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Substituting on short notice for
pianist Murray Perahia, Anton Kuerti scored a
huge success at his solo recital last week in the packed
2,000-seat Great Hall of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The
concert was part of a series of "Master Pianists", which
presents only the most illustrious names in the piano world.
Kuerti gave an all-Beethoven program, featuring two of his most
famous sonatas, Les Adieux and the Appassionata,
as well as the rarely-performed Diabelli Variations.
0Reviews heaped superlatives on him:
Trouw wrote: ‘The miracle occurred when Anton Kuerti
began his superior interpretation of the ‘Diabelli Variations’.
... this work is considered an unconquerable fortress by many a
pianist. Not by Kuerti, whose performance was flawless,
dazzling, lively and analytical, with an unparalleled ability to
link the 33 variations with each other..... After this debut
[he] will hopefully be world-renowned here as well."
The NRC Handelsblad wrote "Kuerti was able to create
moments in which it even appeared as though the music were born
anew right then and there."
According to de Volkskrant, "Kuerti played [the
Diabelli Variations] so flawlessly that you could have made
it into a CD. And, much more importantly, it was more poetically
refined than you will ever hear anywhere else."
The Noord-Hollands Dagblad raved, "His passion left a
lasting impression and his tone production brought out many
colours and nuances. It seemed as though we were hearing a new
score…The great imagination Kuerti brought to the works elevated
the performance to an absolutely top level. What perfection!"
One of Europe’s top agencies, The Riaskoff management, has
offered to represent Kuerti in several countries, and has
already booked him for orchestral performances in March 2009.
The Amsterdam event was the second time this year that Kuerti
has scored a triumph replacing world-famous artists. On March
11, while in Boston to hear his son Julian conduct the Boston
Symphony Orchestra, Kuerti was called to replace the ailing
featured soloist, Leon Fleisher, in Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto
– two hours before the concert! As in Amsterdam, the response
from both audience and critics was unanimously enthusiastic.
According to the Boston Globe, "Kuerti is one of the finest
Beethoven interpreters around …something of a national treasure
in Canada."
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