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Stephen Kovacevoch as soloist
'when Stephen Kovacevich played the work on Thursday, it felt
as if he were whispering a bedtime story, inviting the audience
to share memories almost too private to reveal.'
New York Times - Schubert's Kinderszenen
'In a period when Beethoven interpretation
has become fairly standardized, Kovacevich remains a free spirit,
making a profoundly personal response to the music and playing in
an improvisatory style, which fits descriptions of how Beethoven
performed his own music.'
Boston Globe - Beethoven's Emperor Concerto
'Here was a pianist who truly did play Beethoven's
Hammerklavier sonata as though it were a first performance... the
way he kept this fabulously risk-taking music on the edge of playability
- my 21st-century ears had never appreciated the full audacity of
the fugal finale - and us on the edge of our seats, was an index
of his moral rather than his physical courage.'
Sunday Times - Beethoven's Hammerklavier
Stephen Kovacevich as conductor
'Beethoven's 'Pastoral Symphony' is always
a musical feast for the ears. Under the circumstances, it vividly
conjured up springtime on a bitterly cold evening. Brimming with
energy and blithe spirits, the symphony effortlessly conveys a sense
of brio and great charm however many times one has heard it. It
got a polished performance by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra,
the reading tightly focused, elegant and robust.'
Vancouver Review - Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony
Stephen Kovacevich recordings on EMI Classics
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