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| "The young pianist Christina Lawrie possesses remarkable musical
and pianistic qualities. Her artistic approach is fresh, positive,
secure and totally natural. Her playing is stylish and always commands
attention not least because she is equally at home in a wide range
of repertoire and her technique is well up the demands of all she
plays." John Lill OBE |
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| "Three very talented and commanding young musicians took to the
Wigmore Hall stage on 11th July…Pianist Christina Lawrie opened the
evening with a beautiful account of Handel's Chaconne in G major HWV
435….Lawrie returned to complete the evening with four Rachmaninov
pieces, displaying a musicianship that combines bountiful technical
abilities, an astute intelligence and a warmth of spirit." Musical
Opinion |
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| "Rachmaninov's Elegie and Barcarolle were sensitively handled to
broker a delicious late-Romantic soul.." Musical Opinion |
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| "Christina Lawrie was cheered for her performance, prepared in six
weeks and given from memory, of the 36-minute Tippett 4th Sonata in
last January's Park Lane Group New Year Series". Park Lane Group |
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| "In a few weeks and by special request she had learnt the complete
programme already scheduled for an indisposed PLG Young Artist. That
included Tippett's rhapsodic and elusive 4th sonata, played from memory
with complete assurance and remarkable aplomb; an astonishing feat
of professionalism." Musical Pointers |
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| "Which leaves Scottish pianist Christina Lawrie, a wholly natural
musician who introduced herself with nothing less than Michael Tippett's
35-minute Sonata No.4. Lawrie played in last year's PLG Young Artists
Concerts, and here she replaced Warren Mailley-Smith and generously
agreed to play his programme, which meant learning the Tippett in
just a few weeks. And learn it she did. Playing this titanic work
from memory, she was totally on top of the Sonata's technical demands;
and her trust in Tippett's music, as written, was heartening"
Classical Source |
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| "..wonderfully rounded, confident sound...immaculate sense
of style…she brought out the wonderful poignancy of the music
with a delicate touch and a remarkable understanding of style."
Musical Opinion |
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| "Christina Lawrie is a young pianist of formidable intellect
and boundless technique...Fantastic playing" The Observer |
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| "An expressive pianist...Brian Elias's imposing, Beethoven-inspired
Variations, delicate and torrential, gave Lawrie real scope for her
talent." The Times |
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| "She is clearly a very gifted young player, and I look forward
to hearing her again very soon" Musical Opinion |
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| "A memorable recital from a pianist of real talent." Seen
and Heard |
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| "A superb performance of one of Mozart's best-loved concertos,
the A major K488...we heard Mozart's true voice, rippling and flowing
as naturally and as brightly as an Austrian mountain brook."
Dundee Courier |
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| "Chopin's piano music touches everyone, but there are few pianists
who capture that quintessential something which is Chopin. Christina
may be one such performer. That we will hear more of Christina Mairi
Lawrie is not in doubt." Argyllshire Advertiser |
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| "The 2005-6 concert season began in the best possible manner
with an outstanding recital by pianist Christina Lawrie…Wonderful
playing" Moffat News |
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| "Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 21 is a crowd-puller, its dreamy
second movement immortalised in the film Elvira Madigan, but with
soloist Christina Lawrie, its charm increases." Dundee Courier |
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| "Dundee-born Christina Lawrie gave a bravura performance of Grieg's piano concerto, bringing together power and depth of tone with amazing facility in the faster passages. Christina is undoubtedly a musician of who we shall hear much more." Dundee Courier 25th May 2009 |
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"Chopin's 4th Ballade and Liszt's Mephisto Waltz no. 1 are works of great intensity that demand the highest expertise. This Christina has in abundance, as well as the necessary flair and flamboyance. Those unfamiliar with this young virtuoso would have been suitably stunned, such was the scale of excellence achieved in performance."Garry Fraser, Dundee Courier 11/9/09
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To say pianist Christina Lawrie has come on leaps and bounds since her City of Discovery concert appearance nigh on 4 years ago is something of an understatement. Her technique has a solid maturity about it, as has her interpretation, and she has developed a bold streak with choices of programme that stretch her to the very limits. Yesterday's concert in Perth Concert Hall was a perfect illustration of a performer relaxed in every aspect of her game, eager to take on the most demanding works and deliver them with sparkling appeal. Chopin, Carl Vine and Schubert was a formidable combination, polished off with flair, vitality and an abundance of skill.
But amongst the flamboyant bravado there lies a delicate softer side, which was shown in the opening of the Chopin F minor Ballade. Chopin runs through the whole spectrum of emotions in this work and it needs a person with Christina's ability to squeeze out overy drop. This she did to perfection, leading to 15 minutes or so of marvellous playing.
The 5 Bagatelles by Carl Vine that followed needed a different discipline, the ability to switch from the fast, dancing rhythmic second piece and the soft third. But if these two works had you on the edge of your seat, the final Schubert "Wanderer" Sonata was completely transfixing. It is a non-stop, conveyor belt of daunting chords, scintillating semiquaver sweeps mixed with some serene sections that give everyone, audience included, a chance to catch your breath. The final octave fugue section was gloriously grandiose, and the final crashing bars ended the concert in fiery mode. Thta might have been the case hadn't Christina decided a calming influence was called for. What she did was serenity itself, Chopin's C sharp minor Nocturne, which definitely saw the soloist's softer side, but also accented her great strength in depth and her prodigious versatility. Gary Fraser, Dundee Courier |
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