What the Critics Say - 1995-97 Seasons

"The Canadian-born Parker practically jogged on stage before attacking Barber's athletic writing for the keyboard with infectious enthusiasm and dazzling dexterity. The chiseled octaves and powerful chords in the opening cadenza were a harbinger of things to come, though Parker has a gift for nuance, too; the yearning sighs of the second movement were delivered patiently, affectionately."

- The Detroit Free Press 11/1/97

(Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Leslie Dunner, Barber Piano Concerto)

"Parker...played with dash and command."

- The New York Times 10/16/97

(Philadelphia Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Schubert, Liszt arr. "Wanderer" Fantasy)

"...a sensational account of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.2 in c minor."

- The Ottawa Citizen 10/2/97

(National Arts Centre Orchestra, Franz-Paul Decker)

"As a vehicle to showcase Parker's special abilities, one could hardly imagine a more perfect work - modern, unmistakably urban, and inflected with the rhythms of American popular music."

- The Calgary Herald 9/12/97

(Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Hans Graf, Barber Piano Concerto)

"Parker took the lead in the Brahms and kept the sense of taut drama alive throughout all four movements, playing every phrase as if lives depended on the outcome...It was the finale of the Brahms, the "Rondo alla Zingarese" , that provided the evening's most striking displays of virtuosity, as Parker rained down sweeping cadenzas and glittering arpeggios."

- The Seattle Times 7/29/97

(Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Brahms g minor Piano Quartet)

"Parker is, physically, a very strong player, but he uses his strength aptly and wisely. More fascinating is the way in which he can suggest a seething volatility lying just beneath the surface without, in some cases, rising above a pianissimo."

- The Columbus Dispatch 5/3/97

(Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Jerzy Semkow, Beethoven Piano Concerto No.3 in c minor)

"Parker...gave an extroverted performance that matched the energy with which he bounded onstage. His flashy technique and easy-going expressiveness were perfect for Mendelssohn's essentially swashbuckling piece."

- The Houston Chronicle 4/7/97

(Houston Symphony, Stephen Stein, Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No.1)

"Parker's rendition of the Rachmaninoff was the finest I've heard in some time...the whole house leapt to its feet at the end of Parker's performance."

- The Arizona Daily Star 1/22/97

(Warsaw Philharmonic, Kazimierz Kord, Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini)

"Every note underscored a purpose with grace and potency. His micro- shadings elicited magic from the piano to fill every niche in Abravanel Hall... This reading has to figure among one of the most beautiful heard. Parker's cantabile virtuosity --even at his softest levels-- projected over the equally heavenly orchestral fabric."

- The Salt Lake Tribune 1/17/97

(Warsaw Philharmonic, Kazimierz Kord, Mozart Piano Concerto No.21 "Elvira Madigan")

"Jon Kimura Parker gave as fine a reading of the Grieg Concerto as I have heard since Radu Lupu played it here in the 70's. He is something of a larger than life figure, storming with noble breadth one minute and teasing out intimate emotional colours the next."

- Sydney Morning Herald 8/96

(Sydney Symphony, Simone Young, Sydney Opera House, Grieg Piano Concerto)

"Jon Kimura Parker, arguably the single most interesting and individual Canadian classical musician on the world stage."

- The Calgary Herald 6/96

(Calgary Philharmonic, Victor Feldbrill, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1)

"He strode across the stage of Roy Thomson Hall wearing a black vest but no jacket and no tie...and more power to him. Blessed with a prodigious technique, (he) steered an extremely well-defined, clearly punctuated course through the music's difficulties."

- The Toronto Star 5/96

(Toronto Symphony, Sergiu Commisiona, Prokofiev Piano Concerto #3)

"Jon Kimura Parker's recital...was a concert of such freshness and vitality that it smacked of revelation: Why can't they all be like this?"

- The Detroit Free Press 4/96

(Orchestra Hall recital, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Berg, Corea, Adams, Louie, Buczynski, Barber)

"Parker...played with steely-fingered precision and dynamic virtuosity."

- The New York Times 3/96

(Avery Fisher Hall, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Trevor Pinnock, Schumann Piano Concerto)

"Here is a pianist with the deftest of touches. Parker revealed a depth of poetry that defies pianists content only with velocity...Oustanding playing."

