CONCERT REVIEWS

"...his opening solo, Granados' Allegro de concierto, which was simply electrifying and an ideal attention-grabber ahead of the main part of the program." - The West Australian, August 15, 2011

"from the opening piano solo in which Cameron Roberts established his command of the instrument and gained instant rapport with the audience, to the stunning finale of the 12 Danzas Espanolas by Granados, arranged for castanets and piano by Deanna Blacher and Cameron Roberts,  the electric atmosphere developed immediately and became an explosion of emotive sound and movement in a stunning partnership which performed as a single entity ensuring that not only was there a wonderfully technically brilliant encore, but three standing ovations when the normally reserved Perth audience gave full vent to their excitement and passion for this landmark performance ... in the second half surpassed my wildest expectations. A simple and elegant setting occupied by two artists of supreme talent left and indelible mark and set a new standard in this medium. Patrons of Spanish Dance who failed to attend this performance missed a once in a lifetime opportunity.  The CD’s available in the foyer were being snapped up at a brisk rate, and deservedy so" - John Christmas, OZArts Review, August, 2011

"This was a recital to grip the attention of the most jaded listeners: a compilation of works all being given their first airings in Perth. This is not to suggest that the audience would have been unfamiliar with the works on offer. On the contrary, these were some of the most frequently encountered pieces in the classical repertoire but here heard, for the first time in Perth, in the form of piano transcriptions by the soloist Cameron Roberts.But these accounts of standard repertoire – Tchaikowsky’s 1812 Overture, say, or Summer from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and songs of Rachmaninov – were offered, not as hack reductions of well known staples but extraordinarily apposite keyboard versions that came across like a compendium of musical marvels.
One of the most abiding recollections of this recital was the quite astonishing wealth of detail that reached the ear, subtleties which in the original, say, at climactic high points in the 1812 Overture or Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, would not necessarily have impinged on the consciousness. Here, though, we were able to detect subtleties with a clarity that was both astounding and gratifying. An account of Summer from The Four Seasons sprang to new and fascinating life, with notes more often than not clothed in glorious tone, its movements presented like a chaplet of flawlessly fashioned gems.I was particularly impressed with Roberts’ transcription of Rachmaninov’s song How Beautiful it is Here! Luminous tone, clarity of line and profound expressiveness made this one of the evening’s most memorable moments. Peak of the evening lay in the keeping of Bach: the slow movement from his Concerto for 2 violins BWV 1043 was a model, not only of the transcriber’s art, but a remarkable unbottling of its gentle genie. Bravissimo!" - Phoebe Schuman, OZArts Review, July 5, 2011

"STANDING OVATION FOR PIANO VIRTUOSO - Local musicians learn from one of the best [subheading]. Australian pianist Cameron Roberts received a standing ovation last Friday at Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre. The audience was also treated to two encores… Arts Council president, Margaret Brickhill, said Roberts' brilliant technique and creativity in performance were evident throughout the two-hour concert." - THE CHRONICLE, Australia, March 31, 2010

"En el día de ayer pude escuchar uno de esos conciertos que no nos dejan indiferentes, ni por el programa, ni por los intérpretes, la violonchelista alemana Beate Altenburg, afincada en nuestro país desde hace un lustro y el pianista Cameron Roberts, casi recién llegado a la vida musical madrileña. En primer lugar, quiero destacar el hecho de que, durante todo el recital, el piano permaneció con la tapa complétamente levantada. Pocas veces, por desgracia en España, nos encontramos con unos verdaderos cameristas y con un pianista que sepa adecuar su sonido para que el del chelista nos llegue en toda su integridad sin tener que "sacrificar" a su instrumento bajando la tapa. Si a eso le sumamos que la versión que hace Beate de la sonata de Rachmaninov es realmente intimista, sobrecogedora en muchos momentos, esto nos da la idea del magnífico músico que es Cameron Roberts." - Notastenidas, 2008

“The [Bach] is not short on colourful touches. Roberts using sustaining pedal discreetly and introducing some metrical flexibility, as well as opening up some usually hidden lines, as in the final Quodlibet. With a highly developed technical facility, the pianist made exciting work of the faster sections, particularly those that require the hands to cross. Roberts has a clear grasp of the work and manipulated its internal pulleys and levers with impressive insight... He ended with his own transcription of the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, a sterling demonstration of keeping most of the original’s 10 lines on the boil, admirable at many points for the player’s clean management of the chain of thirds... Roberts’ praiseworthy treatment of another [Rachmaninoff] song, Sleep – the most effective example of this young artist’s high level of musicianship" – Clive O’Connell, THE AGE, Melbourne, Australia, 2006

“One of the National Academy’s brighter sparks, pianist Cameron Roberts, gave a splendid hour’s worth of varied repertoire on Saturday night. He opened with an exemplary Bach Partita No. 1, a lucid appreciation of the work’s benign busy-ness coming over. This was followed by Scriabin’s Sonata No. 5, treated with a compelling breadth of expression and subtlety that mitigated the work’s neurasthenic language. Two deftly contrasting Grainger pieces preceded four Rachmaninov preludes of high-calibre playing. Along with the essential technical facility, Roberts invested these with a controlled vehemence that you might have encountered in a musician twice his age. He is no slouch at bravura, either, as shown by his glittering, slick reading of Gershwin’s 'I got rhythm' in a Earl Wild transcription, with his own touches added for good measure.” – Clive O’Connell, THE AGE, Melbourne, Australia, 2000

"Cameron Roberts made an intelligent and suitably grandiose creature of the “Emperor”, No.5 in E flat. This involves a test of any player’s stamina. Roberts displayed a highly impressive grasp of the concerto’s framework and his position inside it. He is a significant talent.”– Clive O’Connell, THE AGE, Melbourne, Australia, 1999

 

OTHER ARTICLES in the media

"Medicine's loss is music's gain as pianist's star rises" - The West Australian, June 4, 2010

The other day, I listened to a new CD by a pianist whom I'd not heard before. Only seconds into track one, however, I knew I'd not easily forget the name. Make a note of it: Cameron Roberts. On the evidence of this recording, Roberts has the potential to become an international star. Roberts' account of his own transcription of Summer from Vivaldi's Four Seasons, for instance, draws on a dazzling rainbow of tonal colours. It's playing that rivets the attention even in such hackneyed pieces as Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. It's virtuosic playing that is frankly thrilling. His 2006 debut CD on the MOVE label, Bach's Goldberg Variations and Original Transcriptions, was praised as thought-provoking and… (continued at: thewest.com.au)