In
Quotes
"Richard
Danielpour is one of the busiest and most popular composers
on the classical scene today. His Piano Concerto No. 3 ("Zodiac
Variations"), helps explain why. It's a big, romantic,
deftly constructed score."
THE
SUN (Baltimore)
"He
is an unabashed eclectic, infusing his magnificent central slow
movement ["Metamorphosis"] with a moony late-romanticism,
while goosing the agitated outer movements with a verve that
almost outswaggers Leonard Bernstein. With his big, wide-open
embrace, he seems entirely himself"
THE
NEW YORK OBSERVER
"There
can be no denying Danielpour's gifts, which are considerable.
He writes well for the piano - had one not been looking at the
stage, it would have been difficult to tell that the brilliant
Graffman was only using one hand."
WASHINGTON
POST
"
["Metamorphosis" for Piano and Orchestra] is a highly
dramatic work whose busy, toccata-like percussiveness and direct
emotional impact suggest Prokofiev without sounding at all like
his music. At several points the work seems to catch fire."
STEREO
REVIEW
"It's
lyrical tranquillity shadowed by violent shifts of mood shows
the composer's voice at its most compelling."
CHICAGO
TRIBUNE
"The
ethereal, expansive second part [of Symphony No. 3, "Awakened
Heart"] borders on the sublime, with a setting of passages
from the New Age book "A Course in Miracles" for chorus
and soprano decorated by polytonal comments from winds and brass."
STEREO
REVIEW
"Richard
Danielpour's "First Light" is brilliantly orchestrated"
THE
NEW YORK TIMES
"The
discovery of Danielpour has been enjoyable. There is a literary
base to almost all of Danielpour's works on the Delos symphonic
release and companion Koch recording of the composer's chamber
music. Perhaps the highlight of the symphonic disc is Symphony
No. 3. Mysticism may not appeal to all, but the elegant performance
by the [Seattle Symphony] orchestra, its Chorale, and satin-voiced
soprano Faith Esham, is a treasure."
NEWHOUSE
NEWS SERVICE
"Perhaps
not since Aram Khachaturian has such exotically colored music
come along [Cello Concerto]. It all comes to a great rackety
end, and had the audience on its feet cheering."
AMERICAN
RECORD GUIDE
"The
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center has commissioned many
works from American composers, but it's safe to say none has
been more distinguished than Richard Danielpour's "Sonnets
to Orpheus". Danielpour is an outstanding composer for
any time - one who knows how to communicate deep, important
emotions through simple, direct means that nevertheless do not
compromise with complicated, contemporary thought. Danielpour
has offered a major addition to the vocal-instrumental repertory."
THE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
"Danielpour,
long considered one of this country's best composers, has produced
the finest new concerto this listener has heard in years [Cello
Concerto for Yo Yo Ma]. It was not diminished by a program that
included what are perhaps the two greatest concertos in the
cellist's repertory, the Dvorak and the Elgar. This piece is
profoundly moving; it seizes the listener by the throat and
does not let up. "
THE
SUN (Baltimore)
"Danielpour's
vibrant "Metamorphosis" draws freely on the impatient
jazz rhythms of early Bernstein, the lyricism of Copland's prairie
style and even a touch of Shostakovich's bitter edge while somehow
maintaining an original impulse throughout. It's a drama with
an almost narrative thrust drawing its power from a tense commingling
of the polished and the brash, the kinetic and the introspective."
THE
NEW YORK TIMES
"The
[cello] concerto is eclectic and profoundly romantic in its
mood swings. It is a work of a brilliant composer, who is unafraid
to let his emotions show and who posses the skill to bring off
grand orchestral effects".
MERCURY
NEWS (San Jose, CA)
"His
cello concerto for Yo Yo Ma should speak eloquently to a music-loving
generation that has grown suspicious of academic formulas, a
generation that expects spiritual engagement as well as craft
from its musical fare."
SAN
FRANCISCO EXAMINER
