Concert Reviews

Ken Winters, The Globe and Mail (Canada), December 2, 2005
- Toronto Symphony Orchestra / Thomas Dausgaard / Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2
'...the opening movement was a model of clarity, lovely in its lyricism, magisterial in its dimensions, exciting in its freshness. Hough's playing was at once thoughtful and vigorous, bold in its Brahmsian sweep, dazzling in its filigree. The third movement took its cue from the cello solo and exfoliated delicately, as it should. The finale took off with feathery lightness, rhythmic and lucid, then rang its magical changes, acquainting us again with the great range of Brahms's textures, and the variety and deftness of his devices in this sumptuous work.'

The Times, September 5, 2005
- Edinburgh Festival
'[In Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini] ... the spirit of Paganini hovered most above a superb pianist: Stephen Hough offered all the showmanship this piece demands, but played with a fierce intelligence. Darting in and out of the lush Bamberg strings, Hough gave us all the mercurial wit to set off a really satisfying collaboration.'

Newsday, August 22, 2005
- Mostly Mozart Festival / Mostly Mozart Orchestra / Vänskä / New York
'Was pianist Stephen Hough sporting green suede shoes at Friday's Mostly Mozart concert? This myopic reporter can't say for sure, but Italians have an apt saying for such occasions: ‘Even if it's not true, it makes a good story.’

Besides, there was more than dapper footwear jazzing up the proceedings at Avery Fisher Hall. Hough's cadenza for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 was a wondrous thing, jagged and acidic, scooting off into unexpected harmonic realms and carrying more than a whiff of Gershwin and Ravel about it. The whoops and applause that greeted it even after the Festival Orchestra resumed playing is something that one hears all too seldom at classical concerts and, like Hough's natty bucks, a refreshing breach in decorum.

Along with that imaginative cadenza, Hough brought a relaxed but buoyant energy to Mozart's music. There was a wonderful sense of dialogue to his interplay with the Festival Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä: lovely echo effects between the piano and the winds in the first movement, and moments of heart-stopping beauty later, when Hough's hushed, delicate playing seemed to float above the restless, velvety pulse of Mozart's string writing.'

New York Times, August 22, 2005
- Mostly Mozart Festival / Mostly Mozart Orchestra / Vänskä / New York
'…Stephen Hough played Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A (K. 488) with a clarity, focus and drive that Mr. Vänskä and the orchestra matched. Mr. Hough played his own cadenza in the first movement, a brief but audaciously inventive fantasy in which Mozart's themes were cloaked in a decidedly modern chromaticism…'

New York Times, July 30, 2005
- Mostly Mozart Festival Opening Gala / Mostly Mozart Orchestra / Langrée / New York
'Mr. Hough played elegantly in the plaintive slow movement from Mozart's Piano Concerto No.23 in A and also gave stylish accounts of three sections from Rameau's 'Pièces de Clavecin,' music only marginally related to Mozart but who cares? It was still lovely to hear.'

New Jersey Star-Ledger, July 30, 2005
- Mostly Mozart Festiva l Opening Gala / Mostly Mozart Orchestra / Langrée / New York
'The sterling pianist Stephen Hough performed the slow movement from Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, alternating precise articulation with a luminous depth of tone...[he] followed with three solo Baroque beauties by Rameau, always a joy to hear on piano.'

The Guardian, July 22, 2005
- BBC Proms / BBC Symphony Orchestra / Vänskä / London
'The soloist in Rachmaninov's First Piano Concerto was Stephen Hough, who brought to it a gratifyingly cool touch. The finely balanced slow movement was both tender and unsentimental, the finale playful until the last pages, when he had some fiery virtuosity saved up.'

MusicOMH.com, July 20, 2005
- BBC Proms / BBC Symphony Orchestra / Vänskä / London
'...Hough gave a performance that fizzed with energy, overcoming any difficulties presented by the density of the keyboard writing with ease. The broad first theme lingered long in the memory, given affectionate rubato by Vanska ...the performance reinforced the critical acclaim given to Hough for his recent Hyperion recording of the work.'

