Reviews
"I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these obscure corners of Beethoven’s output. The pianism is superb and the recording is nice and clear. … Mr. Petersson clearly relishes the delight and glee in much of this music, and he presents it very well. He plays with no sense of embarrassment at the over-the-top sheer craziness of some of the music, and his honest approach works very well. I look forward to hearing more Beethoven from this pianist, maybe some of the sonatas, and to spinning this disc often and laughing again at the explosions!"
Jonathan Welsh -MusicWeb International -
"A staggering performance by Carl Petersson"
-Martin Anderson -Klassisk Musikkmagasin Norway-
"The second half of the concert evening was astounding. Hearing Carl Petersson play the concerto along with the orchestra’s letterperfect contribution was amazing. I couldn’t help think how incredible it was to be in the house for such a stupendous performance. That it happened in Orillia is equally amazing. This type of thing doesn’t happen often, maybe not since Glenn Gould stole into the Opera House to play for no one. You should have been there."
-The Orillia Packet and Times-
"After intermission, Carl Petersson took his seat at the magnificent Shigeru piano. The opening roll of the timpani proved a fitting introduction to what was immediately apparent as his masterful touch. His playing was clean, subtle and precise, giving full voice to the piano’s expressive range. The cadenza in the first movement was so stunning that the audience could not contain their enthusiasm, applauding in the excitement of the moment. A standing ovation at the end of the final movement brought Petersson back to the piano for a solo encore and the evening finished with a lovely rendition of Beethoven’s Fur Elise."
-The Barrie Examiner-
"When he [Carl Petersson] finished, he received the standing ovation he deserved. If you missed it, you missed a diamond. The performance was bravissimo."
-The Nevada Appeal-
"Friedrich von Flotow (1812-1883), composer of Martha and protector of Offenbach. Here are two piano concertos that concise a whimsical virtuosity worthy of Weber. The Concerto No. 2 in four movements with it's Allegro Marziale emphasized snare rolls deserves to get out of oblivion. Brilliant performance thanks to the young Swedish pianist Carl Petersson. Five Stars."
-Diapason-
"Youngish pianist Carl Petersson, approaching 30 when he made this recording in 2010, certainly has the facility that the idiom demands, offering performances of tremendous verve and transparency. He’s got the textural control to allow the busiest music to emerge cleanly (say, “In the Streets of Old Batavia,” where the bazaars offer a “kaleidoscopic, multifarious conglomeration of humans [that] bewilders even the most seasoned globe-trotter”); he has enviable control of repeated notes (most evident in “Chattering Monkeys at the Sacred Lake of Wendit”); and he’s got the stamina and power to splash out the most dramatic climaxes (listen to the very end of the cycle). An impressive performance. [...] This new disc offers a significant alternative to the Budiardjo. [...] The scorching account of Horowitz’s elaboration of Liszt’s elaboration of Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre (itself an elaboration of an earlier song) makes a splendid encore, and the performances are captured in good, if not state-of-the-art, sound. [...] Recommended."
Peter Rabinowitz -Fanfare Magazine-
"Saturday evening, August 11 in the hall of the Conference Centre [Wawel Royal Castle] the young pianist Carl Petersson performed Ludwig van Beethoven's sonata in C sharp minor, Quasi una fantasia - "Moonlight". Undoubtedly, it was sensational performance of this beautiful piece. A wonderful evening for anyone that is a fan of piano music. Later Carl accompagneted soprano Sophia Kilanowicz who sang songs by Frederick Chopin and Mieczyslaw Karlowicz. As encores they performed "Sroczka" by Grazyna Bacewicz and "the Maidens Wish" by F. Chopin."
-Twoja Muza-
"Classical suite of the month [Java Suite]. Petersson paints up chattering monkeys, ruins in the moonlight, volcanoes, gardens and streetswith brio and elegance for more than 45 fascinating minutes. Extraordinary piano music."
-HiFi & Music-
"Carl Petersson is good [in the Java Suite]. His playing is captivating, and he is good in introspective music. He should give the Debussy Preludes a go. In his playing of the Danse Macabre he certainly executes the showman element of the piece effectively."
-American Record Guide-
"Lovely music! By all means, Flotow's second concerto is a discovery. And it is much due to Petersson's spirited interpretation."
-Klassik Magazin-
"Congratulations to Mr Petersson, whose ability to render these fiendishly difficult tone pictures [Godowsky's Java Suite] with charm and grace I greatly admire."
