Andreas Klein, piano

Mr. Klein is an excellent pianist. In Berg's Sonata the voluptuous haze was blown away: one followed the progress of every theme and motive as they steadily transformed themselves into a single architectural design.
THE NEW YORK TIMES

Andreas Klein with the Green Bay Symphony, October 2003
Beethoven Concerto No. 5, (Emperor) .....his conception was anything but "klein" (small), but he gave as much emphasis to the sunny lyric stretches as to the stormier portions. His balanced approach called to mind such masterful pianists as Wilhelm Kempf and Edwin Fisher artists whose patrician integrity offered examples too seldom followed today.
GREEN BAY NEWS

An inspired performance, Mozart's depth, influence explored
... Equally luminous moments came from soloist Andreas Klein in the piano concerto. Composed in 1782 shortly after Mozart's arrival in Vienna, this score (and its successors) furnished him both with a source of income and a way to establish himself as both composer and performer. These late concertos also represent the essential Mozart at the very height of his powers. Klein was the consummate musician, especially in the exquisite slow movement. Throughout the work he allowed the piano to assume an essential role without ever overwhelming the sonority. Although written for a keyboard instrument far smaller than today's concert grand, the concerto was presented by Klein on a scale appropriate to an orchestra of 19. Indeed, one was left in awe of Mozart's perfect balance between piano and orchestra. As Klein himself pointedly observed after the concert, "In Mozart, there is no place to hide!"
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE REVIEWER

From Lucerne, Finely Woven Strings (November 11, 2003)
... The virtuosity of these performers was on greater display in Mozart's Concerto No. 12 in A, K. 414. The intelligent soloist Andreas Klein's articulate yet flowing pianism nicely matched the orchestra's sound in this crystalline work. Stravinsky's Concerto in D for String Orchestra had every bit as much of this Mozartian clarity and grace.
Daniel Ginsberg, WASHINGTONPOST.COM

Lucerne chamber group pleases SPA audience (Nov. 9, 2003)
... The traditional highlight was Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414 with Houstonian Andreas Klein as the soloist. Here was a chance to hear a concerto performed with the size of ensemble Viennese audiences might have encountered in Mozart's time (though the use of modern instruments produced a much larger sound than they would have heard). All the musicians scaled their playing appropriately. Klein performed with fluid but almost understated grace. Fiedler pulled lots of interesting phrasing and details from the orchestra. Together, they produced an elegant, unforced interpretation.
Charles Ward, HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM

... he performed Mozart's Concerto in F major KV 459, which is characterized by march-like decisiveness as well as humorous flamboyancy, with impeccable technique, a distinct understanding for Mozart's pianistic style Using muted dynamics and resonant touch. (With the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra)
DER ABEND, BERLIN

... Andreas Klein played this work with, grace, melodious sound and plenty of brilliance, revealing an immaculate technique. (Mozart's Piano Concerto, KV 459)
DER TAGESSPIEGEL

... Elaborate display of technical prowess.In the prestidigitation of cascading scales and dizzying octave runs of Liszt's "Gnomenreigen" and "Mephisto Valse", Klein resembled a sketch artist bringing a scene to life with quick virtuoso strokes and shading...Klein conveyed an impression of narrative momentum underlying a musical structure, regardless of how explicitly programmatic.
WASHINGTON POST

PIANIST WHO MAKES SILENCES SOUND LIKE MUSIC (headline) Mr. Klein is an excellent pianist. His technique engaged all of his music, some of it quite difficult. He was flamboyant in Danzas Argentinas (Ginastera). Two simple yet highly exploratory Mazurkas (Chopin) engaged Klein's mind and heart as well. In Berg's Sonata the voluptuous haze was blown away one followed the progress of every theme and motive as they steadily transformed themselves into a single architectural design.
NEW YORK TIMES

...the Schostakovich Sonata Op. 40 was performed with introspective passion...Klein partnered admirably, and both had the virtuosity to cover the awkward technical difficulties the composer laid into the score. The performance had weight without heaviness, disjunct leaps were starkly accurate, some of Beethoven's brusque humor hit home, and phrasing was elegantly natural (With cellist Jan Vogler)
WASHINGTON POST

Klein is an interpreter, above all modern, attentive in delineation, and accomplishes a lucid reading of the structural design of every work. He achieves with impeccable technique a rare beauty of sound.
SETTA STAMPA SERA, ITALY

...To admire was his elastic touch and defined shaping of even the most insignificant motives. (Mozart KV 466)
THUNER TAGBLATT, SWITZERLAND

A LISTENING INDULGENCE (headline) The interpretation of Schubert's Impromptu in B flat Major belongs to one of the most beautiful pieces presented in this concert. Klein played ingeniously, each single note differentiated, vivid and in every regard intended. "Danzas Argentinas" (Ginastera), not really great music, was a pleasure to listen to with Klein's competent approach. Klein celebrated Chopin delivering a performance that was a listening pleasure of the highest order. The audience thanked him with the appropriate and enthusiastic applause this performance deserved.
BERLINER MORGENPOST

Mozart's Piano Concerto in D Minor KV 466 was interpreted by Andreas Klein in a most passionate, concentrated fashion but without exaggeration, preserving the basic character of this concerto. The bold contrasts in general and within the second and third movements were juxtaposed with suspense and balance.
DER BUND, SWITZERLAND

