REVIEWS
"5-star review – Together Jones and Roberts navigate even the most challenging musical terrain with dextrous articulation, magnificent sensitivity and an ensemble that is razor-sharp... By turns virtuosic, contemplative and haunting, this stunning collection leaves no stone unturned" – The Sydney Morning Herald, Aug 28, 2020
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".The novelty value of this crystal clear recording can hardly be denied" – Howard Smith, Music & Vision, 2016
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"Imagine a funereal, tolling treble bell, diamond-bright note clusters, rapid arabesques as delicate as Brussels lace and tsunami-like climaxes. Add to this birdcalls in turn melancholy and ecstatic and you have Sad Bird Blues, composed and performed by Cameron Roberts at the first of UWA’s Keyed-Up piano recitals for 2012. This fascinating offering was a high point of the evening. Earlier, we listened to Roberts playing Ravel’s Oiseaux Tristes, yet another evocation of bird calls. It made for engrossing listening, its gentle, introverted essence captured like a sparrow in the gentlest of hands. There is nothing in the least routine or humdrum about Roberts’ presentations of standard repertoire to which he invariably brings originality of perspective and more than a little interpretative daring. Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1, for instance, was a journey of rediscovery as Roberts brought clarity to a host of fascinating details that more usually disappear into a welter of blurred sound. It was a revelation.
So, too, were most of the preludes that constitute Chopin’s Opus 28, that collection of 24 miniatures that calls for the highest musicianship and fingers that are fearless. On both counts, Roberts scored impressively. In his hands, fascinating freshness was brought to familiar notes. Frequently, for instance, lyricism was offered in episodes where virtuosic power was anticipated – and vice versa. This often novel, even daring, approach, in lesser hands, could well court musical disaster. Here, it was a triumph of musical imagination and invariably within the parameters of impeccable taste.
Had Roberts opted to give the set of 24 pieces again as an encore, I’d gladly have stayed to listen. Instead, we heard a hauntingly beautiful Prelude by Rachmaninov. I saw only a few young music students at this recital. What a shame. How much they would have gained from listening to this splendid offering." – Neville Cohn, The West Australian, April 16, 2012
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"...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
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"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
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"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
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"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
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"Medicine's loss is music's gain as pianist's star rises"
"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 in The West Australian, June 4, 2010 at: thewest.com.au)
"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
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“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
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“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
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"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
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"5-star review – Together Jones and Roberts navigate even the most challenging musical terrain with dextrous articulation, magnificent sensitivity and an ensemble that is razor-sharp... By turns virtuosic, contemplative and haunting, this stunning collection leaves no stone unturned" – The Sydney Morning Herald, Aug 28, 2020
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".The novelty value of this crystal clear recording can hardly be denied" – Howard Smith, Music & Vision, 2016
- - - - - - - - - - -
"Imagine a funereal, tolling treble bell, diamond-bright note clusters, rapid arabesques as delicate as Brussels lace and tsunami-like climaxes. Add to this birdcalls in turn melancholy and ecstatic and you have Sad Bird Blues, composed and performed by Cameron Roberts at the first of UWA’s Keyed-Up piano recitals for 2012. This fascinating offering was a high point of the evening. Earlier, we listened to Roberts playing Ravel’s Oiseaux Tristes, yet another evocation of bird calls. It made for engrossing listening, its gentle, introverted essence captured like a sparrow in the gentlest of hands. There is nothing in the least routine or humdrum about Roberts’ presentations of standard repertoire to which he invariably brings originality of perspective and more than a little interpretative daring. Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1, for instance, was a journey of rediscovery as Roberts brought clarity to a host of fascinating details that more usually disappear into a welter of blurred sound. It was a revelation.
So, too, were most of the preludes that constitute Chopin’s Opus 28, that collection of 24 miniatures that calls for the highest musicianship and fingers that are fearless. On both counts, Roberts scored impressively. In his hands, fascinating freshness was brought to familiar notes. Frequently, for instance, lyricism was offered in episodes where virtuosic power was anticipated – and vice versa. This often novel, even daring, approach, in lesser hands, could well court musical disaster. Here, it was a triumph of musical imagination and invariably within the parameters of impeccable taste.
Had Roberts opted to give the set of 24 pieces again as an encore, I’d gladly have stayed to listen. Instead, we heard a hauntingly beautiful Prelude by Rachmaninov. I saw only a few young music students at this recital. What a shame. How much they would have gained from listening to this splendid offering." – Neville Cohn, The West Australian, April 16, 2012
- - - - - - - - - - -
"...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
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"Medicine's loss is music's gain as pianist's star rises"
"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 in The West Australian, June 4, 2010 at: thewest.com.au)
"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
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Selected Archives (under construction...)
