January 16, 2016

Winston-Salem Journal

Margaret Sandresky

His ability to build a towering climax, filling the space with tremendous sound, especially in the cadenzas, held the audience rapt.

The bold, rich colors in his work were striking and provided a rousing introduction to what turned out to be the event of the evening, and probably of the season, as Andrew von Oeyen entranced us playing Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 3.” In von Oeyen’s hands, the music was simply marvelous and took dramatic shape with his easy command of technique and nuance, his control of touch and color and his projection of personal feeling. His ability to build a towering climax, filling the space with tremendous sound, especially in the cadenzas, held the audience rapt. Notable at the beginning of the second movement was the luscious sound of the strings, the piano’s overarching melodies and the broad meditative horn solo during which von Oeyen bowed his head and put his hands on his knees. Then we were swept into some pyrotechnics: huge fast chords and double octaves of the third movement. We were on the edge of our seats, and the audience erupted with cheers and bravos.”

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