A secure and precise performance it would be a pleasure to hear this pianist again in Douai. (Hindemith's "The Four Temperaments")
VOIX DE NORD, FRANCE

SURPASSING MUSICALITY (headline) (Mozart's Sonata in A Major, KV 331): This often performed work appeared in a special new interpretation. played without unnaturalness, often somewhat fragile in tone, delicate, but with strong endings, with light accentsSchubert's op 94, Six Moments Musicaux, was performed in a manner that portrayed the composer in his multifacitness. Fine, well-rounded rubati evolve from the pianissimo, dramatic and virtuous, restrained and songlike.
BERNER ZEITUNG,SWITZERLAND

CONCERT OF AN EXTRA CLASS (headline) The virtuoso Klein, a pianist counted among the extraordinary class he was able to set a new milestone into the history of the Mosel Festival. In the Sonata No .2, he became Prokofiev: for fifteen minutes he identified himself with every chord and key."
RHEIN ZEITUNG

Andreas Klein, a pianist of highest caliber, performed both Beethoven Sonatas in E major, Opus 109, and in A major, Opus 101, with dramatic expression, bravura, and a flawless technique: yet the slaw and lyrical phrases were shaped with subtile sensitivity. A ravishing performance of a Chopin Ballade (A flat major) was the encore.
DRESDNER NEUESTE NACHRICHTEN

A remarkable meeting with Andreas Klein. The virtuosity of this artists was most demonstrated in the variations of "Totentanz" by Liszt. Soloist and orchestra mastered the tricky challenges convincingly. (Liszt's "Totentanz" and Franck's "Symphonic Variations")
HALLISCHES TAGEBLATT

Andreas Klein sparkled: a truly memorable concert experience of the Beethoven Concerto No.3
THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

TONAL POETRY AND DRAMA (headline) With sparkling dexterity, careful pedaling, yet keen sense for the delicate hints of the coming romanticism Klein shaped the classical profile of the Piano Sonata opus 7 by Beethoven For the second part of the program, he chose works by Chopin, besides the Scherzo in B flat minor -performed with compelling pianistic brilliance- pieces less known in which he could demonstrate beautifully his finely detailed touch, tonal poetry and dramatic expression.
THÜRINGISCHE LANDESZEITUNG

...Klein's performance of the Mozart Concerto KV 466 was clean and fastidious.. (With Houston Symphony)
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

German pianist Andreas Klein handled Schumann with dexterity and careful nuance, making the slow sections shine and the fast moments twinkle. He makes Schumann look wonderfully easy (which it isn't) and sound gloriously emotional (which it is).
LEXINGTON HERALD LEADER

In the B minor Scherzo op. 31 by Chopin, Klein digs into the keyboard vehemently, but also contrasts those massive sounds with lyrical sonorities thereby extending the room for numerous shades of expressions Klein performed with tonal beauty and sensibility the Mazurkas in A flat major and B flat minor. With the fitness of a marathon runner, the guest from the U.S.A. played three encores, among them the frolic virtuosic "boogie Woogie Etude" by Morton Gould.
BÜHNE LEIPZIG

PIANIST KLEIN INTERPRETS SCHUBERT (headline) Klein showed himself to be basically a lyricist. He had a nice gift for spinning out the long lines of those sweet Schubert melodies. His touch was velvety on the keys and he was never daunted by Schubert's sprawling rambling musical structures.
CLEVELAND PLAIN-DEALER

The audience was taken by the emotional outbursts of the episodes of "Danzas Argentinas," performed impetuously and technically perfect. He shaped the music of Chopin with deepest insight, shaded with superb pianistic technique. All the works were performed with noble restraint, with unbelievable expression for the melodies and impeccable virtuosity in the spirit of the composer. Enthusiastic applause by the audience prompted two encores.
MITTELDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG

Andreas Klein did not only prove to be a Chopin-Interpreter with his exceptional tone sensitivity, but he also captivated with Gershwin, Ginastera and Stravinsky with his fascinating energetic rhythmical impulse.
NEUE ZEIT

Andreas Klein unfolded a technically as well as musically perfect firework of pianistic excellence. Franz Liszt's Mephisto-Waltz was packed with suggestions that conjured provocative and sensuous images of Faust. The applause didn't seem to end, and the encores entailed another program.
NAUMBURGER TAGEBLATT

..the works Klein selected tended to emphasize technique rather than emotion. Yet Klein's performance created emotional resonance in places where lesser pianists may have concentrated on technique alone. Klein's stylized delivery of Frederic Chopin's Scherzo in C sharp minor, Opus 39 was highly dramaticKlein effortlessly shifted from the fiery impetuosity of the "Mephisto" opening into the plaintive lyricism of its middle. In the tempestuous finale, he successfully evoked the earlier lyricism while maintaining the necessary speed and clarity. Klein ended his program with an intense driven performance of "Danzas Criollas".
DULUTH NEWS-TRIBUNE

..In his recital he showed the virtues of German pianism at its best: His playing was thoughtful, his interpretations grew naturally out of the substance of the music, and he communicated with the audience without clamoring for its attention.
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM