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| Other Great Britain Reviews |
| Birmingham Post |
| Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and M.Honeck |
| “It was 50 years ago yesterday that Serge Prokofiev died. To commemorate the event, the CBSO performed his Sinfonia Concertante for cello and orchestra under the baton of Manfred Honeck. While a virtuoso piece for the orchestra, it is a fingerbreakingly difficult piece for the soloist. Young cellist Alban Gerhardt impressed with a warm singing tone and a great feel for the more lyrical parts of the work. But it was the acrobatics he so flawlessly performed on the fingerboard that really caught the eye and ear...“ |
| Peter Crarup, Birmingham Post, March 6, 2003 |
| Britten’s Cellosymphony with the Manchester Philharmonic and Y.P.Tortelier in Symphony Hall |
| “…Britten’s piquant Cello Symphony, febrile in scoring and texture, is a work conceived through gritted teeth. In preserving the delicate balance between soloist and orchestra it explores extremes of register, dark bass colourings reminding us of Ravel’s Left-hand Piano Concerto. Bach lies behind its huge stretches of multiple-stopping, and how brilliantly soloist Alban Gerhardt fulfilled these cruel demands, tone and intonation never suffering in the quest for technical perfection…” |
| November 12, 2001 |
| The Herald |
| Trioconcerts with Osborne and Batiasvhili in Edinburgh-Festival |
| “....and thus the remarkable sight unfolded of this otherworldly masterpiece being played to a rapt audience of 1198 souls, who brought the house down at the end. The work is out of this world, and so was the performance by Batiashvili and her young colleagues...Alban Gerhardt and Steven Osborne, all of whom, rightly, in the infinitely varying textures and complex rhythms of the piece, did not try to force the music in the big hall, but played it with a very rare clarity and beauty, allowing the acoustic to work its magic. And exquisite performance, with the difficulties deftly handled as thought they were not there, and a deeply thought-provoking close to the most-discussed series in a momentous festival.” |
| Michael Tumelty, September 2, 2002 |
| “If ever the word barnstorming was appropriate to a set of performances, then it was yesterday, in relation to the piledriving playing by three young star soloists in two piano trios by Brahms and Ravel...yesterday’s Queen’s Hall Recital was a bit like opening the gates and letting the young bloods stampede onto the pitch as an international trio of young players – Georgian violinist Elisabeth Batiashvili, German cellist alban Gerhardt, and Scottish pianist Steven Osborne – tore into their music with full-throated, full-throttle- high-energy playing that took the breath away. (Indeed, such was the ferocity of Gerhardt’s playing in the Ravel that one feared the glue holding his cello together might melt in submission.)...such was the buccaneering spirit with which it was delivered – and an astonishing flow of exuberance and exhilaration from the three players, all working like demons – that all such considerations were swept aside. And for the Ravel...surely the wildness of the great French piano trio has seldom been captured and projected with such force and blistering attack as in this sensational performance. What a team.” |
| Michael Tumelty, August 31, 2002 |
| Irish Times |
| West Cork Chamber Music Festival (Ireland): |
| “…Alban Gerhardt convincingly searched out the drama, song and virtuosity of the Kodaly with a large-scale cogency of view, rhythmic rigour and emotional clout that quite simply brought the house down…” |
| July 5, 1999 |
| “…Tavener’s Wake up and die…Gerhardt played with impressive refinement and concentration…” |
| July 2, 1999 |
| Scotsman |
| Beethoven Tripleconcerto at Proms w.Scottish BBC, O.Vänskä, S.Osborne, L.Batiasvhili |
| “Then in came the soloists one by one - warmth from Alban Gerhardt's cello, sweetness from Elisabeth Batiashvili's violin and springy grace from Steven Osborne at the piano. A German, a Georgian and a Briton responding to the beat of a Scandinavian as if they were all old pals.The nobility of this understated masterpiece came through in every bar, with Vanska keeping his forces under such delicate control that the effect was drawing-room intimacy.All three soloists are what the BBC has designated "new generation artistes", and anyone inclined to bewail the death of classical music need only have been listening here. Their artistry was supreme, both individually and in sum. They took their final bow with arms round each other's shoulders - just as it should be.” |
| September 11, 2001 |
| Bridge Concerto in Glasgow with the BBC Scottish Symphony and Paul Mann: |
| “…If Mr. Gerhardt's cello spoke with the many intonations and nuances demanded, then conductor and soloist perceived and conveyed the craft with which the musical rhetorician Bridge had woven his Oration from its motivic and tonal materials. We should hear this piece more often.” |
| March 18, 2000 |
| West Sussex Gazette |
| Elgar concerto with the London Sinfonietta and Graeme Jenkins |
| “Going straight for the heart - Highlight of the evening…The richness and solemnity of Gerhardt’s cello filled the cavernous cathedral…Gerhardt's disciplined recitative aimed straight for the heart…” |
| Grace Jackson, September 9, 1994 |
| Wolverhampton Express and Star |
| City of Birmingham Symphony in Wolverhampton under Sakari Oramo: Elgar Cello Concerto |
| “Celestial Performance Leaves Audience in Heaven |
| ...And just when you thought the evening couldn’t get any better it did with a simply breathtaking performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, featuring soloist Alban Gerhardt. The German cellist had the audience under his spell during the deep moving and powerful masterpiece, its most delicate and rigorous movements were played effortlessly, but that is not to say without emotion. He oozed passion. Even Elgar’s use of the highest register of the instrument in his concerto was no challenge to the world of this renowned cellist..." |
| February 6 2003 |