The Independent, May 2, 2005
- London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vänskä / London
'With Stephen Hough as soloist, the Saint-Saëns Fifth Piano Concerto was bound to be an occasion for spectacular virtuosity. It was exceptional: breathtaking pace, thunderous rapid octaves, extremes of delicacy and a constant pressure to move ahead kept the audience dazzled.'

The Daily Telegraph, April 27, 2005
- London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vänskä / London
'...Stephen Hough has brought [Saint-Saëns] back centre-stage with a much-applauded set of discs, and in this London Philharmonic Orchestra programme he gave a dazzling performance of the last concerto, the so-called Egyptian.

Saint-Saëns was no slouch when it came to capitalising on a pianist's virtuosity. The Egyptian, which derives its nickname from the central movement based on a Nubian love song that the composer is supposed to have heard on a cruise down the Nile, has torrents of notes and cascades of cross-keyboard flourishes.

Hough easily rode the crest of the wave in all that, but he did much more besides. His playing's blend of deft bravura and impeccable taste conveyed a strong sense of the music's character.

For there is also something saucy about this music, a subtext redolent of the fact that, for all France's outward refinement and chic, it is also home to the Folies-Bergère and the Moulin Rouge. The Fifth is a romantic concerto par excellence, with a great deal of lyrical allure, but Hough brought out its piquant flavour of high-kicking, naughty exuberance as well, showing that the 60-year-old Saint-Saëns still had a twinkle in his eye.'

The Times, April 25, 2005
- London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vänskä / London
'Stephen Hough was the hero of the Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No 5; no living pianist knows better than he how to make and win the case for the composer time and time again. Innocence and torrid experience; veiled sensuality and the finest sensibility: he has the measure of the man. Nowhere more so than in this so-called ‘Egyptian’ Concerto, with its far-Arabian fantasies, its whirling dervishes of piano figuration and, through it all, the chaste ecstasy of the Gallic Orientalist. With Vänskä and the players of the LPO picking up on every nod and wink, Hough's sheer flair, and his exquisite sense of timing gave the performance just that soupçon of camp which it needs.'

The Guardian, April 25, 2005
- London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vänskä / London
'[Saint-Säens Piano Concerto No. 5] Stephen Hough...has been championing it for years, and his performance with the London Philharmonic and Osmo Vänskä made the best possible case for it. The piano writing is both virtuosic and ungrateful, and Hough played it with jaw-dropping dexterity and bags of charm.'

The Guardian, December 18, 2004
- BBC NOW / Gamba / Swansea
'Their performance of Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto was effectively a collusion to throw caution to the wind: fast, febrile and passionately alive, with Hough allowing no romantic indulgence to compromise the immediacy of the music.'

David Stabler, The Oregonian, October 24, 2004
'Stephen Hough, a lean, sharp-featured Englishman, walked out, bowed and sat down. The audience settled and Hough sank into the lush harmonies of Alban Berg's Sonata.
Two hours later, after hypnotic performances of Franz Schubert, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, it was hard to move - what time was it? Was it still Sunday? One purpose of art, beyond Susan Sontag's requirement that it always "give pleasure," is to alter the way we experience time and space. Hough warped time like a magician bends light… Hough, a MacArthur "genius" fellow with one of the best minds - and pair of hands - in the business…embodied pianistic perfection. During the hymn-like repeating chords that fill the first movement of Schubert's G Major Sonata, a sense of contemplation hung over the stage like mist. He played to our inner ear, so softly - and then more softly - that I literally had to stop breathing to hear him. It was as if he had attached cotton pads to his fingertips. By taking such risks - if even one note hadn't sounded, all would have been lost - Hough put himself in jeopardy, the job of an artist. One of Hough's gifts is an ability to listen to himself, and then to make subtle adjustments as he goes along. This gets harder the more times musicians play a piece. Another challenge, as in the last movement of the Schubert, is handling a theme that repeats over and over. How easy to lose perspective, yet Hough retained the theme's freshness with small changes of emphasis, prodding a note here, "voicing" a chord differently there.'

