St. George's
Bristol, England

Financial Times
7 December 2009
Laura Battle

[****]

Edward Said once compared piano recitals to literary essays - the subject matter is generally canonical, technical accomplishment is expected, and it is the personal reading of a work that we, as the audience, are after. This is certainly relevant to Mozart's piano sonatas. These pieces are not only well known but also deceptively straightforward, with a crystalline transparency that puts the soloist under much greater exposure than the more frequently performed Beethoven sonatas. Christian Blackshaw's decision to perform all 18 works as a cycle was, therefore, a bold one.

Widely celebrated as a young musician in the 1980s, Blackshaw disappeared from the radar for nearly 20 years but is now making a spirited and impressive comeback. In this, the fourth and final concert in the roughly chronological series at St George's, Bristol, he presented four of Mozart's late sonatas and the conclusion of what was clearly an intense emotional arc. Elegance, sensitivity and lyricism are the chief characteristics of Blackshaw's style and, while his approach might not be to everyone's taste, it was excellently suited to the programme.

From the opening bars of the Sonata in C K309, he established a sense of drama that was sustained throughout the evening. In Sonata in A K331, the composer's best known but least typical, Blackshaw emphasised the inherent vulnerability of the piece: his tempi were contemplative - especially in the central sections of the Menuetto - and, where other performers have attacked the famous "Alla turca" allegretto with gusto, Blackshaw chose to highlight its gentle playfulness, achieved without losing rhythmical thrust.

The Sonata in F K533/K494 followed in the same vein, Blackshaw carefully spelling each phrase out to us. This is no criticism; one rarely hears every note struck cleanly and with fresh wonder. Mozart's last Sonata in D K576 provided the fitting finale. Given that this piece was published posthumously, the temptation is to enhance it with romantic gesture but Blackshaw's rather English reserve sought out its quiet poignancy, and shaded the heart-wrenching details of the adagio with daring pianissimo.

In a world where pianists seem increasingly dependent on towering egos, Blackshaw's understatement and shy platform manner is wonderfully refreshing. Whether these qualities would communicate as well in a really capacious venue or through rich orchestral repertoire is up for question but here, focused by an intimate atmosphere and theatrically low lighting, they shone with a unique radiance. 

The Guardian
8 December 2009
Rian Evans

[****]

This recital, balancing Mozart's two final sonatas with earlier works, completed Christian Blackshaw's cycle of the composer's piano sonatas at St George's. Ordering the sonatas into a satisfying cycle is in itself quite tricky, not least since Mozart wrote only one minor-key sonata (C minor, K457) and, just as in his operas, the emotional colouring of the minor mode is an important element in the overall makeup of the works.

This was very much the case in the first movement of the C major sonata, K309, with which Blackshaw began his programme, where the tonic minor adds drama to the beginning of the development and, more unexpectedly but most poignantly, again in the recapitulation. It is an effect that Schubert later made his own, but Blackshaw did not exaggerate the moment in any way, content simply to let the music speak for itself. His approach to the sonata in A major, K331, was similarly understated, allowing the ever-more complex variations of the opening theme to unfold gracefully, and finally giving rein to the jangly clamour of the celebrated Alla Turca, its alternation of minor and major here taking on a greater than usual significance.

Blackshaw's evident affinity for Mozart was more readily apparent in the second half. In K533/494 in F major, his singing tone was deeper and more relaxed, and the phrasing seemed to describe wider arcs. Yet here and in the last sonata, K576, in D major, the essential clarity of Blackshaw's approach allowed the composer's forays in contrapuntal writing to emerge without undue earnestness. In its turn, K576's central adagio had a clarinet-like warmth with its achingly expressive F sharp minor episode coming straight from the heart.

Bristol Evening Post
March 2008
Helen Reid

The third of St George's excellent celebrity piano recitals was greeted with total rapture - Blackshaw seems to have a cult following in Bristol. And it's not surprising; from the opening bars of the first movement of Schumann's Fantasiestucke, Blackshaw's sheer beauty of sound and the subtlety of the colouring were spellbinding.

His programme captured the very essence of romanticism, from the emotional highs and lows of the Schumann pieces, to the delicate nuances of Liszt's Annees de Pelerinage, through to the great Schubert Sonata in A.

Blackshaw is totally at home in this high point of pianism. He really makes the instrument sing. He uses pedal colour very sparingly, he never overdoes the rubato, and the sheer musicality of his readings had the audience stamping and cheering, especially after his two generous encores.

It's rare, but here was perfection.