RECENT 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 ímpetu y energía que por momentos sobrepasó
las posibilidades físicas del piano. En el "Adagio" dio un momento
exquisito para terminar con una "Fuga" bien trabajada.
Magnífico fue el recuento del "Nocturno" (Homenaje a John Field) de
Samuel Barber, en el que estuvo elevadísima e inspirada, aquí 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 pianística. Durante cinco minutos fulgurantes
presenciamos una interpretación dominante. Y cómo no podría 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
hermosísimas joyas sonoras, seis brillantes de enorme peso técnico y
superior emotividad.
Pero todavía 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.
Aquí como en todo su recital, pudo advertirse el gozo que la
pianista experimenta frente al teclado, con el rostro lleno de
satisfacción, de alegría, 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.
El
Norte, 8 de Noviembre del 2007
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 1930’s,
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 audience’s 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
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
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 audience’s
accolades, sitting down to the piano for her Ginastera encores with the
quip, “If you’re not tired, neither am I.”
Gary Lemco (www.calderacademy.com)
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
Internationally
acclaimed pianist Barbara Nissman’s 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
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
Mid-Texas Symphony
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
‘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
artísticas 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 celosísimas 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.
Así 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 Nissman’s 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 romántico…incluido 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 haríamos bien en
interesarnos más. Fechada en 1952, esta obra pertenece a su época de
nacionalismo en la línea 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 dedicaría 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 así se le
requería (cómo en el trepidante bolero final), de ferocidad rítmica
Los augurios para la
Sonata de Liszt que aguardaba en la segunda parte no podían 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. Ahí mismo las indicación quedó
seriamente contradicha por la omission de los silencios de blanca, una
decision que se volvería a tomar en cada reaparición del cuarto tema. Y en
general no todas las líneas 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 sí 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
Arrebatadora pianista en los
ciclos de RTVE
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 había 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
características prosódicas y expresivas del Concierto #3 de Sergei
Prokofiev: la de hacer compatibles características tan aparentemente
dispares en principio como son el poder, la energía, 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
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
This warhorse from
the piano repertoire featured guest soloist, Barbara Nissman, a Prokofiev
scholar who's recorded all of the composer's sonatas for solo piano and
performed them on stage in London and New York. Nissman's other credits
include appearances with great orchestras in the US and Europe. She romped
through a spirited, technically astute performance here, seemingly
treating this engagement with all the importance of a Philadelphia
Orchestra or London Philharmonic concert. The dreamy opening swiftly gives
way to a rush of strings and piano, a busy splash of high drama and high
anxiety. The fiery Nissman stabbed piano chords before slipping into a
gypsylike melody. She subsequently produced an onslaught of pianistic
fireworks, rushing up and down the keyboard. Orchestra and soloist were
excellent partners in the first movement, lively to say the least.The
second movement included shimmering piano lines and trills from Nissman.
At times, her hands bounced above the keyboard, adding some visual flash
to the performance though she obviously performed with music rather than
show business in mind. The Concerto, a challenging work, filled with
musical invention, concluded with a brilliant third movement, including
spiky, percussive melody and swooning strings and piano.
The Advocate, Baton
Rouge, LA 9/15/01
Recent Reviews from New Zealand Tour 2001
Passion, Charisma
From a True Risk Taker
For one
cliffhanging hour this American pianist burned up the keyboard with
impassioned temperament. Barbara Nissman's fingers go straight to her
heart. Her safety net is technique of a level that even the toughest Liszt
wouldn't stop her in her tracks. Liszt’s La Campanella didn't. For all her
treacherously fast speed and volatile nuancing, she got there with a
bravura performance that brought the audience to its feet. Yet she is
neither a show-person nor hysterical. Everything is clearly thought out to
get style and sonority right from each composer. She operates just as
tellingly in the quietly introspective as in her caressing phrasing of
Chopin's tender Nocturne Op 27 No2 and in the second piece -Dance of the
Sad Girl (surely the lushest melody Ginastera wrote) from the Tres Danzas
Argentinas. In the last of these dances, the toughest piece in the
recital, Nissman’s ferocious cross accents dispatched untamed gauchos
thundering across the pampas. What also excites is Nissman's range of
colour shown at its most telling in Chopin's Scherzo No3 - a sonorous deep
hymn decorated with filigree soft decoration up high and contrasted with
heroic double octave fortissimos in the outer sections taken at such speed
and power that I wondered whether Nissman's fingers would trip over
themselves. Never. Her playing makes a mockery of that illusory cliché of
discophiles "the definitive interpretation." Nissman spontaneous pianist
that she is, would probably dismiss the term as a killjoy anyway. For
Nissman nothing is definitive - which makes her such an excitingly
unpredictable pianist.
The Star, Christchurch, NZ 6/20/01
'Landmark'
Performance from Christchurch Symphony
Pianist Barbara Nissman is a risk-taking live wire whose strongly characterized Liszt
Piano Concerto No. 2 and Totentanz brought out many subtleties not heard
in conventional performances... Her solo encore of Liszt's poetic
Consolation No. 3 confirmed what an outstandingly sensitive and refined
pianist she is. Imagine her solo recital this week will be a sell-out.