Peter McCallum, Romantic Muse, September 16, 2004
'[Hough] chiselled the intensity of each note with such purpose, yet also with such fine musical respect for melodic shape and due emphasis, that one imagines the shape of that tune, together with all the other notes of this performance, forever etched in the bedding under the keys. In his encore, a nocturne by Grieg, Hough reduced the audience to such quietness that no carbon dioxide was exhaled into the concert hall for at least 38 seconds. Is this the answer to global warming? Hough is one of the finest pianists to come to these shores in a decade.'

Sydney Morning Herald, September 16, 2004
- Sydney Symphony Orchestra / Volkov / Sydney
'[Saint-Säens Piano Concerto No. 4] began with a serious set of variations, like a lush romantic take on baroque protestant worthiness, which Hough elaborated upon with a judicious mix of piety and demonic fire...In his encore, a nocturne by Grieg, Hough reduced the audience to such quietness that no carbon dioxide was exhaled into the concert hall for at least 38 seconds. Is this the answer to global warming? Hough is one of the finest pianists to come to these shores in a decade.'

Sydney Morning Herald, September 9, 2004
- Sydney Symphony International Piano Series / Sydney
'Stephen Hough has the most remarkable range of colour and sound at the piano but the dominant impression from his playing is the simple clarity of the musical idea he is trying to present and the directness with which he communicates it.

It is as though everything, the wonderful legato, the warmth of mid-range chords, the brilliance of the top and flashes of blazing intensity arise from some tangible musical vision suspended in the piano lid just above his unflinching eye, and Hough sits there, alert but not alarmed, reading it with the certainty of an oracle.

This was playing which mesmerised the ear with rich imaginative worlds and hitherto unknown vistas of colour.'

Wayne Lee Gay, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2004
"A grand new view of an oft-done concerto"
'Hough possesses the best set of fingers in the piano business these days, capable not only of tremendous velocity and volume but, more importantly, of refinement and subtlety. But he also owns impressive musical intelligence and natural emotional depth, both of which his wonderful technical resources serve beautifully. His tempos in Rachmaninoff's Third - as in his performances in previous weeks of the First, Second and Fourth Concertos - were on the brisk side but so well handled that there was never a sense of showy speed for its own sake…Hough also uncovered some wonderful tone qualities that most pianists overlook - including some biting articulations and a wonderful whispered sound in the Lento episode in the final movement. The audience roared approval at the end, and record buffs will have plenty of reason to add this unique performance of a well-known piece to their collections.'

Scott Cantrell, The Dallas Morning News, May 8, 2004
"Pianist Hough captures composer's nuances"
'And right from the quiet first chords, Mr. Hough set a distinctive stamp on the performance. People sometimes think of Rachmaninoff as sludgy and sentimental, but that's largely because performances have gotten heavier and slurpier over the years. Rachmaninoff's own recordings have a quicksilver brilliance, at times even an impatience, in the faster parts. The introspective parts manage to be generously expressive but never sentimental. Without copying the composer's 1929 recording, Mr. Hough captured these very qualities. The concerto opened quite briskly, the finale almost anxiously, the latter driving to a razzle-dazzle close. Lyric passages were warmly savored. Mr. Hough is no banger, his chiseled clarity is closer to what recordings suggest of Rachmaninoff's tone.'

Scott Cantrell, The Dallas Morning News, May 7, 2004
"Daring and delicacy from DSO, Hough take the breath away"
'The cobwebs - and sludge and sentimentality - certainly got blown out of the Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto on Thursday night. Pianist Stephen Hough and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra teamed up in a performance that must have knocked several minutes off the usual timing, setting off plenty of sparks along the way.
The brisk and sometimes nearly breathless tempos may have shocked listeners accustomed to the monumental performances usual today. But this was the first live performance I've heard that actually tried to re-create the electricity of the composer's own 1939-40 recording.'