- The Washington Post 3/96

(National Arts Centre Orchestra, Trevor Pinnock, Schumann Piano Concerto)

"Jon Kimura Parker used the piano stool as a biking seat, racing forward and, at times, standing up to transform the piano into his "handlebars" as he headed into the sunset."

- South China Morning Post 2/96

(Hong Kong Philharmonic, David Atherton, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1)

"Parker's astonishing keyboard technique was always in the service of the music, never self-indulgent or obtrusive. Ever unpretentious, Parker encored with "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel."

-The Honolulu Advertisor 1/96

(Honolulu Symphony, Sam Wong, Beethoven Piano Concerto #1)

"Parker was in complete command from the forceful solo that opens the first movement to the pounding, syncopated ostinato of the allegro finale."

- The Denver Post 10/95

(Colorado Symphony, Marin Alsop, Barber Piano Concerto)

What the Critics Say - 1993-1995 Seasons

"Kimura Parker played a blinder of a performance, the kind that gets a piece return dates. And having wound up on the finale's pile-driving ostinato, he invited us to chill out with a quick burst of Chick Corea."

- The Independent (London) 6/95

(Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton, Barber Piano Concerto)

"...the Canadian's playing suggested the lyrically romantic way in which pianists such as Arthur Rubinstein used to approach this piece."

- The Baltimore Sun 1/95

(Baltimore Symphony, Jerzy Semkow, Mozart Piano Concerto in d minor, K.466)

"Parker plays with real authority and technical wizardry, but he can perform with heart-wrenching feeling too...the Canadian dashed off Art Tatum's whirling "Runnin' Wild." If there's a jazz pianist who can play with equal panache, he's hiding under a bushel."

- The Detroit News 1/95

(Detroit Symphony, Eiji Oue, Mozart Piano Concerto in d minor, K.466)

"Jon Kimura Parker played the solo parts with fearlessness and an almost eerie command"

- The New York Times 10/94

(Carnegie Hall, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Norrington, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1)

"His version of Mozart's Sonata in D (K.311) was the picture of classic gracefulness, with carefully regulated dynamics, fully transparent balances and courtly, almost conversational phrasing. He also gave a decisive performance of the Chopin Sonata No. 3...(he) ended with a sizzling, driven account of the Fugue from the Barber Sonata."

- The New York Times 10/94

(New York, The Frick Collection, recital)

"...the kind of young lion that can take on a big, bold, difficult concerto and make it a heart stopping event."

- The Houston Post 10/94

(Houston Symphony, Michael Stern, Barber Piano Concerto)

"Brahms' Piano Quintet with Jon Kimura Parker and the Tokyo String Quartet was splendid, especially the asutere, dramatic parts..."

- Strings Magazine 6/94

(New York, Tokyo String Quartet, Brahms Piano Quintet)

"Parkermania...pianist Jon Kimura Parker gave them more than they bargained for...the concerto took on new meaning and dimension under Parker's touch. Parker added an encore in response to the standing ovation - Chick Corea's jazzy "Got a Match?" - and brought the house down a second time."

- San Jose Mercury News 4/94

(San Jose Symphony, Kenneth Jean, Grieg Piano Concerto)

"Pianist Jon Kimura Parker played marvelously, with brilliance, perfect rhythmic poise, and deeply felt, intense expressiveness."

- Strings Magazine 4/94

(Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Pinchas Zukerman, Mozart Piano Concerto K.467)

"Jon Kimura Parker is intelligent, technically brilliant and extraordinarily eclectic. (Last year, the artist managed to stick some very happy jazz riffs into the cadenza of a Beethoven Piano Concerto.) But above all this, Parker transforms any music into the music of joy."

- South China Morning Post 3/94

(Hong Kong Philharmonic, David Atherton, "Jon Kimura Parker Concerto Festival", Mozart Piano Concerto K.488, Beethoven Piano Concerto #4, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #3, Gershwin Concerto in F)

"The exultant leap, the bear hug, the high-wattage grin - it was a moment of triumph...a performance so exhilarating that anyone lucky enough to be present can hardly expect to hear its equal again. "

- The Vancouver Sun 1/94

(Vancouver Symphony, Sergiu Comissiona, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #3)