| Date and venue | Title | Submitted by |
|---|---|---|
| 18-May-2013 Southbank Centre: Queen Elizabeth Hall | Bach, Schumann and Schubert with Borletti-Buitoni Trust artists at Southbank Centre | Jack Smith, www.jdsmusic.co.uk |
 A series of three concerts over the course of one weekend, designed to reflect upon and champion the work of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust, which has supported a significant number of worthy performers in its first ten years, was always going to present an interesting range of repertoire – if not something of a conundrum for those planning the programming of the concerts. Originally, Saturday’s concert was to have drawn together rather neatly the ensemble works of Mozart and Schubert, contrasted with interlinking sets of songs by Brahms and Mahler.Read full review... | ||
| 4-May-2013 Birmingham Symphony Hall | Birdsong in Birmingham: Mitsuko Uchida with Andris Nelsons and the CBSO | Katherine Dixson, katherinedixson.co.uk |
 It wasn’t only Mitsuko Uchida’s hands that were agile. Her arrival on stage was accompanied by the deepest bow imaginable, bending from the waist until she resembled a tuning fork. Such Japanese formality was paired with a warm, glowing smile and a real connection with players and audience alike.
Read full review... | ||
| 6-Mar-2013 Southbank Centre: Royal Festival Hall | Magical Mitsuko: Bach, Schoenberg and Schumann at the Royal Festival Hall | Frances Wilson |
 As part of this year’s International Piano Series at the Southbank Centre, Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida gave a highly absorbing and exquisitely presented performance of works by Bach, Schoenberg and Schumann.Read full review... | ||
| 1-Mar-2012 Southbank Centre: Royal Festival Hall | Uchida and Salonen play Brahms, Schoenberg and Beethoven | Tom Hancox |
 How do you solve a problem like Schoenberg? Sweetening the musical pill is a good start, and whilst neither the billed Brahms nor Beethoven received saccharine readings, the contrast between the angularity of the programmed modernism and the sheer beauty of these canonical works was all the more acute through their juxtaposition.
Read full review... | ||
| 13-Dec-2011 Barbican Centre: Hall | A triumphant conclusion to Uchida's Beethoven cycle | Tom Hancox |
 If he could, would Beethoven have chosen Mitsuko Uchida to première his final piano concerto? They certainly seem to inhabit the same creative plane, at once revelling in the innovative – nay, revolutionary – features, whilst enjoying the grand connections with their historical precedents too. This was the first concerto that Beethoven himself could not perform, his deafness having become all too severe by 1811; and to this end, there is perhaps more 'Beethoven' in this concerto than in any of his previous – a strong compositional stamp in place of his own playing.
Read full review... | ||
| 4-Dec-2011 Barbican Centre: Hall | Mitsuko Uchida in perfect harmony with the London Symphony Orchestra | Alan Yu, alanayu.wordpress.com |
 With his Piano Concerto No. 4 in G, the centerpiece in the concert with the London Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, Beethoven took the classical concerto format he had inherited into uncharted waters. The work opens with a series of piano chords, which the orchestra takes up, develops and kneads into riveting thematic material before the soloist returns. In addition to this role reversal between soloist and orchestra, the work also explores new dimensions in their relationship.
Read full review... | ||
| 4-Oct-2011 Barbican Centre: Hall | A colourful Q & A and an effortless sale | Tom Hancox |
| Mitsuko Uchida's dress presented a challenge for the colour-blind eye, but she left no unanswered chromatic questions for the ear. From a dramatically exposed initial entry, through the poignant lyricism of the second movement, to the brilliance of the finale, Uchida's playing was marked by an intensity of thought, mastery of colour, and musical commitment. It is, in particular, her quiet playing that enraptures, daring the listener ever closer, as she edges nearer to silence. Read full review... | ||
| 2-Jun-2011 Barbican Centre: Hall | Perfect pairs | Helen Fraser |
 Among the LSO’s many attributes is their bold and rich sound, those enormous waves of music that pin you to your seat at the very back of the Barbican Centre. However, last night’s performance of Haydn’s 99th Symphony benefitted from a very different sound: the reduced orchestra which appeared on stage would have been far more familiar to Haydn the court music director than the awesome power of today’s symphony orchestras.Read full review... | ||