Los Angeles Times, April 10, 2004
- Pacific Symphony / Kord / Orange County
"Stephen Hough, a British pianist with a cult following for his tireless examinations of forgotten 19th century composers, played Rachmaninoff's Third Concerto with stunning focus...'

Sarah Bryan Miller, Post-Dispatch Classical Music Critic, February 29, 2004
- St. Louis Symphony Orchestra / Gilbert Varga / Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2
'For the first half of the program, Sergei Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 in C minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 18, Varga had a superb collaborator in pianist Stephen Hough. Strong, soulful and nearly note-perfect in his playing, Hough combines fine technique and well-considered interpretation, muscular without ever pounding, and passionate without going over the top.'

Tim Smith, Baltimore Sun Music Critic, February 14, 2004
- Mozart Piano Concerto in C K. 467
'One of the most consistently imaginative keyboard artists around, Hough sculpted the Mozart concerto with uncommon warmth, naturalness and prismatic coloring. His subtle inflections conveyed the myriad poetic impulses on and below the surface of the score; the cadenzas, in particular, were brilliantly realized.'

Jay Nordlinger, The New York Sun, December 9, 2003
'The piece de resistance, however, was the Saint-Saens concerto. Its soloist was the Briton Stephen Hough, one of the most satisfying pianists on offer today. He's a bit of a throwback, which I mean as a compliment…Not only does he have the fingers (and, boy, does he), he has the artistic sensibility as well. His playing in the first movement was elegant and precise…Mr. Hough has mastered the French quality of insouciance. And, again, he has no technical shortcomings. Those blurring fingers are practically faultless. Earl Wild, who is approaching age 90, is often described as "the last of the Romantics." This isn't really true, as evidenced by Mr. Hough - who is still a young man - and by even younger pianists, such as Arcadi Volodos. Quite simply, Mr. Hough played the Saint-Saens concerto for all it was worth. Anyone not on his feet at the end was either lame or dim.'

Hilary Finch, The Times, November 8, 2003
- Mozart Piano Concerto in C K. 467
'Hough sensed out its every sinew and nerve-ending, making endlessly imaginative chamber-musical repartee with the orchestra and between his own two hands. Tiny details of timing, response and fantasy would yield to limpid song; a strong, supple thread of melody gave the impetus of ardour as well as reflection to the slow movement; and Hough’s sensitive articulation and formidable sprung octaves fired the finale.'

Anna Picard, The Independent on Sunday, July 27, 2003
"London No dare-devilry. Just clarity and integrity"
- Budapest Festival Orchestra / Ivan Fischer / Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1
'The dialogue between them in Brahms's First Piano Concerto was illuminating; bridging the chasm between the heroic and domestic elements of this work and identifying the troubled nostalgia at its heart. From the first softening and settling of the orchestra to the beautifully shaped final chords of each movement (a detail rarely encountered), this was a performance where the hierarchy of soloist and orchestra ceased to matter; where the piano octaves of the last movement were sonorities within a musical whole rather than technical dare-devilry. A concerto performance of rare clarity and integrity.'

Wayne Lee Gay, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 29, 2003
"Pianist Hough seems on brink of superstardom"
- Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
'Moving into midcareer mode, Hough appears to be on the verge of the superstardom that he deliberately did not seek earlier, when he preferred freedom from the dictates of the marketplace to the sort of easy musical celebrity that his remarkable technique and his natural charisma would surely have brought. The Russian composer's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was the centerpiece of Saturday's summer series concert, and it will be recorded today…Hough owns what is probably the best physical command of piano technique on the circuit today, as well as an obvious mental and emotional command of the material. In Saturday's performance of the Paganini Rhapsody, he displayed a confident pacing that presented both the sectional nature of the piece and its overall unity. And, as it should be in this piece, virtuosic brilliance was present equally with a fine sense of the huge range of emotions - from passion, to humor, to spirituality.'

Geoff Brown, The Times, June 21 2003
'The big pull was plainly Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto. Every fold of its velvet curtains seems to contain a famous tune; every bar of the pianist’s part invites wonder as the fingers gambol, flirt, whisper sweet nothings or carve something mighty in stone. This was a most enjoyable performance. Stephen Hough, the soloist, was master of all he surveyed, even when he leant back, eyes closed, and let Rachmaninov roll … nothing was over-indulged; Hough never stirred in too much sugar, or thrust too far forward in a concerto where the ensemble effect is paramount.'

Wilma Salisbury, Cleveland Plain Dealer Music Critic, May 8, 2003
"Pianist blends artistry with brilliant technique"
'Stephen Hough's piano recital Tuesday night at Akron's E.J. Thomas Hall was billed as "Awesome Virtuosity." However, the brilliant British artist did not use his superlative keyboard skills to dazzle the crowd. His refined brand of virtuosity was expressed in flawless technique, introspective interpretations and an imaginative choice of repertoire. … he played with minimal movement, feathery touch, clear articulation and gently nuanced dynamics. With Kenneth Leighton's Six Study-Variations, Op. 56, [he] conquered the challenge of zillions of notes organized in explosive rhythms and asymmetrical phrases…The musical language was rigorous, the performance masterly.'

Joseph McLellan, Special to The Washington Post, April 11, 2003
"Music For the NSO Washington, at Long Last Scharwenka"
- National Symphony Orchestra / Osmo Vänskä / Scharwenka Piano Concerto No. 4
'The people who gave it a standing ovation may wonder why such compelling music has been so neglected, but it is not hard to imagine the answer … I suspect that the real reason we don't hear him more often is that most pianists find him too formidable: too much work and too many possibilities of going badly wrong. It is a flamboyantly virtuosic work in a late romantic style that makes up in color, energy and breathtaking acrobatics what it may lack in introspective depth and subtlety -- though it has a lot of that in its tranquil second movement and its pensive, slow-moving third. It is a thorough showcase for pianists with extraordinary technique and expressive power. It was revived by Hough with a prize-winning recording after nearly a century of neglect. He played it as if he owned it, as in fact he does.'

Kyle MacMillan, The Denver Post, April 04, 2003
"Guest pianist propels one of CSO season's best concerts"
- Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
'Stephen Hough, a much-heralded pianist from England, brought everything one could possibly want to his interpretation of this familiar work - poetry, theatricality and drama. Downplaying the technical bravura the piece demands, he was more interested in making music and giving shape to the wonderfully contrasting individual variations. Through it all, he kept his playing fresh and in the moment, not letting the piece slide into the cliche it can so easily become.'

Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, February 26, 2003
- Recital, Washington Irving High School / Works by Brahms, Leighton, Hough
'He brought consummate pianism, probing musicianship and refined taste to his account of these subdued, ruminative and quizzical works. (…) Mr Hough dispatched the works’ daunting technical complexities with ease [referring to Leighton].'

John Fleming, St Petersburg Times, February 15, 2003
- Florida Orchestra / Jahja Ling / Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No. 4
'Stephen Hough has Saint-Saens in his fingertips, and he bedazzled the crowd with the French composer’s Piano Concerto No. 4. Hough is an immaculate player, and the bell-like tones he produced were ravishing. He and the orchestra came together beautifully in the concluding chorale melody.'

Franz Josef Lay, The Halle Orchestra in Friedrichshafen, 2003
"Uplifting Drama"
'A special attraction this evening was Mendelsohn’s first piano concerto, which, having an undeniable entertainment character, is always appreciated by a broader audience, especially when the piano part is played with such rousing dynamics and technical competence as was the case in Stephen Hough’s performance. His performance was completely secure, both during the wide spacings and the octave runs and the con fuoco in the first movement practically “lifted off”.'

