REVIEWS
".....in the interim his talent has flowered with heart-warming results as displayed in the first item of the recital, Bach's Chromatic Fantasie and Fugue in D minor, a performance notable for admirably firm rhythm and clear articulation particularly in the Fugue.....Collins displayed Brahmsian style, strength and colour range.....the performance (of Berg's Sonata Op. 1) carried considerable conviction. Liszt's transcription of the Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde was given a splendid performance. It offered tonal riches and a real flare for this kind of music......"
Rathcol, The Belfast Telegraph, November 1997
"Collins.....achieved a great success also in this concert. Even in difficult passages he shone with perfect accuracy.....despite his clear orientation towards a Classical sound-ideal, he also used considerable dynamic strength - a great success"
Norbert Stich, Bonner Zeitung, November 1997
"Finghin Collins played with tremendous power and energy but also with precision and a true grasp of Beethoven's essential style."
Alan Cooper, Press and Journal (Aberdeen), August 1997
"His playing was controlled and musicianly. The pleasure here was the judiciousness of his response to the overall patterning of the piece; the limitation of his alertness to the riches waiting to be unlocked from the small-scale Mozartian moment is something he shares with many a more experienced performer in this most imaginatively challenging repertoire."
Michael Dervan, The Irish Times, July 1997
"His recent success....seems to have added emotional maturity to his phenomenal talent and there was real passion in his playing....Collins clearly has moved out of the boy-wonder class into the serious young artist stage of his remarkable development."
Ian Fox, The Sunday Tribune, March 1997
"The young pianist Finghin Collins....joined the orchestra as soloist in Brahms' First Piano Concerto and his mature and assured performance inspired the Youth Orchestra to adopt a sensitive accompanying role, reflecting and matching the pianist's moods."
Brenda Hawer, Yorkshire Evening Post, February 1997
"19-year-old Finghin Collins had the technical measure of the solo part and provided numerous delightfully deft touches."
Donald Webster, Yorkshire Post, February 1997.
