding and gentle sovereign, who treats the piano like the most loyal of companions. She must be seen having a dialogue with the piano through her hands, bringing out the most beautiful sounds imaginable, as her expressions change depending on the emotion of the music. Her art possesses a magic that brings intense feelings to those who hear her music. For example, her sublime execution of the Chopin Nocturne, so light and ethereal made us imagine the apparition of a ballerina from the past like Taglioni or Grisi. And what can be said about Debussy' s Clair de Lune, which she offered as an encore after the standing ovation. To listen to her Prokofiev is to participate in a legend. It is no coincidence that Nissman made history by being the first pianist to perform all of his piano sonatas in a series of three recitals in New York and London. Prokofiev is simply her alter ego and his music holds no secrets for her. But perhaps one of Nissmans best qualities is her complete artistic authenticity. She is capable of extreme virtuosity, never just showing off --as other artists do-- but always used to serve the composer. That was evident in the works of Schumann and Chopin. And what can be said of her Ginastera, another one of her specialties. Listening to this composer's music after the two great romantics confirmed that Nissman is capable of moving from one style to another with great faithfulness, changing colors, accents and phrasing, thanks to her complete understanding of the music. Without a doubt, a memorable concert, and one of the year's best.
El Norte, Monterrey, Mexico 6/27/02
Un pianismo romántico
La historia y los instrumentos de que hoy disponemos hacen inevitable que cualquier pianista haya de ser, en mayor o menor medida, romántico. Pocos tanto como Barbara Nissman, artista de la que los canales habituales de información apenas es possible encontrar más que su nacimento en Filadelfia, el año 1971 como el de inicio de su carrera internacional y su especialización, cómo no, en el repertorio románticoincluido Prokofiev. Constancia de esto último dejó y muy fehaciente en el recital con que ha debutado en el Palau, iniciado con cuatro de las Visiones fugitivas y la Sonata no.3. Tocado con medios más potentes que seguros, el suyo fue un Prokofiev casi tan arrebatado como el Schumann de la Fantasia, op.17. Pero, además de la intérprete, para algunos el gran descubrimiento de la velada fue la Sonata para piano no.1 de Alberto Ginastera, compositor argentino nacido en Buenos Aires en 1916, fallecido en Ginebra en 1983 y por el que todos harÃamos bien en interesarnos más. Fechada en 1952, esta obra pertenece a su época de nacionalismo en la lÃnea de Falla, Bartók o Stravinski, aunque tanto en su Scherzo lleno de fantasmas revoloteando como en el desolado Adagio juguetea claramente con un dodecafonismo al que Ginastera se dedicarÃa más decididamente en lo sucesivo. La lectura de Nissman, que parece haber tenido un conocimiento del autor bastante profundo y de primera mano, fue una auténtica creación, pletórica de intensidad y, donde asà se le requerÃa (cómo en el trepidante bolero final), de ferocidad rÃtmica Los augurios para la Sonata de Liszt que aguardaba en la segunda parte no podÃan ser más favorables y fueron muchos los espectadores que, lejos de decepcionarse, aún vieron aumentado su entusiasmo. Uno al menos, sin embargo, halló la versión atolondrada ya desde el comienzo. Hasta el grandioso en concreto, la digitación incurrió en borrosidades. Ahà mismo las indicación quedó seriamente contradicha por la omission de los silencios de blanca, una decision que se volverÃa a tomar en cada reaparición del cuarto tema. Y en general no todas las lÃneas melódicas se mantuvieron con la firmeza deseable. Que no fue esta opinión ni mucho menos mayoritaria lo demuestra la insistencia en los aplausos hasta conseguir tres regalos, estos sà creo que de nuevo convincentes para todos: el Nocturno op. 27, no.2 de Chopin, el Claro de luna de la suite Bergamasque de Debussy y dos Danzas argentinas de Ginastera.