Ron Broun, Washington Post, January 2002
'Pianist Stephen Hough overwhelmed the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with a keyboard technique so prodigious that technical difficulties simply evaporated. He plays with ringing power, but the expressive delicacy of his touch — its elegance, its lapidary precision glistening through tangled roulades of decoration — marks him as a virtuoso who begins where others leave off.'

Malcolm Hayes, Pianist Magazine, November-December 2001
BBC Proms August 2001
- BBC SO / Leonard Slatkin / Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
'As ever his manner was outwardly nonchalant and free of histrionics (Rachmaninov would have approved) while unleashing virtuosity every bit as torrential and scintillating as the work required. The final uprush of double octaves alone (they must be quick) was a remarkable combination of speed, thunderous power, incisiveness and accuracy.'

David Fallows, Guardian, November 21, 2001
- BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Yan Pascal Tortelier / Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto 5
'Stephen Hough seems able to produce a greater variety of sounds from a piano than anybody else; and it could be that Saint-Saëns's African-inspired Fifth Piano Concerto is just the right piece for him to demonstrate that skill. Whether in the effortless decorative writing of the first movement, the melancholy of the second, or the technical glitter of the finale, he never seemed to be making any effort, but simply ensured that each phrase sounded new and alive. Hough presented this apparently mindless music without a hint of condescension, and, with Yan Pascal Tortelier conducting, the balance was always miraculously clear. Such a performance leaves one with a sense of gratitude that a rarity has been given the right amount of seriousness to make it succeed.'

Paul Driver, Sunday Times Culture, Sunday September 9, 2001
BBC Proms August 2001
- BBC SO / Leonard Slatkin / Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
'Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, given with the BBC SO under Slatkin, Hough reminded us of the main purpose of virtuosity: to make possible certain kinds of musical argument. His brilliance was at one with his ardour; he found the wit and tenderness of this late masterpiece: the 'big tune' was never so moving.'

Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer, August 28, 2001
- Cleveland Orchestra / Jahja Ling / Rachmaninov 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini'
'It certainly received dynamic handling as set forth by painist Stephen Hough. Along with exceptional agility, Hough invested the piece with enormous contrasts, capturing both the turbulence and lyrical wonder that make the piece such a magnificient tribute to Paganini.'

Annette Moreau, Independent, August 27, 2001
- Rachmaninov 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini'
/ BBC Proms Royal Albert Hall / Radio 3
'The performance of the evening, however, came from the pianist Stephen Hough. 'Hough's staggeringly brilliant account of Rachmaninov's 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini'. Hough's most beautiful playing was contained in his solo variation (XVIII) where his colours and shading, dreamily improvisatory, were simply delicious.'

Hilary Finch, The Times, Friday August 24, 2001
BBC Proms August 2001
- BBC SO / Leonard Slatkin / Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
'..But the real performance of the evening was that of Stephen Hough in Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Rachmaninov preferred to think of it as a set of symphonic variations; and so minutely observed and light-filled was Hough's performance that it transfigured the orchestral playing itself, and all but upstaged the rest of the evening,'

Richard Fairman, Financial Times, August 24, 2001
BBC Proms August 2001
- BBC SO / Leonard Slatkin / Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
'Stephen Hough was the soloist in a typically understated performance of Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. It takes great strength of character not to go for broke in this work, especially in the Royal Albert Hall. Everything that Hough did was precise and perfectly in balance. In the famous 18th variation, played as intimately as he dared, the slightest expressive accent spoke volumes and 6000 people held their breath

Andrew Clements, The Guardian, August 23, 2001
'Nothing but praise either for Stephen Hough's piano-playing in Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. His deft figuration and deceptively relaxed phrasing lifted things well beyond any hint of faded routine.'

Joan Chissell, Gramophone, June 2001
'Hough's new challenge holds its own with the best of them in thoughtful musicianship and quality of tone.'

