"Ewa Poblocka showed uncommon fidelity to the
music throughout the whole programme I would not hesitate to rank her
among the greatest pianists of her own country and others too".
"She may easily become the descendant of
Rubinstein and the tradition of the Polish national saint, Chopin her
silver sound reminds us of Wilhelm Kempff."
"Her evening recital proved that she is one of
the greatest talents of her generation. In addition to her dazzling
technique she possesses a mighty creative power Her interpretation has
a fascinating profundity. One could fall in love with her rendition of
Brahms."
"It is a very rare occasion indeed when we are
treated to such a superb rendition of Bach work by a Polish pianist.
The text rendered so clearly and expressively; the polyphonic sounds
running so flawlessly, the tempos and the emotions so moderate."
"Ewa Poblocka's interpretation of Chopin's Second Piano Concerto was
profoundly beautiful."
"...Her fingers obeying every command, articulated each detail
with great precision, evoking most beautiful colours from the piano..."
"...This was perfect Mozart playing, notable for a range of dynamics
springing from the utmost delicacy of touch..."
"She is a fine pianist with a light touch and sound technique..."
"Chopin's First Piano Concerto was beautifully played by the young
Polish pianist Ewa Poblocka. She has great technical facility and is a
first-class Chopin player."
"Her pianism is a miraculous combination of juvenile naivety and
severe sombreness."
"... Before the interval, the excellent Ewa
Poblocka was soloist in Ravel's Piano Concerto, and if this wonderful
yet exclusive piece made an uneven impression, it resulted from the
combined effects of bland woodwind playing and insensitive coughing
among the audience..."
Terry Barfoot,
Portsmouth Evening News,
..."Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, with Ewa
Poblocka as a magnificently lucid soloist, had an entirely idiomatic
feel, with every joke relished..."
"...She's magnificent, a great interpretation
of my piece... She's given it a life of its own. I'm very pleased that
we'll be playing it abroad together."
Witold Lutoslawski
Polish TV, Channel 2: "Portrait" 1992
" In the Piano Concerto in G major Ewa Poblocka
has shown herself to be a sensitive pianist with a good feel for style
and - what is not insignificant in this particular work - a dazzling
technique. Her account of Ravel was resplendent with nuances of
articulation and colour, while the clarity of her expression gave the
work a shape guaranteeing the audience complete aesthetic
satisfaction."
[...] "On May 30 Wojciech Rajski capped off the
Gdansk celebrations with a gala performance in the Baltic Opera and
Philharmonic. The soloist was Gdansk-born Ewa Poblocka, a veteran of
concert halls around the world. Her rendition of Mozart's Piano
Concerto in C major K467, testified to musicality, culture and a rare
purity of musical narration. The tone and atmosphere of the second
movement made an enduring impression."
"...The solo part in the A major Concerto
[K488] was played by Ewa Poblocka, a pianist I find best suited to
performing Mozart, as I feel that she intuits Mozart's sound and
expression with a rare sensivity; the famous Siciliana was enchantingly
beautiful in her account." [...]
"If I have left my relation of Ewa Poblocka's
performance for the end, it is because it was the crowning glory of the
evening. Dvorak's four-movement Quintet allowed the pianist to
demonstrate her magnificent skills as an instrumentalist and her
incredible musicality. On the one hand Poblocka never lets us forget
that she is a soloist of the highest order, on the other she remains an
empathic team player assuming her share of the responsibility, simply
put - a great chamber musician. The expansive sonata allegro beginning
and ending the piece was performed with great precision, in tempos far
from safe. Half song, half dance the Dumka and the Scherzo-furiant with
their limpid melodies gave the listener ample opportunity to delight in
the diverse colour combinations emerging from the piano and the
strings."
"...After a year's absence Ewa Poblocka played
the Barbican Center Hall on February 9th, this time with the Polish
Chamber Orchestra. Her performance of Mozart's Concerto in A major,
K414, had a restrained elegance and a lovely, well-rounded tone"...
"Polish Female pianist Poblocka - awarded 5th
prize with Berchot in Chopin Competition in 1980 played Haydn (Sonata
in E flat major (Hob. 16/49), Schumann/Arabesque/Sonata No. 2,
Chopin/two Nocturnes, and /Sonata No.3. She is a pianist that has both
the female delicacy and the male powerful pianism. At first Haydn, had
full of spontaneousness. Tone had sense as carefully selected, at the
same time as always improvised, therefore it is so musical. Arabesque
of Schumann was played with delicate colour of tone and of expression.
It's just "Schumann". A moment later she continued to play Sonata, it
also wonderful. One by one flowed musical sense. It was very flesh,
especially second movement was like the best "Lied Sänger". Chopin's
Nocturne was also singing world of "cantilena". About Sonata, first
movement was felt a little being disturbed, but except it nothing to
complain. Particularly I was overwhelmed by combustion of energy that
no longer female.
Polish pianist Ewa Poblocka graduated Music Academy in Gdansk
and in Hamburg. She has been awarded 1st prize of Viotti International
Competition Program of this night were Haydn/Sonata in E-flat major
(Hob. 16/49), Schumann/Arabesque in C major Op.18, /Sonata No.2 in G
minor Op.22, Chopin/Nocturnes in F minor Op.55-1 and in E flat major
Op.55-2 (They were not the same as programme writing), and /Sonata No.3
in B flat minor Op.58. Each performance had deep inside, I was
satisfied. At first about Haydn, appreciated her brightness with full
of animation and open-hearted way. Poblocka in Arabesque carried
smoothly this a little rambling music by means of good controlled
tempo. In Sonata she gave lucid expression t this piece through
grasping acceleration and construction of this music. About Chopin in
two nocturnes I could listen very lyrical romantic song. Her beautiful
tone which was also drawn attention in Schumann was more conspicuous
and showed colourful change. Last sonata was sometimes felt blurry
articulation, but as whole impression, lucid expression was
distinguished. Besides undulation of that expression was always
natural, she didn't lost sight of whole construction. That solid
construction supported her expression.
Musica Nova music magazine
in Japan
"There was excitement too at the Wigmore Hall
when young Polish pianist Ewa Poblocka gave her London debut recital.
Leaving Chopin for two encores, Poblocka offered a tough but thrilling
programme of Bach, Berg and Panufnik, whose Pentasonata she showed to
be a highly rewarding work. Her piano playing has strength as well as
beauty and I hope that she will return to London from Warsaw soon, and
often."
David Fingleton for Daily
Express
The recital by the Polish pianist Ewa Poblocka,
given at the Wigmore Hall on 26 May, revealed an artist of perception
and technical mastery. What a treat it was to hear so many varieties of
soft tone and to find a pianist who could integrate dynamic control
with her interpretation as a whole. This gift was at once evident in a
noble account of Bach's Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue and the Partita in
E minor. Both works flowed with seeming effortlessness towards their
culmination, the several movements of the Partita being rightly
presented as essential constituents of an organic whole. To programme
Berg's Sonata just after the Bach showed true perception, for no
composer meant more to Berg than the Cantor of Leipzig. This fathomless
Sonata was played with sustained clarity and emotional conviction.
Panufnik's Penta Sonata, a longish work in five linked sections, proved
highly stimulating, and was played with authority. Panufnik's basic
idiom is not abstruse, but the quality of his thinking makes for music
of interesting individuality. Schumann's Arabesque and Sonata in G
minor brought a fine recital to a close - the first-named being played
with keen sensibility and the Sonata offering a cogent alternation of
poetry and passion.
GC Autumn
1995 Musical Opinion
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