Michigan Live‘s Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk hailed last weekend’s Andrew von Oeyen performance with the Grand Rapids Symphony, “a triumphant success.”
“When Sergei Rachmaninoff made his debut in the New World, he brought with him his newly composed Piano Concerto No. 3 as his calling card. With the Grand Rapids Symphony, pianist Andrew von Oeyen wielded the concerto with similar authority and similar results. Namely, a triumphant success…
“…the audience of 1,188 gave Von Oeyen an immediate standing ovation and a fourth call back to the stage, the applause ending only when the lanky, long-limbed pianist returned to the piano and offered a poetic encore of Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9, No. 2. The 1999 Gilmore Young Artist, who’s made several appearances in West Michigan over the years, simply wowed the audience. Not with overwrought hysteria but with focused musicality. Von Oeyen, in fact, opened with an understated approach. But the concerto is awash in notes, relentless in non-stop gestures, and it’s more than 35 minutes long. The 34-year-old California native proved himself equal to both artistry and stamina with arpeggios played with smoothly interlaced fingers, glittering chromatic scales, ringing octaves and powerful chords. Von Oeyen attacked the first movement cadenza with gusto. The intermezzo was a lyrical yearning at the piano, bathed in glowing strings from the orchestra. Precision playing for pianist and orchestra is crucial, especially in the final movement. Von Oeyen had the velocity and technique to steer through the controlled explosions that Lockington led in the Grand Rapids Symphony. The finale was exquisite. Soloist and orchestra gave an eloquent, memorable performance.” —Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk
Read the full review on mlive.com!
Buy Andrew von Oeyen recordings today!
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