Colin Anderson, www.classicalsource.com, June 2001
'Hough's quiet playing is remarkable in its personal declaration - every note hangs in the air with meaning.'

Terry Teachout, 'Stephen Hough, the pianist's pianist'
The Washington Post, March 4, 2001
- Dallas Symphony / Andrew Litton / Carnegie Hall / Liebermann Piano Concerto 2
'Hough played with all fingers flying - if I hadn't looked, I would have sworn he had 12 or 13 - and the audience responded fervently.'

Rick Jones, The Evening Standard, March 2, 2001
'If only Brahms had heard Hough, he would have carried on composing piano sonatas.'

Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, January 26, 2001
- Cleveland Orchestra / Jahja Ling / Scharwenka Piano Concerto 4
'The British pianist tickled the ivories with such splendid focus and seductive charm.'

Rodney Smith, The Advertiser, November 13, 2000
- Adelaide Symphony Orchestra / Roberto Abbado / Rachmaninov Piano Concerto 1
'Stephen Hough has consolidated his reputation as Adelaide's favorite visiting overseas pianist with a masterly performance of Rachmaninov's 1st Piano Concerto which had everything you could wish for.'

Peter Dobrin, The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 28, 2000
- Philadelphia Orchestra / Neeme Jarvi /
Scharwenka Piano Concerto Op. 82 - October 2000
'…Hough mastered every virtuosic moment…he impressed with speed, agility and lovely nuance.'

Ron Emery, The Times Union (Saratoga Springs), August 21, 2000
- Philadelphia Orchestra / Charles Dutoit /
Liebermann Piano Concerto Op 36 - August 2000
'…Hough turned out to be just the pianist to play this music. He was up to the phenomenal technical requirements.'

Michael Kennedy, Daily Telegraph, February 27, 2000
- Recital / Bridgewater Hall, Manchester - February 2000
'… the astoundingly youthful virtuosity and ardour of the first [Rachmaninov] concerto, played with dazzling accuracy and panache by Stephen Hough.'

David Murray, Financial Times, February 23, 2000
'Stephen Hough dispatched the First Concerto with bright fingers and intelligence.'

Lynne Walker, The Independent, February 22, 2000
'A polished delicacy and affectionate expansiveness distinguished Stephen Hough's interpretation of the First Concerto throughout, his playing taking fire as he reached the glittering finale.'

Gerald Larner, The Times, February 22, 2000
'Stephen Hough had delivered a brilliantly stylish interpretation of the Piano Concerto No 1 in F sharp minor.'

Edward Greenfield, The Guardian, October 8, 1999
'A sparkle and point that charms the ear whether in the virtuoso display of pieces by Godowsky, Moszkowski and Rachmaninov or in the loving lyricism of pieces by Chaminade, Kalman and others.'

Michael van Eekeren, de Volkskrant, October 6, 1999
- Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, October 1999
'Hough made a flawless debut at the Concertgebouw. In the highly virtuosic Ghost Variations by Tsontakis he built up a rhapsodic unity from the diverse building blocks: Mozart variations, influences by Beethoven, Greek folk music… With impressive precision and an irrepressible sense of drama Hough played Liszt's Sonata in B minor.'

Christo Lelie, Trouw, October 5, 1999
'Stephen Hough gave a colourful reading with great contrast in dynamics and touch… With his velvety touch he played these miniatures [Trois Variations by Federico Mompou] with the utmost subtlety… During the last 20 years I have heard Liszt's Sonata in B minor dozens of times in the concert hall. It was therefore quite remarkable that Hough succeeded in making this work sound so new. He achieved this for the most part simply by playing all Liszt's notes with crystal clarity and keeping strictly to the tempo…. The whole impression of this technically virtually flawless performance was overwhelming.'

