REVIEWS
"Finghin Collins' handling of Mozart's final piano concerto showed a new balance of ends and means in his playing....Collins has taken on board the fact that one of the most rewarding approaches to Mozart works at the micro-level. His new understanding was revealed in the finely-controlled, gentle tilts of the phrasing, the careful avoidance of the obvious in highlighting elements of formal design, and the mostly judicious embellishments added in the slow movement. The long-familiar keyboard ease and finger fluency have taken on an added subtlety, the tone has lost some of its brighter edges in favour of a warmer internal glow. And yet his slightly driven eagerness has been tamed rather than dispensed with, so the performance remained finely balanced between energy and reflection. The somewhat coltish player of yore peeped out only in the cadenzas and decorated fermatas, where the extra flash seemed quite in place. In short, with Douglas and the players of the OSC with him all the way, this was the finest performance I've yet heard from Ireland's most successful young pianist."
Michael Dervan, the Irish Times, November 17th 2001
"Finghin Collins's contribution was as impressive as Tritschler's . . colour, rhythmic life, complete security and impeccable unity with the voice made this a memorable display of musicianship...."
Martin Adams, The Irish Times, October 30th 2001
"Orchestra and conductor alike proved supportive accompanists to the dazzling young Irish pianist Finghin Collins in Grieg's Piano Concerto. Still in his early twenties, Collins none the less has a relaxed, flexible style and great musical poise. He managed, too, to convey the intensity of this quintessential romantic concerto without ever sounding effortful or succumbing to piano-bashing to convey its earnest grandeur. He has already won many Irish and international prizes. Watch out for him."
Fiona Maddocks, The Observer, 28th October 2001
"Along came a young man whose name I didn't know at all. That has now changed. More than that - this name should be memorized . . Deep penetration into the world of the Adagio, loving decoration without self-indulgence or rubato, and then a cheeky Prestissimo finale with dynamic shadings full of nuances. . . By the end, the sensitivity of the artist was quite clear. In addition he understood how to tighten the outpouring of musical ideas and, finally, to take control in the Fugue.. . . . With Collins, technical perfection (which had long been proven) was paired with personal radiance and a passionate devotion. . . ."
Hans Peter Altmann, Dresdner Neuste Nachrichten, September 24th 2001
"If one were to characterize [his] playing style, Collins would be the scholar. His approach to the Mozart was logical and studious, unfolding each phrase with clarity (while bobbing his head in rapt concentration). He avoided flash, except in the two cadenzas (written by Nikita Magaloff for Mozart specialist Clara Haskil). The Allegro and Romanza were done with nuance and uncommon sensitivity. Eschenbach hovered over Collins solicitously.., skilfully mediating between him and the chamber orchestra to bring forth the pathos, grace and melancholy."
Ted Shen, Chicago Tribune, June 27th 2001
"It is some time since I heard a piano recital which gave me as much pleasure as that given by Finghin Collins at the Crawford Gallery. ... This young man has a most sumptuous tone at every dynamic level, and this constantly beautiful sound is allied to a singer's sense of phrasing and colour. . His pedalling ... was spectacularly good and added tremendous richness to the tone."
Irish Examiner, May 22nd 2001
"...Collins put on a winning display of youthful verve - and nerve - based on superb technical mastery of the instrument. . . Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D Minor. . . mirrored a talented artist with impeccable technique in pre-classical music. The notes making up the endless runs of this marvelous piece were given amazingly even value, while trills were clean and crisp. .. . . Even more dazzling was his performance of the Verdi/ Liszt concert paraphrase of "Rigoletto." Collins' right-hand octaves. . . were nothing short of remarkable in clarity, evenness and accuracy.. . It was evident that Collins related totally with this score, and he possessed the technique to channel the notes through his own personal intellect.. . "
C. J. Gianakaris, Kalamazoo Gazette, May 14 2001
"....Pianist Finghin Collins -- off shortly to America for a June concerto date with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra -- contrasted inward delicacy in the Brahms Four Piano Pieces (Op 119) against youthful power in the Berg Sonata, unleashing the extrovertism with which he matched Theden's in pieces for cello and piano by Brahms [sic] and Prokofiev."
The Sunday Business Post, May 13 2001
"By contrast, the young Irish pianist Finghin Collins was a model of good taste, both in larger ensemble - a high-spirited reading of Dvorak's Op. 81 Piano Quintet with the Vertavo Quartet from Norway - and in his duo work with the musically arresting and technically commanding Swedish cellist, Torleif Thedeen, in Schumann and Prokofiev."
The Irish Times, May 9th 2001
"The soloist [in Gerry Murphy's Piano Concerto] was Finghin Collins .. . . His authoritative and committed playing was all any composer could have hoped for.. . . . In Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos K365, Finghin Collins was joined by. . . Hugh Tinney. They were two peas in a pod, yet individual. It was an engaging, robust performance from them and from the orchestra [Moravian Philharmonic]. . . ."
Martin Adams, The Irish Times, April 2001
"Perhaps even more impressive was the performance of Irish pianist Finghin Collins, for he was tackling a work much better known: the awesome First Concerto of Brahms. Young man's music, this, tackled with a young man's enthusiasm (yet with presages of a promising maturity) and strength. Strongly chorded and firmly projected, Collins' reading had plenty of vigour and excitement.
Yet most touching of all was the depth he found in the Schumann-mourning slow movement, combining with the orchestra to bring a hush of emotion even more commanding than the effects of his thunderous fingerwork in the outer movements."
Christopher Morley, Birmingham Post, March 2001
" His Mozart is luminous, with precise phrasing, delicate without being mannered in the virtuoso passages....Sureness of style, expressiveness, simplicity, this debut recording promises great things."
Nicolas Duplessis, Piano Le Magazine, January - February 2001
"This young pianist has everything to become a great artist: virtuosity, mastery, sensitivity,inspiration. But in addition he possesses a sort of poetry of expression and approach which touched us from the beginning to the end of the recital.....In his interpretation of a Mozart Sonata, he displayed a sensitivity which recalled the pianist to whom he owes so much, Clara Haskil."
André Peyregne, Nice Matin, 27th February 2001
"His virtuosity was stunning - here is a player totally in control of his medium . . The outcome was entertaining and often deeply engaging with many insights and this is music [Debussy] with which he should persevere . . .The overall programme is excellently balanced and, as he develops its nuances, it should bring him further accolades around the world."
Ian Fox, The Sunday Tribune, February 18th 2001
"The impassioned vision of the young pianist well revealed the incomparable richness of [Bach's Prelude] and the intense expression which pervades [the music]..... Finghin Collins presented [Mozart's Sonata] to us with an indisputable sense of the music and of the equilibrium.... He was inspired in the Sonata by Schubert.... It takes real quality for the pianist to conceal himself behind the musician.... Mr Collins clearly knew how to charm (in the proper sense of the word) his audience that evening!..."
Christoph Jamault, www.arpeggione.fr, January 2001
