AI Artists - Andres Cardenes Reviews

Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Cárdenes shone…The slow movement was especially beautiful with the combination of dignity and emotional expression that is one paradoxical element of classical style. Here the character of Cárdenes’s sonority was at its most affecting.
--Mark Kanny, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Made In The USA
Cárdenes and Manriques have taken, with some exceptions, fly-blown repertoire from calmer American decades and buffed it into a fine shine.
--Raymond Tuttle, FANFARE MAGAZINE

Made In The USA
Who are all these composers? ...all of them could be called romantics. Mr. Cárdenes is the concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony and surely one of the most rewarding players of his instrument.
--VROON, AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE

PSO returns home after successful tour
...the Pittsburgh Symphony returned to the Heinz Hall stage for outstanding music making ...a thoroughly satisfying combination of strong conducting and responsive orchestral musicianship.
--Mark Kanny, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Cárdenes shines in Beethoven concerto
Cárdenes shined when he took the time to explore nuances of the solo line in an interpretative tradition that goes back at least as far as Fritz Kreisler. The slow movement was especially beautiful, with the combination of dignity and emotional expression that is one paradoxical element of classical style. Here the character of Cárdenes' sonority was at its most affecting. The finale had a winning rhythmic vigor and technical fluency.
--Mark Kanny, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

PSO Satisfies
The Adagio middle movement is a marvelous, brooding stretch in which Cárdenes excelled...He convincingly stated a sense of sorrow and worry...His work was so good that he was able to cruise smoothly into the faster, 'Caprichoso' third movement...In each section, Cárdenes offered powerful cadenzas.
--Bob Karlovits, TRIBUNE-REVIEW (PITTSBURGH)

Classical Music: The Clement of Strings
Andrés Cárdenes didn't 'just want to be a violinist. I wanted to be a musician...My aspirations have always been not just to hit home runs or steal bases. You want to be able to do everything and do it well in every single situation ...I come from a long line of eminent violin players and teachers. I've taken it upon myself to educate and influence young violin players to get them away from the trend of just mindless technical playing.'
--Stephen Baum

Pittsburgh Symphony
Not only did Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Andrés Cárdenes dazzle last night's Heinz Hall audience with technical prowess, he made a case for an entire school of thought on how a concerto should be played ...Cárdenes let Tchaikovsky's music come to the forefront and lead the way...In doing so, Cárdenes showed that playing by the book can produce quite a reading. His interpretation benefited from a modesty that few soloists could give. Rather than allow his personality to smother the work, Cárdenes let us see what Tchaikovsky had to offer on his own.
--Andrew Druckenbrod, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Cárdenes' elegant virtuosity enriches Tchaikovsky
Russian aristocracy envied French culture and adopted French as the language at court. Cárdenes brought Franco-Belgian refinement and charm to his performance, along with top-flight virtuosity. A Slavic approach is different but not more valid. Cárdenes' tone ranged from burnished to brilliant, and was always beautifully polished.
--Mark Kanny, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Pittsburgh Symphony
It was quite the week for Andrés Cárdenes, concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony...he was named The Dorothy Richard Starling and Alexander C. Speyer Jr. professor of music at Carnegie Mellon, holding the first fully endowed chair (to the tune of $1 million) in the School of Music. Cárdenes is one of the few musicians in the country (though truthfully, we don't know of another) to hold two endowed chairs. The other is the Rachel Mellon Walton chair in the Pittsburgh Symphony.
--Marylynn Uricchio, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Brahms: Violin Sonatas; Schubert: Sonatina in G Minor
Hearing violinist Andrés Cárdenes perform proves all the indulgent pleasure of consuming the biggest dessert on the tray—with neither the guilt nor the calories….Cárdenes stands out as a remarkable mature performer who still exudes unjaded affection for his repertory.
--Kenneth Herman, LOS ANGELES TIMES

Concertmaster shines in 'Evocaciones' Debut
'Evocaciones is an attractive vehicle for a virtuoso violinist, and Cárdenes was, as we have come to expect of him, a fleet, accomplished interpreter.
--Robert Croan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mozart: Violin Concertos No. 4 & 5, Rondo in C
His grasp of Mozart’s expressive intentions was everywhere arresting. This was Mozart not to admire but love.
--Donald Rosenberg, THE PITTSBURGH PRESS

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Cárdenes’s blend of delicacy, temperament and agility brought out the salient qualities in these irresistible tone paintings. Energetic thrust was balanced by sweetness of timbre. Singing on the violin is a Cárdenes trademark, as is attention to dramatic expression.
--Donald Rosenberg, THE PITTSBURGH PRESS

Saint-Saëns: The Sonatas for Violin and Piano
(Arabesque Recording Z6619)
Violinist Andrés Cárdenes’s tone is ardent, his technique in full command of the composer’s virtuosity and melodic sweetness.
--Lesley Valdes, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Ricardo Lorenz: Violin Concerto (premiere)
Cárdenes made seemingly easy work of a daunting violin part, full of uncompromising double stops, scoops and moments of impossibly high register meanderings.
--Diane Windeler, SAN ANTONIO LIGHT

Brahms: Violin Concerto
Cárdenes could play through a storm without twitching a muscle—shades of Jasha Heifetz—and he comes through as ferocious, indefatigable and strong in technique. It’s refreshing to see a virtuoso underplaying his part.
--Paul Hertelendy, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

Cárdenes superb in Sinfonia performance
Cárdenes is a violinist of wide experience and many signal achievements. ...concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony...His playing at the beginning of the Beethoven Concerto showed him to be a refined musician who eschews schmaltzy tricks. He played with notably sweet tone, and at the cadenza, he showed his outstanding ability in fingering his way through the hurdles of this display section. I found his playing even more impressive as the concerto moved on.
--John Frayne, THE NEWS-GAZETTE

Cárdenes offers sizzling Vivaldi
The high point of the concert and of the finest performances of the year, was Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" with concertmaster Andrés Cárdenes playing the solos and leading members of the Pittsburgh Symphony...Cardenes brought both drama and integrity to his dual roles. As soloist, he showed a sizzling virtuosity that would be impressive to an experienced music lover as to a novice.
--Mark Kanny, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Symphony serves up 'best of' Bach
Not only are the concertos some of the best works of their era--or any era for that matter--but they also employ varying combinations of musicians that show off the overall worth of an ensemble. Cárdenes was the standout with his violin in Concerto No. 1...Cardenes not only was conductor of the evening, but extended his solo work to the concert's "musical mysteries," the unknown offered as a treat at every concert. For that, he did the gigue from the E Major partita by Bach, keeping the night restricted to one composer.
--Bob Karlovits, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW