PIETER WISPELWEY
Concert reviews
Performers with Wispelwey’s commitment, intelligence, and range of expressive abilities are
members of a rare species indeed. Tanglewood was graced with the presence of a great master
on this evening, and those who shared the privilege of being in the audience will not soon forget
it.
The Boston Musical Intelligence, 25 July 2010
solo recital – the complete Bach cello suites, Tanglewood Festival
‘…he articulated the narrative streak within this collection of preludes and dances, and it
seemed like musical storytelling as much as a memory of dance.’
Jeffrey Johnson, The Boston Globe, 24 July 2010
solo recital – the complete Bach cello suites, Tanglewood Festival
‘Der Cellist Pieter Wispelwey ist ein konsequenter Vertreter der historischen Aufführungspraxis.
Seine stupende Technik, die scheinbar keine Grenzen kennt sein nuancenreiches Spiel, sein
chalk, sein Flirt mit dem Publilcum, dem Dirigenten, dem Konzertmeister: Das verrnag nur ein
grosser Meister. So wurde Haydns erstes Cellokonzert zu einem Erlebnis, das nicht nur keine
Wiinsche offen liess, sondem nicht so schnell vergessen werden diirfte.
Was Wispelwey zum Beispiel in die Kadenz des ersten Satzes ceinpadcte», war sdilicht genial.
Der aus Holland stanunende Musiker bedankte sich bei den Zuhörenden mit einem Satz aus
einer der Solosuiten von Bach – und zeigte damit eine andere, emstere Seite seiner vielfdltigen
Kunst.’
AZ Baden, 22 March 2010
Haydn Concerto in C – Musikkollegium Winterthur/Bernard Labadie, March 2010
‘Er ging in einer iiberaus differenzierten Spielweise, mit sparsamem Vibrato, aparten
Akzentuierungen und funkelnder Virtuosität dem Solopart nach, dessen Melodien, jugendliche
Spielfreude, aber auch spontane Ausdrucksvielfalt er lustvoll gestaltete.’
Der Landbote, Rita Wolfensberger, 19 March 2010
Haydn Concerto in C – Musikkollegium Winterthur/Bernard Labadie, March 2010
**** ‘Glasgow Concert Hall’s Romantic Bach series continued with a recital from cellist Pieter
Wispelwey, who is equally at home in a modern repertoire or in the baroque. Performing Bach in
the context of works for unaccompanied cello by later composers [Boch, Reger, Walton, Britten],
Wispelwey used a modern instrument, yet his period experience was clearly evident in his
approach, both in his range of timbres and the way in which phrasing and overall shape took
precedence over the beauty of individual notes. Wispelwey is an understated performer: his
Bach’s C minor Cello Suite was all the more intimate as a result, revealing the spontaneity of a
musician playing for himself.’
Rowena Smith, The Herald, 28 February 2010
Solo recital / Glasgow Concert Hall / 28 February 2010
‘The most striking aspect of Mr. Wispelwey’s Brahms is that it is not about the overwhelming
richness of the cello’s tone but about shape and intensity. Scarcely a phrase was played matterof-factly. Articulation, dynamics and color always seemed carefully considered[.]’
Allan Kozinn, New York Times, 25 January 2010
Duo recital with Paolo Giacometti / Alice Tully Hall, New York / 24 January 2010
‘The evening’s highlight was cello concerto. Pieter Wispelwey is a player with a tone that’s both
strong and honeyed, and he took the black, manic intensity of the opening movement in his
stride. The calm desolation of the slow movement was equally finely caught, and there was a
riveting intensity in the extended cadenza and the boisterously twisted finale.’
Michael Dervan, Irish Times, 13 October 2009
Shostakovich Cello Concerto no.1 – RTE National Symphony Orchestra/Michal Dworzynski, 9 October 2009
‘[In Beethoven’s Sonata in G minor, Op.5] Wispelwey varied his sound all the way from a distant
keening to a bass-drum thump; playing from memory, his mastery allowed a bracing amount of
moment-to-moment tonal and interpretive spontaneity without ever sacrificing the overall
dramatic thread or tension. Bezuidenhout matched him, buzzing through Beethoven’s show-off
intricacies with groove and flair. […] In the Variations [on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Wedbchen’ from
Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’], the players shifted the mercurial timing toward humor, the heavy
accents comic bluster, the lyrical threads sly asides. The F-major Sonata adopts a sunnier mien
than the G minor, but Wispelwey and Bezuidenhout still found space for high-stakes drama, the
two goading each other to ever more impudent virtuosity in the Rondo finale…an exhilarating
concert.’
Matthew Guerrieri, The Boston Globe, 15 June 2009
Duo recital with Kristian Bezuidenhout / Boston Early Music Festival / 12 June 2009
‘Wispelwey is a deeply engaged and highly communicative artist who inhabits a composition
completely, sending out each note and phrase as if he were speaking to the audience in a
musical metalanguage. […] His reading of the F-major sonata [by Beethoven] set the standard
for the evening, as he channeled the young composer who already had taken the measure of
music in the late 18th century and was setting out to show it a thing or two.
‘The cellist's style is remarkable for its interpretive passion expressed through what might be
described as an Apollonian loftiness. Wispelwey is extremely precise with his bow, commanding
a vast timbral vocabulary, and his left hand is almost flawless in its accuracy, as demonstrated
in a tendency to employ vibrato sparingly yet be spot-on with pitch. But he played with intensity
and fire, so much so that his bow was a bit worse for wear by recital's end.’
Mark Satola, Cleveland Plain Dealer, 14 March 2009
Recital / Mixon Hall, Cleveland Institute of Music / 10 March 2009
‘It was fascinating to hear [Wispelwey’s] rendition of the Haydn [D major concerto], so
unconventional it seemed to drift in from another planet. Some hallmarks of period style were
present in his phrasing, spare vibrato, and tone production, but this was also a reading set to its
own inner compass’
Jeremy Eichler, The Boston Globe, 16 January 2009
Haydn Cello Concerto no.2 in D – Boston Symphony Orchestra/Bernard Labadie, 15 January 2009
‘Die Sonaten gehören nach Anspruch, Gewicht und Charakter zum "Allerheiligsten" des
Cellorepertoires, an ihm haben sich alle, die als Meister ihres Instruments gelten wollen, zu
beweisen. Die Beschäftigung mit ihnen währt daher, ähnlich der mit Bachs sechs Solosuiten,
ein Leben lang.
Auch Pieter Wispelwey, überragender Cellovirtuose aus den Niederlanden und eine der
bedeutendsten Musikerpersönlichkeiten unserer Tage, setzt sich stets aufs Neue mit den
Beethoven-Sonaten auseinander. Zweimal hat er sie schon eingespielt. Dass der weltweit
gefeierte Wispelwey in Deutschland nur selten auftritt, zählt zu den Unbegreiflichkeiten des
hiesigen Konzertbetriebs.
Es wurde ein Abend mit Langzeitwirkung, weil Wispelwey und Melnikow Beethoven mit
unentwegter Wachheit und klanglicher Spontaneität begegneten. Sie lauerten überraschenden
Farbwechseln geradezu auf, setzten Beethovens vielfältige Anweisungen zu Sforzati, Akzenten
und die synkopischen Heftigkeiten impulsiv um und hellten kontrapunktische Dichte im
Spätwerk auf. Solche Artikulationsfrische und Geistesgegenwart im Dialog entstehen nicht aus
naiver Spielfreude, sondern erst profunde technische wie geistige Beherrschung der Werke
ermöglicht eine solche Freiheit unmissverständlichen musikalischen "Sprechens".
Bei den späten Sonaten brachten Wispelwey und Melnikow das Andeutende, Suchende, dann
unwirsch Zupackende aufregend prägnant heraus.’
Harald Eggebrecht, Süddeutsche Zeitung, November 2008
Recital / Munich / 1 November 2008
"...an epic performance of the Cello Concerto. "Epic" is not a term we usually associate with
this concerto, for which grace, charm and a relaxed tameness have become the norms in
performance. But Dvorák was an international star at the time of composition, and Fischer and
his soloist, Pieter Wispelwey, brought out the grandeur in this music, without losing sight of its
poetry. The great melody that forms the second subject of the first movement was noble and
nostalgic, while the finale blended arrogance with excitement. Wispelwey thinks in terms of
span as well as detail, and the dividends were enormous. With Fischer at his most incisive, the
orchestral sound was turbulent and beguiling - in short, a terrific interpretation that changed the
way we think about the piece itself."
The Guardian, 10 June 2008
Dvorak Cello Concerto -- Budapest Festival Orchestra / Ivan Fischer, Royal Festival Hall (London)
"Soloist Pieter Wispelwey seized his opportunity and took off into a realm of subjective fantasy
that would not have been possible within the straitjacket provided by a conventional orchestral
accompaniment."
The Evening Standard, 9 June 2008
Dvorak Cello Concerto -- Budapest Festival Orchestra / Ivan Fischer, Royal Festival Hall (London)
“Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey gave a bold, frisky account of the Tchaikovsky Rococo
Variations […] big tone and big personality more than carried the day.”
The Dallas Morning News, 14 March 2008
Tchaikovski: Roccoco Variations – Dallas S.O. / Ludovic Morlot
‘Pieter Wispelwey’s performance was magical for its mercurial charm, lightness and
inventiveness, and his sound in the cadenza had crisp freshness and the transparency of colour
which comes from immaculate intonation.’
Peter McCallum, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 August 2007
Walton Cello Concerto / Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall., Jeffrey Tate 16-18 August 2007
“His winning mix of strength and sensitivity penetrated to the heart of this elusive work.
Wispelwey’s rich sostenuto and expressive phrasing realised the dominant mood melancholic
lyricism while showy bravura passages benefited from dazzlingly virtuosic passagework.”
Murray Black, Australian, 3 August 2007
Walton Cello Concerto / Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall., Jeffrey Tate 16-18 August 2007
“Peter Wispelwey’s performance was magical for its mercurial charm, lightness and
inventiveness, and his sound in the cadenza had crisp freshness and the transparency of colour
which comes from immaculate intonation.”
Peter McCallum, Sydney Morning Herald, 03 August 2007
Walton Cello Concerto / Sydney Symphony, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Jeffrey Tate 01 August 2007
“The ensemble's warmth of tone and unity of sound attracts some of the world's great
instrumentalists, and the musicians worked marvelously with the wonderful Dutch cellist Pieter
Wispelwey. […] this was tightly integrated, feverish music-making among soloist and ensemble.
The orchestra set the stage for Wispelwey's alternately bravura and lyrical passagework with a
rich prelude in the first movement. Lush, flowing lines wove a colorful fabric, while the cellist let
loose some fiercely articulate and accented figures. The pleasing combination of clarity and
motion carried through in the plush second movement and gave the scampering finale the
quality of a delirious dance. On his own, Wispelwey played a brief movement from one of
Britten's solo cello suites. It was a deeply felt testament to Mstislav Rostropovich, whose death
at 80 was announced earlier that day.”
Daniel Ginsberg, The Washington Post, 30 April 2007
Haydn Concerto in C / Australian Chamber Orchestra, Washington Clarice Smith Center, 27 April 2007
‘[Wispelwey] hugs the melody, his pitch is perfect, and he plays nothing without imagination.
The fanciful solo cadenza in the Haydn sounded at times like an entire orchestra, at times like a
singer with his own strumming accompanist. It was hard to sit still during the dancing rhythms of
the Bach prelude he played as an encore. And he never seemed disconnected from the other
players.’
Lloyd Schwartz, The Boston Phoenix, 24 April 2007
Haydn Cello Concerto no. 1 in C – Australian Chamber Orchestra/Richard Tognetti, April 2007
“An amazingly skillfull soloist…a captivating account of Saint-Saens’s first cello concerto”
Paul Driver, The Sunday Times, 1 April 2007
Saint Saens Cello Concerto No.1 – London Philharmonic/Joseph Wolfe, 23 March 2007
“Dutch Cellist Pieter Wisplwey’s playing was, as always, a marvel of high art”
Neville Cohn, West Australian, 25 November 2006
Tour with Australian Chamber Orchestra, November 2005
‘Mr Wispelwey and Mr Lazic brought risk-taking adventurousness to all of these experimental
sonatas. Mr Wispelwey’s playing was full of vivid contrasts. One moment he shaped plaintive
lyrical lines with almost no vibrato; the next he dug into the strings, producing gritty sounds,
incisive attacks and blurry outbursts of energy. Yet every gesture seemed driven by musical
insight.’
Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, 17 October 2006
Duo recital with Dejan Lazic (complete Beethoven), Alice Tully Hall, 14 October 2006
‘Throughout the recital Wispelwey demonstrated peerless musicianship of quite extraordinary
depth; to hear his playing was to understand how Bach should be performed.’
Rowena Smith, The Herald, 2 September 2006
Solo recital / Edinburgh Festival, Queen’s Hall, 1 September 2006
“Pieter Wispelwey’s Dvorak was grainy, athletic, elegantly argued, pristine in its tuning, and
pleasingly interrogative of its accompaniment”
Anna Picard, The Independent (UK), 30 October 2005
Dvorak Cello Concerto, London Philharmonic/Sinaisky, Queen Elizabeth Hall
“Dutilleux’s cello concerto was championed by Pieter Wispelwey’s charismatic and original
talent, revealing a discourse of a rare intensity […] The strength of his interpretation is clearly
underpinned by a genuine conviction.”
Serge Chauzy, La Voix du Midi (Toulouse), 14 April 2005
Dutilleux “Tout un Monde Lointain”, Toulouse Capitole Orchestra/Manfred Honeck, 31 March 2005
“The final moments of Wispelwey’s performance of the Elgar Concerto provided a shattering
climax. After a last vision of lyricism and warmth, the music plunged into the depths of despair,
returning to the desparate chords of the opening of the piece […] all the more moving thanks to
the intensity of Wispelwey’s playing of the rest of the concerto. His performance was full of
energy and insight. He gave the scherzo a flamboyant, fizzing fantasy, a dazzling display of
technique that dissipated in the song of the slow movement. But it was the outer movements
that were most revelatory: the first […] was not simply a wallowing in musical nostalgia, but a
vivid, heart-rending lament, and the fast music of the finale was a frantic railing against the
dying of the light […] the concerto seemed, in Wispelwey’s hands, brilliantly original: a piece
of shocking concision and power”.
Tom Service, The Guardian (London), 18 February 2005
Elgar Concerto, London Philharmonic/Berglund, 16 February 2005
“Wispelwey’s idiosyncratic sculpting brought new, sometimes challenging, insight [to Elgar’s
concerto].”
Hilary Finch, The Times (London), 18 February 2005
Elgar Concerto, London Philharmonic/Berglund, 16 February 2005
“Wispelwey’s style, tone and, above all, articulation were historically informed. The style was
brisk, the tone drier than he would use in a Dvorak Concerto, and the articulation was
astonishingly clear and varied. Rapid passaged positively ricocheted around Symphony Hall.
His famed sensitivity came into play in the Mozart Adagio […] which he played with a
sophisticated simplicity that went straight to the heart.”
Richard Dyer, Boston Globe, 15 February 2005
Haydn C Major Concerto + Mozart Adagio, Handel & Haydn Society/Llewellyn, 13 February 2005
“Pieter Wispelwey’s outstanding performance was the highlight of the evening. Thanks to his
technical command and the commitment of his playing, the music became communication of
feelings in a performance in which he engaged fully with the orchestra.”
Politiken (Copenhagen), January 2005
Shostakovich concerto No.2, Copenhagen Philharmonic / Paul McCreesh
“Here was an opportunity to get to know a rising performer […] Deeply communicative and
highly individual performances…. A thought-provoking player with a willingness to take
chances”.
James Oestreich, New York Times, 16 August 2004
Mostly Mozart Festival: Schumann Concerto (Louis Landrée), Bach Suites , August 2004
‘Unlike other cellists who dramatize this music or demonstrate their struggle with it, the 40-yearold Wispelwey played with contained, unforced, objective fluency. He never drew attention to
his virtuosity, but it was breathtaking nonetheless. At times, he could not refrain from looking to
the side as if to share his enjoyment. “Did you hear that?” he seemed to say, and the only
response was, “Yes.”’
LA Times, March 2004
Bach Marathon, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
‘In the beautiful slow movement, the cellist moved easily between the “speaking” and “singing”
aspects of his instrument’s personality, playing with the directness and eloquence that have
always characterized his best work.’
Boston Globe, February 2004
‘Wispelwey’s interpretation was marvelous […] Koopman stayed out of the way, and Wispelwey,
playing the tutti sections with the orchestra in the old-fashioned style, won over both stagemates
and audience.”
Boston Herald, February 2004
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Koopman, CPE Bach Cello Concerto in A
‘Wispelwey’s sound was pure, clean and radiant […] He maintained the thread of his oration
with committed intensity, and shouldered Schumann’s serious expressive burden with inspired
rhapsodic flair and phrasing.’
Peter McCallum, Sydney Morning Herald, June 2003
Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig, Blomstedt, Schumann Cello Concerto
‘If there is a cello virtuoso on this planet who by far exceeds in matters of technique, and who
calls a striking and unmistakable style his own, this flying Dutchman definitely is one of them.
His sound does not just breathe the air of a number of thoroughly studied musical epochs, but it
implies worldliness, pain, humour and a sense for the emotional.’
Friedrich Pohl, Leipziger Nachrichten, May 2003
‘Wispelwey has a lovely, open tone to call upon (and) projected a mischievous but thoughtful
musical curiosity. I’ve never heard Haydn’s concerto played with such a sense of fun.’
Erica Jeal, The Guardian, May 2003
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Minkowski, Haydn in C
‘Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey was the fine soloist, technically assured, clean of attack, forceful
and declamatory of rhythm. His clear, even, ringing tone was a joy to hear in itself. The finale
came to life with the cellist’s snazzy, accented bowing.’
Timothy Mangan, The Orange County Register, May 2003
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Salonen, Dvorak Cello Concerto
‘His playing is physical first and intellectual second, which is ultimately the way to go. Whether
singing, dancing, raging, or ruminating, it mimics the contours of human gesture and speech. ‘
Alex Ross, The New Yorker, April 2003
‘Mr Wispelwey’s readings were supple and deeply engaged, conveying by turns the urgency,
pain, nostalgia and wonder that are at the heart of this music. Among the cellist’s gifts is a
lexicon of articulation that is staggeringly wide; even his pizzicato came in endless varieties […]
He offered performances as eloquent as they were provocative.’
Jeremy Eichler, The New York Times, April 2003
Bach and Britten Suites Marathon at Lincoln Center
‘Walton's score and Wispelwey's cello made a stunning combination: sweet and lyrical in the
opening Moderato, playful in the Allegro appassionato and devastatingly melancholic in the
extended finale. Wispelwey seldom used strong vibrato, instead using a honey-toned, baritonestyle delivery, singing lieder with subtlety and sensitivity.’
David Vickers, The Guardian, February 2003
Hallé Orchestra, van Steen, Walton Cello Concerto
‘But first was Pieter Wispelwey, a cellist making his Hallé debut whose reputation (for me, at any
rate) preceded him through his brilliant recordings.
He played Walton's concerto with a combination of passion and lightness of touch which are
certainly what it needs for successful execution - virtues which shone in his unaccompanied
Bach encore, too.’
Robert Beale, Manchester Evening News, February 2003
Hallé Orchestra, van Steen, Walton Cello Concerto
‘The cellist Wispelwey demonstrated himself as a soloist of exceptional talent and solid
understanding of the cello. He seemed to be physically and mentally at one with his instrument
and its structure. Bravissimo; He gave two encores which were received with great applause by
the audience. Simply outstanding.’
Vittore Castiglioni, Corriere del Ticino, November 2002
Orchestra Svizzera Italiana, Baudo, Shostakovich Cello Concerto 1
‘Playing up this contrast between almost facile melody and forceful, stifled statement in the first
movement gave the work a new dramatic line and made it the highlight of a strong concert…He
showed himself a responsive and impassioned interpreter without using virtuosity for its own
sake.’
Anne Midgette, New York Times, November 2002, New York Recital
‘Chamber music playing at this level involves something more than shared chemistry. Phrases
that began at the piano as virile chords or sweeping arpeggios were absorbed by the cellist’s
fleet fingers and prodigious bow arm as if by osmosis. One player ceded the right of way to the
other with a spontaneity that fairly crackled. After a while, you stopped hearing Wispelwey and
Lazic and listened to Beethoven. Wispelwey’s reputation as a “complete” cellist was borne out
by these distinguished readings.’
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, November 2002, Mandel Hall Recital
‘This was playing that offered abundant virtuosity, lyrical warmth, drama and charm.’
Tim Smith, Baltimore Sun October 2002, Shriver Hall Recital
‘I cannot remember any other recent soloist who has provided his audience with as much
pleasure as Pieter Wispelwey. It seems as if playing the cello is more natural to him than
breathing.'
Marek Skocza, Dziennik Zachodni, October 2002
National Polish Radio Orchestra/Chmura Elgar Concerto
‘This was a unique experience, its power owed entirely to Wispelwey's unwavering musicality.
He saved the best for last...the final suite, No. 6 in D was delicious, the Allemande and
Sarabande pure reveries of sound in space.'
Martin Parker, The Scotsman, Edinburgh Festival August 2002
‘The beautifully realised phrases achieved a kind of elasticity, which, although it seemed like
freedom, was in fact disciplined by a careful and consistent choice of tempo.’
Amsterdam Duo Recital: De Telegraaf, August 2002
‘Haydn’s cello concerto was the highlight of the evening. Joyous, fiery playing and beautiful
sound was paired with feather-light tempos and Pieter Wispelwey’s sonorous cello sound. The
soloist indulged his stunningly brilliant technical ability in two wonderfully crafted cadences.’
General Anzeiger, 26 August 2002
Kammerorchester Basel/Boccherini and Haydn in C
‘What an awesome way to end the Festival’s Bank of Scotland Queen’s Hall series. Relentless,
talent, imagination, grunts, groans, Beethoven’s complete Cello Sonatas, and all played from
memory by the astonishing Pieter Wispelwey… He was playing a concert that would not be
forgotten. It was another Festival long haul that flew by with shattering immensity and potentially
incredible rewards – if only our minds could keep up with the composer and his performers.’
The Scotsman, Edinburgh Festival, September 2001
‘Mr Wispelwey’s contribution was a lively, beautifully focused rendering of Tchaikovsky’s
Variations on a Rococo Theme. Mr Wispelwey’s sound is warm, and he addressed the score’s
virtuosic passages – as well as its more songlike ones – with a confidence born of an agile
technique and complete engagement with the music at hand.’
The New York Times, 18 August 2001
Mostly Mozart NY, Dausgaard/Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations
‘Slowly and steadily Pieter Wispelwey has been establishing himself over the past decade or so
among the world’s very finest cellists.’
Fanfare, Sept/Oct 2000
‘Pieter Wispelwey, is such a cellist, whose performance is informed by a masterly technique
combined with a close and intelligent scrutiny of stylistic practice. His playing suggests that he
regards the suites, in one sense at least, as private territory, in which intimacy and honesty are
paramount features of the landscape.’
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia Chamber Orchestra Tour, June 2000
‘Here are some favorite Shostakovich recordings of the classical music critics of The New York
Times. Shostakovich CELLO CONCERTO NO. 1. ‘Much as I admire Mr. Rostropovich's
recording of the Cello Concerto No 1…I am taken with a 1999 recording by Pieter Wispelwey
and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Richard Tognetti. This lithe, incisive
performance makes the music seem more intriguingly modern, and a bit stranger, than you
might have thought it.’
New York Times, Anthony Tommasini, April 2002
‘Right from the start …the performances possessed a spring-heeled vitality and an ability to hold
you on tenterhooks as first one instrument then the other seized the initiative. Wispelwey’s cello
tone was warm but never self-indulgent.’
Edinburgh Festival Duo Recital: The Herald, September 2001
‘To say Pieter Wispelwey’s music-making is ravishing is to utter an understatement of huge
proportions. Monday’s concert did everything to confirm him as one of the world’s great cellists.
As a soloist, he played like a man possessed: his face, his whole body seemed consumed by a
musical spirit whose familiar is the cello.…A superb concert.’
ACO capital cities tour: The Age, Melbourne, July 1997