AI Artists - Ian Hobson Reviews

Pianist
Press Quotes

"Ian Hobson's pianism is brilliant."
American Record Guide

" ...the always remarkable Mr. Hobson supplied brilliance in full measure."
The New York Times

"...one of the finest pianists of his generation."
American Record Guide

"...a thrilling performance from Hobson, an artist superbly in control of his instrument and of the great drama of this music [Beethoven]."
The State (Columbia, SC)

"Clearly, Hobson is a most communicative pianist."
The State (Columbia, SC)

"...awe-inspiring piano virtuosity. ...a brilliant evening of piano fireworks."
The Post and Courier (Charleston)

"...never before have I listened to such a deep and artistically perfect performance..."
Musical Moment (Poland)

"...he revels in technical difficulties and loves to produce astonishing effects that bring down the house."
The News-Gazette (Urbana)

"Hobson brings power, precision and personality to the keyboard that turns an old warhorse [Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto] into a young filly, ready to kick up its heels."
The Knoxville News-Sentinel

"Ian Hobson in Hobson's Choice [Arabesque recording 6639] shows a finesse and virtuosity that rank him as one of the great pianists of our time. ... He exhibits a clarity, naturalness, and nobility suggestive of Gieseking and Rubinstein and a controlled technique, temperament, and tone reminiscent of Lhévinne."
Clavier Magazine

"...he is an intelligent, cultivated pianist and a fine musician who doesn't rely on gimmickry to make his points. His technical resources are imposing and always at the service of the music. ... Everything is beautifully played, and the sound is warm and resonant."
American Record Guide

"The [Rachmaninoff] Preludes reveal Hobson as a majestic master; he imbues these tone poems with variety and textural clarity. Throughout he welds his gargantuan technique, bronze tone, and elegant phrasing with consummate taste, producing performances of world-class stature."
Clavier Magazine

"Hobson is too fine a musician to simply dazzle us with dexterous finger work... There was great musical coherence..."
Chicago Sun-Times

"Ian Hobson's return to Orchestra Hall Sunday afternoon was a welcome event. The young British-born pianist...has been making a name for himself..."
Chicago Tribune

"His virtuosity and vitality...are expected, but there is also true sentiment and expression, and no glibness; a lightness of touch that would have pleased Haydn, and careful attention to minor yet important details many pianists ignore: appropriate pedaling and suitable ornamentation."
Digital Audio

IAN HOBSON Conductor and Pianist/Conductor
Press Quotes

"...Hobson's performances, shrewdly-paced and full of telling details, are about all one could ask for..."
Fanfare July/August 1999
(Review of Falla/Ravel CD)

"Hobson, accustomed to being a piano soloist with all the great orchestras, is as conductor a natural-born phenomenon."
Stuttgarter Zeitung 10/25/97
(Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra)

"Charm-filled Matinee in the Opera House: A Mozart to Love - Together with an Escapade"
West. Rundschau (Dortmund) 10/20/97
(Headline, review of Hobson/Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra)

"The renowned Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra...was led by Ian Hobson, a young English director, who brought temperament into it and ...as a pianist...also kept a clever eye on the soloists..."
Ruhr Nachrichten (Dortmund) 10/20/97
(Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra)

"Hobson does a superb job in his dual role [as conductor and pianist]. His pianistic prowess is well known, and he provides a firm yet exuberant style for these pieces."
Fanfare November/December 1997
(Recording of the Mendelssohn piano/orchestra works)

"Ian Hobson...became a triple threat musician...when he conducted the Camerata in works of Bartok, Prokofiev and Dvorak. ...Hobson's sympathetic study of the music and his obvious ability to transmit feelings and objectives to his players resulted in a splendid performance. ...a knowing conductor..."
The Herald-Times (Bloomington, IN) 12/10/96
(Bloomington Camerata)

"The Beethoven Symphony was fantastic. ...Conductor and ensemble moved as figure skaters through presto pressure [in the finale]. The house loved it and offered resounding applause. ...This leader impressed players, audience and administrators alike with his remarkable rapport, restrained style and quest for precision and excellence."
The Lincoln Star (Lincoln, NE) 11/6/91
(Nebraska Chamber Symphony)

"Hobson again reminds us that discretion is sometimes the better part of valour - not least through his greater willingness to listen to the orchestra."
Gramophone 1/88
(recording of Francaix/Saint-Saëns as pianist/conductor)

Concert Reviews

"From strumming their instruments like banjos to wispy harmonics, frenzied scales and sonorous passages, the nearly 20 players inhabited many moods in 10 short movements."
Seattle Times 10/2002 (see review)

"To Chopin he brings experience and authority: He is one of the few pianists who have dared to play the complete Chopin live."
Boston Globe 4/2003 (see review)

Ian Hobson at the Wigmore
Ian Hobson can always be relied upon to provide a compelling mixture of intellect and virtuosity in his programming, and this was proved again by his recital at the Wigmore Hall on 14 July, wherein he juxtaposed music by Chopin and Liszt all written in the same year, 1839. The first half began and ended with familiar large-scale works by Chopin, the Third Scherzo and Second Sonata, which framed a shorter group. This was notable playing, but that in the second half, giving all twelve of Liszt's Transcendental Studies in the original 1839 version, was even more so in its cumulative musicianship.