Benjamin has received stunning reviews for his latest concerts in North America, which included a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 with the Orchestra of St Luke's at Carnegie Hall, his LA and Orange County recital debuts and the closing concert of the Vancouver Recital Society's 2016/17 season.
The Millbrook Independent called him "a genuine virtuoso" while the LA Times declared "Benjamin Grosvenor delivers virtuosity beyond his years. If you haven't heard him, hear him now". Read a selection of the latest reviews below.
Benjamin returns to North America for a series of recitals in November 2017 and makes his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 on 4 January 2018. Read more at https://www.bso.org/Performance/Detail/88619/.
Orchestra of St Luke's, Carnegie Hall
The Millbrook Independent
“Young Grosvenor is a genuine virtuoso: running arpeggios with light, deft touch; effortlessly playing cross-handed; graceful and accurate without stage pretension of boasting showmanship … [he] may be the greatest English pianist since John Ogdon … Excitement flowed from Grosvenor’s fingers like discovering a fresh cool stream during a country hike.”
J-Wire
“… the best pianist to come out of England for the last 50 years.”
ConcertoNet
“Grosvenor, the young British star … played his part stylishly with brilliance, grace and crystal-clear touch … Under the young Brit [the cadenza] had the urgency and forward momentum that in the past characterized performances of Richter or Serkin.”
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, California
LA Times
“At 24, Benjamin Grosvenor delivers virtuosity beyond his years. If you haven't heard him, hear him now … Here was exquisite dynamic control, crisp articulation and sustained lyricism … the standing ovation was well deserved … the coiled power of his playing, reminiscent of Horowitz, whom Grosvenor has cited as one of his early role models, came to the fore in his dazzling rendition of Liszt's Rhapsodie Espagnole … His virtuosic fireworks avoided bombast with a suppleness of phrasing that allowed this often-breathless music to breathe. Grosvenor's encore, Moszkowski's Etude in A flat … showed a gossamer touch and winning charm.”
Philharmonic Society of Orange County
Orange County Register
“Benjamin Grosvenor tends to attract hyperbolic headlines wherever he performs .. [his] Orange County debut on Wednesday at Segerstrom Concert Hall showed what all the fuss and fawning was about … He’s reminiscent of a generation of pianists that are long gone … Josef Hofmann, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Artur Schnabel, Alfred Cortot, Arthur Rubenstein … [In Liszt’s Rhapsodie espagnole] Grosvenor wasn’t content merely to wow us with his prodigious technique. It served a higher purpose, which was to capture the larger-than-life composer behind the music … The work is a pianist’s Iron Man event, and when performed as Grosvenor did (and undoubtedly Liszt, in his time) it’s more than just a tour de force – it’s a celebration of the capabilities of the human mind and body.”
Vancouver Recital Society
The Piano Files
“Benjamin Grosvenor played an utterly astounding recital in Vancouver yesterday. I simply have never heard that degree of refinement, elegance, and multi-faceted pianism in person, ever.”
Seen and Heard International
“[Benjamin] strikes the keys with an enviable touch and solidity, bringing striking clarity and evenness to his runs while opening out to the firmest expressions at the bottom of the instrument. This is a very beautiful sound which walks arm-in-arm with pristine delineation … The second half of this recital exhibited just how much control Grosvenor now has over the instrument … [Granados’ Goyescas] illustrated the sculpted elegance and ‘fineness’ of tonal control within Grosvenor’s arsenal … Liszt’s Rhapsodie espagnole was the brilliant tour-de-force, revealing the pianist’s sterling talent in combining agility and commanding tonal strength, giving the work real character.”