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Selected Reviews
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Concert reviews
“A formidable virtuoso and one with unmistakeable magnetism.” The Guardian
“His playing is among the most haunting and fascinating of all and the acme of
musical refinement.”
“A pianist of vision.”
“Illuminating and masterly Beethoven.”
“Tirimo is an inspiring poet of the piano.”
The Daily Telegraph
“Tirimo made a remarkable U.S. debut with the Cleveland Orchestra. A performer of personality, he gave an interpretation of Brahms' First Piano Concerto in masterly style.” The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
“Tirimo's playing belongs to a past generation of 'greats'. Listening to him,
I conjure up aural images of Solomon, Arrau, Kempff, Serkin, Schnabel and
Rubinstein.
Throughout the evening, one was consistently aware that this supreme musician placed himself
entirely at the service of the composer and the printed score. The audience response to this
communicator of the highest calibre was rapturous.”
Music and Vision
“Hereford was the scene for the most intensive schooling of every element of the compendious world of concert-pianism, where one of the world's greatest artists, Martino Tirimo, continues apace, his monumental traversal of the complete solo piano works of Chopin. This most recent odyssey opened up hitherto undreamed of depths of existential despair with a transcedental C minor Nocturne Opus 48 the like of which have never dreamed of anyone's philosophy (unequivocally the finest rendition this writer has ever heard), a series of the tortuously difficult Opus 10 Etudes worthy of Cortot or Plante, and a final A flat Polonaise Opus 53 which was redolent of the inimitable Artur Rubinstein.” Hereford Times, December 2009
Reviews of recordings
Mozart Complete Piano Sonatas (Regis)“A major and delightful project. Tirimo is expertly recorded in the
Mendelssohn Saal of the Leipzig Gewandhaus. He brings out the essence of the music,
nothing being allowed to come between the composer and us.
There are several recommendable
complete, or nearly complete, cycles of Mozart's solo piano oeuvre, among which Tirimo's
series looks bound to rank very high. There is distinction in abundance in what we are
given here, on discs which are generously full. and excellently recorded”
International Record Review (5 stars)
“This is an exciting and compelling recording and obviously leads the field.” Gramophone
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 (CFP/EMI)“A deeply thoughtful, yet glowing re-creation... Tirimo is able to treat the solo part with unusual flexibility and I had that rare, exhilarating feeling of hearing a long-familiar score as though for the first time.” Classical Music
Tippett Piano Concerto (Nimbus)“This disc is a real winner.” Independent on Sunday
Chopin Piano Concertos Nos 1 and 2 (Regis/BMG)“Tirimo ranks alongside Perahia and Zimerman... poetic feeling paramount... scintillatingly alive...” Penguin Guide
Reviews of special events
Cycle of Chopin complete works at King's Place
“This is what Chopin anniversary year ought to be all about; a thoughtfully planned
adventure zigzagging through the complete works on which the listener feels privileged
to eavesdrop, and where the chameleonic genius of the composer always comes first.
This eighth concert in the enterprising Kings Place "Chopin Unwrapped" series was the
first I've been able to catch, and I realised what I'd been missing. Martino Tirimo's
two halves offered a demanding but enthralling journey from youthful buoyancy into
the labyrinths of human thought and feeling.
Tirimo is not about flash and airy glitter, even if his impeccable sense of rubato
frees up every number and relieves any sense of sobriety in his plain-speaking
articulation. His other supreme qualities are a refusal to rush the big stuff, for
me Zimerman's big flaw the other week, and a reluctance to swamp the florid passages
with the sustaining pedal.
The quest, Tirimo seemed to be telling us, was to be continued - as it will be in
four more concerts this June which I'll try not to miss. After all, it's rare, and
surely the highest tribute to the interpreter, to come out of a Chopin recital
thinking not "what a brilliant pianist" but "what a composer".”
David Nice, The Arts Desk, March 2010
Cycle of Mozart complete solo piano works at Cadogan Hall
“Last Friday, Martino Tirimo concluded his
series of eight Cadogan Hall recitals that embraced the solo piano works of Mozart in their
entirety. Those who missed them will be gratified to know that a 12-CD set has been released.
Tirimo's playing is so without affectation: the listener's awareness rests in the music, not
in its performance. Even in the Fischer Variations K179, demanding in terms of virtuosity,
the flowering of forms out of such a bland and unpromising theme allowed us a glimpse of the
composer's own creative genius at work.
Greatest of the evening's contrasts was the Fantasie [K457]. Tirimo's subtle shifts in tempo
and dynamic gradation revealed a world unrecognisable in place or time. The startling tonal
contrasts, growling bass and languorous resignation in the D major second section before the
fateful final return - this music must be allowed to speak for itself. Tirimo's intimacy with
it, and his mastery of execution, allowed us to hear it as Mozart wrote it.”
The Independent (5 stars)
Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycles
(directing the Dresden Philharmonic from the keyboard)
“Extraordinary indeed were the first two concerts of the Series, with a remarkable star: Martino Tirimo. He has pronounced personal qualities which were manifest in his superb piano playing and also in his imaginative control which he communicated to the orchestra. This breathtaking rapport between soloist and orchestra was indeed the most wonderful experience... an offering which was very unusual and which correspondingly produced a sensation.” Dresden Union
At the Royal Festival Hall, London
“Soloist and orchestra, after several performances in Dresden and elsewhere, have established a unified attitude towards their reading. In the Third and "Emperor" Concertos on Friday night, the clarity of textures, lean sonorities and avoidance of anything that smacks of a rhetorical gesture led to authentic-sounding interpretations.” The Daily Telegraph
Schubert - The 21 Piano Sonatas
“Tirimo is quite simply an ideal Schubert interpreter... inhabiting the poetic world of each [sonata] with absolute conviction and projecting that world with touching simplicity via the technique of the most sophisticated mastery, for Schubert, the perfect confluence of interpretative qualities, yet so rarely heard.” Anthony Payne, The Daily Telegraph
Tirimo as conductor
“The powerful inspiration that an orchestra could derive from a musician of Tirimo's stature was further revealed in Schubert's B minor symphony. Under conducting of such complete insight the musicians of the Philharmonie rose to magnificent heights: I have rarely heard them play so well.” Sächsische Neueste Nachtricten
“Tirimo, the conductor and Schubert scholar, got right to the
heart of the 'Unfinished'. The two-movement symphony, under his direction, became a
thrilling experience.”
“Whenever Martino Tirimo steps onto the platform of the Dresdner
Philharmonie, the musicians prepare themselves for great achievements... a glowing testimony
to Tirimo the masterly musician and inspiring conductor.”
Dresden Union