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abonnent@orebrokonserthus.com
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"A FANTASTIC JOB"
Kit Armstrong is being passed around as a child prodigy in the classical circus, ever since his famous teacher Alfred Brendel publicly described him as a genius and, by doing so, immediately opened the doors to the large concert halls.
But you forget all the child-like aspects as soon as he starts to play: his sound is large, sophisticated and amazingly mature as he embarks on the opening movement of Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto. Armstrong is a pianist who takes the core-sound as the basis for his interpretation – and despite his youth, he achieves an already remarkably differenciating and maturely cultivated sound. His chords of the opening themes powerfully fill the room, his configurations are delicate as are his embellishments which develop into the closing motif. He produces something akin to impressionistic tone poems in some passages. But different from such famous colleagues as, for example, Lang Lang he doesn’t soften the structures of Beethoven’s music through the eye of later musical styles but instead carves them out very clearly.
In the Largo, one of the most beautiful slow movements of the early sonatas, one realizes that Kit Armstrong is still a young musician. Long phrases, long melodic lines should be stretched out. They succeed perfectly but almost too perfectly. Every change in tempo is balanced but with almost mathematical calculation, and the deeply felt poetry of this slow movement is not felt. All the more rousing and consistently lively was the Rondo. But still: it is above all this discrepancy between childlike appearance and mature, adult playing which makes this concert particularly special. That the public in the NDR Sendesaal also believed him to have exceptional talent was clear from the applause. After a Debussy Prelude which followed as encore, the public gave a standing ovation.
A standing ovation was also given to the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Thomas Dausgaard – and that was only too right. This version of Brahms’ Symphony No.1 was characterized by exciting tempos, outstanding solos, in particular from the oboe, and additionally an orchestral sound that was both transparent and full of warmth. The encore, a Hungarian Dance by Brahms, teemed with young freshness, vitality, liveliness and pleasure. Huge applause.
Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, Jutta Rinas, 7 March 2011
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