The Star, Christchurch, NZ 6/13/01
Barbara Nissman
immediately revealed a technique of unusual power... she captured the
strength of Liszt as well as his crass bits. If one had any doubts about
Nissman's sensitivity, however, these were allayed by her account of
Liszt's lovely Consolation No. 3- played in response to the audience's
enthusiastic applause.
The Press, Christchurch, NZ 6/20/01
Nissman on Piano
The American
pianist Barbara Nissman is one of the most vital visiting musicians to
have been here for a long time. Not only does she have a prodigious
technique but she also made the music live. Her mastery of style was
exciting.
The Press, Christchurch, NZ 6/20/01
A Benchmark in
Physical Pianism- Prodigious Pianist Plays With Power, Passion
Pianist Barbara Nissman held her audience spellbound last night at her Theatre Royal
recital of works by Chopin and Liszt... it was playing of searing
intensity.
The Daily News, New Plymouth, NZ 6/20/01
Passionately Piano
...a
brilliant performance. Every piece she played to perfection, with feeling
and passion.
Guardian Review, Palmerston North, NZ 6/26/01
More Recent
Reviews
Pianist Astounds
with her Interpretation of Concerto
A pianist with
power in her hands and rhythm in her body commanded immediate standing
ovations at performances Saturday and Sunday as she played magnificently Khachaturian's
demanding 1936 composition, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra.
The Intelligencer
Journal, Lancaster, PA. 5/15/01
Pianist supplies
finale fireworks
Occasionally, very
occasionally, a world-class musician visits Lancaster and gives us a
performance we'll never forget. That's what happened Saturday when Barbara Nissman joined the Lancaster Symphony for its season finale concert
"Armenian and Oriental Fireworks" at the Fulton Opera House. (Khachaturian
Concerto)
The Sunday News, Lancaster, PA. 5/13/01
Guest Pianist Nissman makes 'A' Liszt
Nissman's
astonishingly colored reading of the fiendishly difficult "Chaisse-neige"
(Snowstorm), showed her remarkable ability to deliver different tonal
colors in either hand.
The Charleston Gazette, WV 5/7/01
Symphony of
Seville/Prokofiev No.3
Nissman is a
spectacular pianist with an overflowing technique and a clarity of
interpretation-never lacking in expressivity, her musicality always
conveys the larger structure.
ABC- Seville, Spain 3/6/01
Barbara Nissman
Concert
January 27 was a
glorious night for Carnegie Hall and Greenbrier County... what a
wonderful, wonderful concert, I wish every single person could have been
there- the new Steinway has been well and truly 'christened'.
The Mountain Messenger, Lewisburg, WV 2/4/01
Symphony Guest
Pianist a Classical Showstopper
Two pianos, one
pianist and a riveting concert. Guest artist Barbara Nissman performed the
Rachmaninoff Paganini Variations and Mozart's 23rd Concerto with a power
and clarity that brought a standing ovation from the Peoria audience
Saturday night. If a classical pianist can be said to 'wow' them, she did.
The Journal Star,
Peoria, IL. 12/11/00
Shreveport
Symphony/Gershwin Concerto in F
Pianist Nissman did
a bravura job of interpreting the piece and bringing forth that sensuous,
jazz piano feeling that permeates it.
The Shreveport
Times, LA. 11/19/00
West Virginia
Symphony /Brahms Concerto No.2
Saturday night she
played Brahms' Second Concerto as if she had tossed kerosene on the
keyboard and struck a match. ...Nissman was sensational.
The Charleston Gazette, WV 10/9/00
I was attracted to Nissman's artistry through her recording of Prokofiev's complete piano
sonatas, long before I was aware that she now resides in Lewisburg. She
delivered a thrilling reading of the Brahms' Second Piano Concerto. ...in
the third movement sublime poetry was created. She melded the lovely
pianistic feelings of this work so securely with the orchestra that they
seemed to breathe as one.
Charleston Daily Mail, WV 10/9/00
Orchestra's 40th
Season Opening
The highlight of
the concert was Bela Bartok's Concerto No. 3. Nissman from the beginning
displayed a virtuosity which made her clearly the master of all
difficulties included in Bartok's keyboard writing, as she executed with
apparent ease the technically demanding passages of the allegro third
movement as well as the beautifully melodic,restrained phrases of the
adagio second movement.... Both soloist and orchestra richly deserved the
enthusiastic standing ovation which they received.
Asheville Citizen
Times, NC 9/18/00
Pianist Barbara Nissman
Delivers
Miraculous. Two
hours of nearly impossible music performed effortlessly. ...She brought
off extremely dissonant sonorities with such clarity and beauty that one
became lost and forgot that an actual human being was sitting at the
keyboard creating these sounds.
The Fresno Bee, CA. 3/4/00
Reigning Lady of the
Keyboard
This extraordinary
concert by Symphony of Bilbao featured the distinguished pianist Barbara
Nissman and the chance to discover Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 4. The work
shows his personal signature, introverted but brilliant-its lyrical
melodies progressing to animated accelerandos-which the lady of the
keyboard and the orchestra delivered expressively. Barbara was effective
and played with conviction the delicate passages with the violas, the
intricate writing with the cellos, and the passionate finale without ever
compromising authority, grace, and technical perfection.
El Correo, Bilbao, Spain 2/8/00
MORE 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.
The New York
Times
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.
The
Chicago
Tribune
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 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
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