home > reviews > harpsichordist Conductor Organist Harpsichordist Composer   Newman as Harpsichordist The New York Times, by Peter G. Davis “On the whole, the performances were propulsive and crisply articulated but never tense or overdriven.  Mr. Newman likes to use a generous amount of ornamentation and rubato effect, almost all of which sounds convincing, or at least defensible. His use of rubato as a structural device is particularly subtle – tiny pauses at various key spots to isolate and define vertical blocks within a phrase.  This is a very tricky procedure, but Mr. Newman has managed to incorporate it naturally into what has always been a formidable keyboard technique.” _______________________________________ The Washington Post, 1990 “Simon had conducted the concert with Anthony Newman as organ and piano soloist, but for the Mozart Newman conducted while Simon gave a well-styled organ solo.  Newman is, of course, an expert conductor as well as a world-famous performer on the organ, harpsichord and fortepiano.  Last night, before accepting Simon’s baton, he had given a brilliant, soulful and musically solid interpretation of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and a delightful performance of a popular Handel organ concerto – the one nicknamed ‘The Cuckoo and the Nightingale’ because of the interlocked echoes of bird songs played by the organ. The Beethoven was performed on a modern Steinway, an instrument not usually associated with Newman but one he plays (unsurprisingly) very well.  It was particularly good to see this star performer, who has more than 80 records to his credit, humbly taking the role of an orchestral musician when he was not in the solo spotlight, reinforcing the bass line with his piano and unobtrusively enriching the orchestra’s sound.  This is no longer expected of soloists, though it would have been taken for granted in Beethoven’s time, and it added a nice touch of authenticity to the performance.” _______________________________________ American Record Guide, 1990 “Newman uses a 3-manual harpsichord (16/8/8/8/4) built in 1981 by Keith Hill and Philip Tyre.  Its photo on the cover of the booklet (as well as the recorded sound) attests the high quality of craftsmanship.  Rafael Puyana’s recording for Harmonia Mundi was also made on a 3-manual instrument – a 1740 Hieronymus Hass (16/8/8/4/2) now in Puyana’s own collection.  In addition to considerable power, these large instruments provide a great variety of color along with ease of rapid registration changes.  One outstanding moment in the Newman disc occurs in K 215 (Track 18) in which a dark (in color) registration complements the rather light and delicate texture of the sonata, subtly revealing the wonderful harmonic progressions. The sound is very fine, the notes clear and informative (though the description of K 216 as ‘very brilliant and ‘runny’ [emphasis mine] evoked a wry chuckle from the musicologist in me).” _______________________________________ Stereo Review, 1989 “Anthony Newman’s performance of these four favorite sonatas on a fortepiano, though, are very persuasive, by no means mere demonstrations of the instrument (in this case a copy of an 1804 Clementi fortepiano that’s agreeably smooth and warm sounding) but quite creditable realizations of these works.  Newman, of course, does have to concern himself with his instrument’s limitations, as well as with its possibilities for expressiveness, and he makes a strong case for it by focusing on the music itself as his main concern.  His sane, straightforward approach favors tempos that are a bit brisk, but never at all rushed, and his performances are free of gratuitous interpretive overlay.” _______________________________________ Stereo Review, 1989 “One has only to compare the intimacy of Liszt’s Ave Maria with the driving force of the Widor movements to appreciate Newman’s combination of technical ability and musicianship.  In the Reubke sonata, moreover, and especially in the Liszt Fantasia and Fugue, he demonstrates his understanding of large musical structures and keen sense of pacing appropriate registration.  His performance here is enhanced by a recording that beautifully captures the sound of the Trinity Church instrument.” _______________________________________ American Record Guide, 1988 “…this one has dazzling finger-work, bold ideas about ornamentation and rhythmic rhetoric, and an air of total conviction. Where is differs from the old one is in a new and welcome level of artistic and communicative insight.” “But in this new release technique is always at the service of the music.” “Newman’s is the superior reading,…” “...for his gorgeous voicing of the lyrical 13th Variation, the grandeur and excitement he brings to the French overture of the 16th variation and the blazing virtuosity of the 29th variation, just to name a few.” “The performances are light and graceful, played with great élan by all concerned.” “No single performance could ever tell us all that there is to say about a work such as the Goldbergs, but Newman’s is likely to remain unchallenged among harpsichord versions of this piece for the foreseeable future.” “Newman is offering a penetrating and compelling new vision of this music that should enrich and enliven discussion for years to come.” _______________________________________ American Record Guide, 1996 “Fans of Newman’s first Columbia performance of the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue will be glad to have this one.  It’s not as virtuosic as Andreas Staier’s on German Harmonia Mundi (J/F 1996) but more exciting.  My verdict:  if you have missed the aggressive optimism that Americans brought to the period-instrument craze 20 or 30 years ago, Anthony Newman is just what the doctor ordered.” _______________________________________ The New York Times, 1987 “…the Mostly Mozart Festival’s ‘Bach Harpsichord Extravaganza’ on Thursday night at Avery Fisher Hall had its charms and even its moments of real artistic conviction.” “…the most direct and intensely personal performance of the night came with the one concerto for a single solo instrument, the familiar Concerto for Harpsichord in D minor (BWV 1052).  Here Anthony Newman had free rein to display his own defiantly individual playing style, with its Gouldian Intensity and abrupt, slashing ornamentation (including an exuberant cadenza in the final movement).”