Wenneke Savenije, NRC Handelsblad, October 4, 1999
'British pianist Stephen Hough gave a spectacular Dutch première of this ambitious and massive work (Tsontakis: Ghost Variations)… Hough gave an original recital, whereby his thorough pianism, his musical integrity and his rhetorical qualities were highly impressive... Magisterial and fascinating was his performance of the Ghost Variations of Tsontakis… he impressed not only with his phenomenal control, but also with his stunning palette of narrative sound colours and magical atmospheres… In Liszt's Sonata in B minor he proved to be a grand master in the musical architecture. With fiery fortissimo's, diabolical passage work and breathtaking lyricism, Hough linked brilliant pianism to a thoroughly sophisticated and literary coloured musicality.'

Andrew Patner, The Chicago Sun-Times, August 25, 1999
- Ravinia, August 1999
'Stephen Hough is one of the most imaginative recital pianists in the classical-music world today… Even fans who know Hough's recording of the piece [Tsontakis' Ghost Variations] had to be astonished at the combination of fire and technical brilliance of this performance… when Hough performs in the area, it is a highlight not only of the season, but of the entire musical year.'

Rob Cowan, The Independent, August 16, 1999
- BBC Proms, August 1999
'Beautifully groomed pianism.'

Barry Millington, The Times, August 16, 1999
'A commanding keyboard presence.'

Le Devoir (Montreal), August 9, 1999
- Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal / Baudo
/ Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto 2, August 1999
'Stephen Hough sat down at the piano, and there, there, music takes off. It was the 'must-see' of the festival… The pianist is too artistic not to transcend all that is ordinary and transform it into music. The technique is outstanding… In the vacuity of this concerto, Hough filled the holes with his extraordinary personality, his singular art and his irresistible vigour… Stephen Hough, come back again.'

Claude Gingras, La Presse (Montreal). August 6, 1999
'The man attacks the very long solo introduction with an almost Beethovenian power which leaves no doubt about the seriousness of his approach… a prodigious technique. Nothing scares Stephen Hough: rapid features in quavers or in opposite images, the rising and descending trills, the double octaves, the leaping between registers. And the speed…'

Time Magazine, December 1998
'England's most imaginative pianist'

Geoffrey Smith, Country Life, October 1, 1998
'Stephen Hough found perfect complementary colours in the hall's Steinway, his light, elegant touch making it seem a pianoforte rather than a modern grand.'

Andrew L. Pincus, The Berkshire Eagle, Saturday July 18, 1998
'In his debut recital at Tanglewood Wednesday night, the English-born pianist proved a Merlin of the keyboard. Whether in Liszt or in George Tsontakis, whether in thunder or a sunny line - he commanded the Steinway with an all but infallible touch.'

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, Friday July 17, 1998
'Hough is an intelligent, musical, and fluent pianist…his programs are marvels of construction.'

Ron Emery, Times Union, Friday July 17, 1998
'He demonstrated an extraordinary command of a thick slice of contemporary and traditional piano literature and a technique that should make more famous players blush with envy…Hough raised the Mendelssohn to new heights, never overstating but relishing the grace and lyric elegance of the music. It was an opportunity for Hough to demonstrate his beautiful tone in clear, precise, focused playing.'

John Ardoin, The Dallas Morning News, June 27, 1998
'Mr Liebermann is fortunate to have an advocate like Mr Hough. No one needs to be told that he is a superb pianist, and even accustomed as I am to his prodigious prowess, I was not quite ready for the scope and panache of this performance.'

Kenneth LaFave, The Arizona Republic, Saturday April 25, 1998
'British pianist Stephen Hough played it (Saint-Saens Concerto No.5) in ravishingly beautiful technicolor on Thursday night at the Symphony Hall, accompanied by the Phoenix Symphony under the guest baton of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. Hough's performance had dash and vigor, especially in the non-stop brilliance of the final movement.'

Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer, April 8, 1998
'Hough's performance was controlled in tone and mood, powerful when required and riveting in passages that would twist most pianists' fingers.