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Mystery and Sensualism
"In order to achieve precision many duos make pulse a virtue of necessity. Thorson and Thurber however are able to achieve supreme freedom with no loss of perfection. For obvious reasons it cannot be spontaneous, but in the Rapsodie, for example, their tense hesitations invoked an abandonment to dark Spanish sensualism that sounded for all the world like collective spontaneity."
Vital and Serious
"With technical supremacy, rhythmic drive and intellectual cogency Thorson and Thurber penetrated to the core of each individual work, The internatiuonal market may possibly offer more spectacular duo pianists, but none who can bring the music into the listeners' awareness with such unselfish authority."
Impressive Duo in Tivoli
"These two pianists delivered perfectly synchronised ensemble-playing. Two pianos were transformed into a single orchestral instrument. Equally-matched, and so symmetrical in touch, pulse, expression, dynamic and melodic phrasing that it was impossible to distinguish their roles in the dialogue between the two pianists. Almost more extraordinary was the exhilerating vitality of their expression- with catlike agility they feinted and fenced with each other, and it was clear that they openly relished their skill in playing together."
The Daily Telegraph
Double Stravinsky
"The most spectacular item of the evening was the Rite of Spring, played here with considerable dramatic tension and brilliance....skill and imagination. and the two great 2-piano masterpieces, Sonata and Concerto, monuments of neo-classic grace, lyrical equability and muscular drive, were characterised with due elegance and precision." The Independent
Bruising the Ivories
"Debussy's enigmatic En Blanc et Noir, read with grace and precision, began the evening. Thorson and Thurber refused to dramatise the music beyond its natural means, the shapely climax arose persuasively from the work's mysterious sense of proportion. The finale, a view in winter, was fragile, airy, showing the players' sense of accord. The most substantial number, after the Debussy, was Variations on Chick Corea's "La Fiesta" by Danish composer Kim Helweg. THis was a hommage to Seventies fusion music. Plucked piano strings and rapped piano lids added to the sense of occasion. The end was long in build-up; a grand splash of colour when it came."
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Dance of the Stars
"Thorson and Thurber shone in Messiaen's ecstatic Visions de L'Amen. Their performance showed that they understood this music supremely well. This was very fine ensemble-playing - dynamic, precise and with beautifully-modulated shifts of tempi. I assure that that the planets and stars were here given full rein to dance!"
Mystery and Sensualism
"In order to achieve precision many duos make pulse a virtue of necessity. Thorson and Thurber however are able to achieve supreme freedom with no loss of perfection. For obvious reasons it cannot be spontaneous, but in the Rapsodie, for example, their tense hesitations invoked an abandonment to dark Spanish sensualism that sounded for all the world like collective spontaneity."
Vital and Serious
"With technical supremacy, rhythmic drive and intellectual cogency Thorson and Thurber penetrated to the core of each individual work, The internatiuonal market may possibly offer more spectacular duo pianists, but none who can bring the music into the listeners' awareness with such unselfish authority."
Impressive Duo in Tivoli
"These two pianists delivered perfectly synchronised ensemble-playing. Two pianos were transformed into a single orchestral instrument. Equally-matched, and so symmetrical in touch, pulse, expression, dynamic and melodic phrasing that it was impossible to distinguish their roles in the dialogue between the two pianists. Almost more extraordinary was the exhilerating vitality of their expression- with catlike agility they feinted and fenced with each other, and it was clear that they openly relished their skill in playing together."
The Daily Telegraph
Double Stravinsky
"The most spectacular item of the evening was the Rite of Spring, played here with considerable dramatic tension and brilliance....skill and imagination. and the two great 2-piano masterpieces, Sonata and Concerto, monuments of neo-classic grace, lyrical equability and muscular drive, were characterised with due elegance and precision." The Independent
Bruising the Ivories
"Debussy's enigmatic En Blanc et Noir, read with grace and precision, began the evening. Thorson and Thurber refused to dramatise the music beyond its natural means, the shapely climax arose persuasively from the work's mysterious sense of proportion. The finale, a view in winter, was fragile, airy, showing the players' sense of accord. The most substantial number, after the Debussy, was Variations on Chick Corea's "La Fiesta" by Danish composer Kim Helweg. THis was a hommage to Seventies fusion music. Plucked piano strings and rapped piano lids added to the sense of occasion. The end was long in build-up; a grand splash of colour when it came."
Information
Dance of the Stars
"Thorson and Thurber shone in Messiaen's ecstatic Visions de L'Amen. Their performance showed that they understood this music supremely well. This was very fine ensemble-playing - dynamic, precise and with beautifully-modulated shifts of tempi. I assure that that the planets and stars were here given full rein to dance!"
