press reviews

…All I know for sure so far is that musicians I have come to trust and admire: Jacaranda’s Denali Quartet plus the pianist Steven Vanhauwaert have given the work a serious and devoted performance…

…incredibly talented young artist Vanhauwaert performed several works by Liszt. His beautiful performance of the Transcendental Etude Nr. 12, Chasse-Neige provoked standing ovations, which lead to a very sensitive encore by Schumann. Hats off.

Steven Vanhauwaert, 26 ans, reprend ensuite les choses en main avec une Ile de feu de Messiaen tres maitrisee et un Chopin rapide et elegant. Debussy n’en revele pas moins un musicien inspire et imaginatif, impression confirmee avec la sonate No. 4 de Scriabine, dotee, en finale, d’une extraordinaire energie.

…He mastered it completely. He made the most difficult passages look effortless. Arpeggios and running notes on the piano were played with great clarity of tone. The pianist never overshadowed the string players, so that all three voices were heard clearly. In this performance there was superb ensemble work”. “… demonstrated superb musicianship throughout, and each musician listened to the other, creating true chamber music at its best.

…Vanhauwaert and Holt tore into this piece like furies, undeterred by daunting challenges. It was a performance at turns propulsive and precise, aggressive and tender. What aplomb these two demonstrated!…

…remarkable… Vanhauwaert and Robson could give such exuberant and sensitive accounts of both scores. Mozart’s robust, inventive Sonata became a perfect vehicle for these superb pianists, whose resonant ensemble playing sounded like a mini-orchestra. They conveyed a galloping energy in the work’s outer movements. The pianists gave an uninhibited, richly sonorous reading of Rachmaninoff’s enjoyably florid neo-Romantic early Suite. The performance was capped off by their joyously pealing bell effects in the “Russian Easter” finale. … Sunday’s piano-duo recital was really buzzing.

…Pianist Vanhauwaert’s nimble fingers and light touch, with the added grit and energy from Tsan’s cello were the perfect foil for Stanislav’s piquant violin… Pantoum Trio achieved beautiful balances in the Schubert, highlighting its gentleness. In the Mendelssohn, Vanhauwaert’s sparkling keyboard clarity and startling glissandos only enhanced the determined playing by Stanislav and Tsan. The after-intermission Ravel, given the French composer’s Asian or Chinese garden inspired harmonies, kept the afternoon chamber performance keenly sharp.

…Steven Vanhauwaert and Danny Holt created a sensation at Jacaranda in their four-hand version of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. … performed impressively.

The Poulenc was lovely…the Fauré was magnificent — a true and confident conversation among the instruments…

The evening concert that then followed provided a satisfying and truly memorable conclusion to the conference. In the first half, Vanhauwaert performed Ullmann’s Piano Sonata No. 7. Like many others in the audience, I had heard the sonata several times before but never in such a riveting and persuasive interpretation.