A Romantic Pianism
History plus the instruments available today make it inevitable that all pianists have to be- in greater or lesser measure- romantics. Not many are as romantic as Barbara Nissman, an artist about whom- through the usual channels of information- we can hardly find more facts than her place of birth in Philadelphia, the year 1971 as the beginning of her international career and her specialization, of course, in the romantic repertoire including Prokofiev. She gave the most authentic proof of the latter in her debut recital in the Palau, beginning with four of the Visions Fugitives and the Sonata No. 3. Choosing an approach that proved to be much more powerful than just being safe, her Prokofiev was almost as rapturous as her Fantasy, Op. 17 of Schumann. However, for some, apart from the performer, the great discovery of the evening was the Sonata No.1 of Alberto Ginastera, an Argentine composer born in Buenos Aires in 1916, deceased in Geneva in 1983 and in whom we should all take more interest. Dated 1952, this composition belongs to a period of nationalism, along the lines of Falla, Bartók or Stravinsky, although in his Scherzo full of fluttering phantoms and in the desolate adagio, he is clearly playing with dodecaphonism to which he will dedicate himself more decisively later on. The performance of Nissman, who seems to have a deep and first-hand knowledge of the composer, was an authentic creation, overflowing with intensity and, where required (as in the tremulous final bolero) rhythmic ferocity. The promise of the Liszt Sonata which awaited us in the second part, could not have been more favourable, and many listeners, far from being disappointed, only increased their enthusiasm. However, at least one person found the version a bit reckless at the beginning. More specifically, the passagework leading up to the grandiose theme seemed at times blurred. The theme was seriously altered with the omission of unpedalled silences, a decision she would make again with each reappearance of the quarter-note theme. Also, in general, not all the melodic lines were maintained with their desired firmness. That this was not in the least the opinion of the majority was demonstrated by the insistence of applause, resulting in obtaining three encores: Nocturne, Op. 27, no.2 by Chopin; Clair de Lune from the Suite Bergamasque of Debussy and two Argentine dances by Ginastera. These, I believe, once again convinced all of us.
Levante, Valencia, Spain 3/11/02
2001 Barbara Nissman Concert Reviews
Arrebatadora pianista en los ciclos de RTVE /Prokofiev No. 3
Arrebatadora pianista en el mejor sentido del término, y también pujante y excelente concierto en su consideración global el que se disfrutó la semana pasada en la presente serie de los conjuntos radiotelevisos. No habÃa tenido occasión hasta ahora de escuchar a la pianista Barbara Nissman. Y me ha parecido que, aparte de un dominio mecánico y técnico absoluto del instrumento, presenta una particularidad a mi modo de ver nada común, a la hora de enfrentarse con una página de las caracterÃsticas prosódicas y expresivas del Concierto #3 de Sergei Prokofiev: la de hacer compatibles caracterÃsticas tan aparentemente dispares en principio como son el poder, la energÃa, por una parte,y la claridad, limpieza y transparencia, por otra. Y todo ello con excelente sentido constructivo y musical. Su éxito fue el merecido, recompensado con dos propinas.
Dazzling Pianist in the RTVE Concerts- Madrid/Prokofiev No. 3
A dazzling and passionate pianist, in the best sense of the words! It was also an absolutely excellent concert, broadcast last week within the series of concerts offered by Spanish radio and TV. Never before have I had the opportunity to listen to Barbara Nissman. Apart from her magnificent control and technique, she offered something special which I have seldom come across. When faced with a page of music, both prosaic and expressive, of Sergei Prokofiev's Concerto #3, she brought the extremes together in a fusion of power and energy on the one hand, and with clarity, lucidity and transparency on the other. And all of this combined with a profound sense of musicality and construction. Her success was well deserved, and the enthusiastic public was rewarded with two encores.
ABC, Madrid, Spain 12/3/01
Orchestra Plays Brahms For Full House
But the best was yet to come. Barbara Nissman, soloist in Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 offered a superlative performance of this difficult work and obviously enjoyed every minute of it. She displayed a powerful, imposing technique that overcame all of the difficulties the composer put before anyone attempting to play this work. Nissman showed her ability to shift from lyrical themes and vigorously passionate ones in the first movement. She also exhibited her brilliance as a technician in the scherzo second movement. Nissman realizes completely the beauty, serenity and expressiveness of the lovely nocturne of the third movement and then shifts effortlessly to superbly executed technical flourishes in the finale.
Asheville Citizen-Times, NC 10/29/01
Lexington Philharmonic/Beethoven #4
Pianist Barbara Nissman was heartbreaking in the Andante of Beethoven's 4th piano concerto, her plaintive entreaties finally winning over the aggressive unison of the orchestra. She opened the work eloquently, now bold, then ethereal. In her hands, the piano was not one instrument, but many, making her an equal partner with the orchestra in effects and colors. This was evident throughout the work, but especially in the impressive cadenzas which drew applause from the audience in mid-piece. The final Rondo was a playful, boisterous bit of fun- a real "buffa", life-affirming happy ending.
Lexington Herald-Leader, KY 9/22/01
Baton Rouge Symphony/Prokofiev #3