Claus Christian Schuster - Altenberg Trio-
"Carl Petersson plays these little known concerti to perfection with great sensitivity, and a precision ideally suited to Flotow's transparent scores. Hopefully, we will be hearing more from this talented young performer."
-Classical Lost and Found-
"Nothing could have prepared Flotow's teachers for this work. It may well be the first piano concerto written in four-movement symphonic form, and its opening Andantino, with the piano immediately picking up and expanding a short minor-key orchestral cell, seems to point forward to Brahms, who wasn't even born yet. [...] Pianist Carl Petersson and the Pilsen Philharmonic play with a fine sense of the young composer's ebullience in a nice feat of rediscovery."
-AllRovi-
"Carl Petersson is a name to remember. I have heard many pianists, but never any one like this when it comes to play brilliantly, elegantly and yet with so much musicality. When he performed Alkan's Scherzo diabolico I thought that only Carl Petersson can play like this."
-Hudiksvalls Tidning-
"Intriguing and pleasant. Carl Petersson performs the concertos in a spirited and rythmically bouyant way."
-The Gramophone-
Throughout this recital Carl Petersson proves himself an ideal guide to this music. Always attentive to matters of detail, he too has internalized this music to such an extent that he can let go and just play the music when needed. He has a fine color palette, an acute sense of articulation, and a commanding technique. For those interested in exploring the twentieth and now twenty-first centuries in regards the Danish piano, now there’s no excuse to not. Excellent pianism.
Scott Noriega -Fanfare Magazine-
"Peterson impresses with an amazing ease of executing these demanding pieces [Godowsky's Java Suite]. It is a phenomenal display of virtuoso piano playing."
-Göteborgsposten-
"Carl Peterson goes on in his career as a concert pianist and is now engaged in the Polish American pianist and composer Leopold Godowsky. I have not seen the score to his Java Suite, but can imagine that the staff lines are really packed. Anyway, Carl Petersson delivers in a convincing and fascinating way."
-Helsingborgs Dagblad-
"Petersson emphasizes Godowsky. A different kind of disc that honors both the executor and the record company."
-Hallandsposten-
Carl Petersson has been praised…for his Godowsky (by me, 35:2), for his Grieg (by James Forrest, 39:3), and for a collection of contemporary Danish works (by Scott Noriega, 40:1), and the virtues we all found in his earlier discs are evident here. These are scrupulous readings, notable for their clear textures, their exquisite touch (listen to the closing of op. 100/13 or the leggierissimo in op. 109/2), their acute articulation (listen to the way he shapes op. 100/21 with his neatly judged accents), and their unfailing technique.
Peter J. Rabinowitz - Fanfare -
"The Piano Virtuoso Carl Petersson mixes the known with the unknown and then adds brilliant acrobatics to wake the audiences curiosity and awe."
-Blekinge Läns Tidning-
"Somehow Carl Petersson got the huge Steinway to sound like a cembalo while performing some of Scarlatti's sonatas. Albeniz's Iberia was undoubtedly performed in a Spanish way and in Horowitz "Danse Macabre" his fingers flew over the keys in a powerful and twisted fresque on the power of Death. Overwhelming and impressive."
-Helsingborgs Dagblad-
[Flotow Piano Concertos] "There you have it. Premiere recordings of music by a romantic era composer. Will appeal to anyone who know they will enjoy music in the thrall of Schumann, the showier sentimental Chopin and the lyrical Beethoven. It’s all done with style, documented deeply, and performed and recorded with commitment and skill."
-MusicWeb International-
Unusual Beethoven repertoire, vigorously interpreted by Carl Petersson. The various moods are convincingly captured—from extrovert brilliance to intimate melodies.
Jörgen Lundmark - Opus Magazine -
"To my mind, not only is his playing endowed with unordinary virtuosity, standing out even in this times of pianists instrumental proficiency, but - more importantly - it is graced by elegance, taste, sense of style, and unforced Romantic grandeur. Given these qualities, it is but natural that Mr. Petersson is especially - indeed, spectacularly - convincing in the works by composer-pianists of the late 19th - early 20th centuries."
Emanuel Krasovsky
"Carl Petersson presented Camille Saint-Saëns 5th piano concerto in a truly fabulous and ekvilibristic way. His steel hard fingers with their pliable touch, lightning speed and awareness of lyrical frases is difficult to exceed."
-Helsingborgs Dagblad-
"It is more than commendable that we get this CD. It is actually Norwegian music history! It is actually Norwegian music history! This simple - and straightforward - it can be said."
Kjell Moe - KulturSpeilet -
