Ursula Oppens – Press

“Oppens’s handling of the fast-moving octave passages in the Scherzo took our breath away as did the entire group in the relentless good cheer of the finale.”

“…her playing is unprecedentedly rich and nuanced; she is the ideal interpreter for every composer.”

“Here one was especially aware of the quality of Oppens’s tone—full and projected even in the softest pianissimo, and capable of producing tremendous impact in forte chords without sounding pinched or banged. Her pedaling was unusually subtle for new-music interpretation, managing resonances and overlapping tones like an expert Chopin player.”

“When Oppens’ right hand in the solo, “Paris,” suddenly broke away from the beat into fluttery extravagance, a stationary bird might have thrust in sudden flight — not out of fear, but just because it could. The significance of that for Eastman was everything.”

“Oppens’s insight into the score, communicated through a varied tonal palette and keen-eared voicing, was a reminder of why composers from John Adams to Elliott Carter have queued up to write pieces for her.”

“The Rachmaninoff Etudes were intriguing, and the crisp wit of Stravinsky’s Piano Sonata‘s was perfectly in character. But never was she more in her element than in the second half of the recital, assembled from works written with her in mind. Oppens was particularly commanding in Two Diversions by Elliott Carter, for which she was dedicatee, vividly contrasting its rote patterns with splashes of color.”

“Oppens is the work’s great interpreter, with a second outstanding recording released last year on the Cedille label. Her technique was insecure at the start, but she hit a confident stride in the Marcato Variation 4. By the time she reached the second restatement of the theme, she was burning with a blue flame, playing with a roiling depth and sense of inevitability. Her Cadenza to Variation 27 was overpowering.”

“The formidable pianist Ursula Oppens played [Amy Williams‘ Falling] beautifully. It is a short work run through with hauntingly repeated midrange pitches encircled by pungent chords and lacy filigree.”