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First Night of the BBC Proms - Musical Criticism

Monday 22 August 2011

"...with the appearance of young pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, the air came to fizzle and spark with unexpected intimacies, and to gleam with striking flourishes, both solo and ensemble in nature. Grosvenor established a sense of elasticity, both of pulse and of emphasis, that was stunning, particularly in such a cavernous setting as this one. His tone is often Uchida-like in its shimmer, whilst his passagework and his dramatic handling of the overall shape of this single movement work made the Concerto feel entirely shot through with forceful but meditative theatre. His encore, following a warm reception, was brilliant: A Brahms' Hungarian Dance as mischievously and showily arranged by Georges Cziffra, sounding here as subtle in its bluntness as you imagine would be possible."

Stephen Graham, Musical Criticism, July 2011