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Masterclass
'Applied Science to Advanced Piano Technique', University of Melbourne, Australia. 2025 |
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Soprano (Judith Dodsworth) & Piano
Songs by Schumann (Dichterliebe), Schubert and Bach Private concert. Melbourne 2023 |
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Mar 14, 2023 – Melbourne
Lunchtime Piano recital Bach-Roberts piano transcriptions Scotch College |
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Piano & Spoken Word (Xan Colman)
Bach, Music, story-sharing and Food. A Dining Room Tales event. Camperdown, 2022. |
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Violin (Rebecca Chan) & Piano
Mozart, Beethoven, C.Schumann. Live Stream. Tait Memorial Trust, London. 2020. |
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Viola (Sascha Bota) & Piano
Bach, Enescu, Schumann. Live Stream. Romanian Cultural Institute, Romanian Embassy. 2020 |
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Violin (Rebecca Chan) & piano
Brahms, Schumann. Ravel. Tempo Rubato, Melbourne, 2023. Leicester Arts Centre, 2020. |
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Piano Recital
Original Piano Transcriptions, TangoBrücke, Einbeck, Germany, 2019 |
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Piano Recital
'Lost in Beauty' – Rachmaninoff: The 24 Preludes. Tempo Rubato, Melbourne, 2019. |
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Flute (Derek Jones) & Piano
Meale, Greenbaum, Phillips, Mozart. Melba Hall, University of Melbourne, 2019 |
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Flute (Jacques Zoon) & piano
Royal Academy of Music, London 2018. Flautissimo Festival, Rome, 2017, 2018, 2019. Festival Cameristico Internazionale, Arezzo, 2018. Amsterdam Flute society 2018. Geneva Flute festival. 2018. AFE Festival, Teatro Campos Elíseos, Bilbao, Spain, 2016 |
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2 Flutes & piano (Emmanuel Pahud, Andras Adorjan)
World Premiere: Doppler: Sonata for 2 flutes & piano. La Côte Festival, Geneva. 2018 |
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Flute (Janos Balint, Francisco Lopez)
5th AFE Festival, Palau de Música, Conservatorio Superior, Valencia, Spain. 2018 |
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Flutes (Jacques Zoon & Mario Caroli) & piano
Faure, Roberts, Anderson. Flautissimo Festival, Teatro Palladium, Rome. 2017, 2018, 2019 |
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Ph.D
Cameron completed his Doctorate at The University of New England for his study on "How the pianist's touch affects tone quality" (2015). The work demonstrates the multi-dimensionality of the problem and offers new ways forward to technique optimisation and injury prevention. |
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Music for film
Cameron's disc Original Piano Transcriptions (2009) has been used in a new art-house film by Spanish director Jesús Villalta Lora, Litterae (2015). Release in 2016. |
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Press – Fundraising recital for Red Cross Syrian Refugee Crisis. Leicester Mercury, 27th Nov. 2015
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Lecture presentation – 'Applied Science to Advanced Piano Technique', 6th WA Piano Pedagogy Convention, Perth, Australia. 2012
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Piano solo – Rachmaninoff 24 Preludes, Elder Hall, Adelaide, Australia
Flute (Derek Jones) & piano - Recital, Royal College of Music, London
Chamber – Dvorak: Piano Quintet in A major etc., Teatro Real, Madrid
Plural Ensemble – Adés, Harvey, Knussen, etc., Auditorio Nacional, Madrid
Tagus ensemble – Poulenc, Connesson, F.Schmitt, Jolivet, RNE Radio broadcast, Sony Auditorium, Madrid
Piano solo – 'Keyed-Up' Piano Series, Gala Concert Recital, Winthrop Hall, Perth, Australia
Piano solo – Original Piano Transcriptions – Fundación Juan March, Madrid
Trio intempore – Rachmaninoff, Arensky, Shostakovich, Teatro Monumental, Madrid
Trio intempore – Direct Broadcast on RNE Radio, Teatro Monumental, Madrid
Trio intempore – Villa-Lobos, A.Roldán, L.Brouwer etc., RNE Radio broadcast, Fundación Juan March, Madrid
Flute & piano – Reina Sofia School of Music, Auditorio Sony, Madrid
Voice & piano – Spanish repertoire, Fundación Juan March, Madrid
Plural Ensemble - Works by S.Sciarrino, I.Fedele, L.Francesconi, Chamber Hall, Auditorio Nacional, Madrid
Plural Ensemble - Contemporary music, Fundación BBVA, Bilbao, Spain
Flute (Ory Schneor) & piano – Centro Cultural Nicolás Salmerón, Madrid
Recording: cello (Beate Altenburg) & piano – 'Opera in the Salon - Original Cello Transcriptions', Deutschland Radio Kultur, Berlin
Castanets (Deanna Blacher-Cohn) & piano – Octagon Theatre, Perth, Australia
Piano solo – Coffs Harbour Music Society, NSW, Australia
Piano solo – University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
Masterclass – Tamworth Regional Conservatorium, Australia
Recording: castanets (Deanna Blacher-Cohn) & piano – Move Records, Melbourne, Australia
Clarinet (Phil Arkinstall) & piano – Australian Clarinet Festival, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, Australia
Piano solo – 'Keyed-Up' Piano Series, Callaway Music Auditorium, Perth, Australia
Piano concerto – Mozart No.20, Melbourne Sinfonia, Melba Hall, Australia
Piano solo – 'Original Transcriptions', Kanapee, Hannover, Germany
Piano solo – 'Original Transcriptions', The Ateneo, Madrid, Spain
Piano solo – 'Original Transcriptions', St.Martin-in-the-Fields, London
Violin (Julen Zelaia Zia) & piano – Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain
Piano solo – Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre, Wangaratta, Australia
Masterclasses – Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), Melbourne, Australia
Masterclass – Piano Faculty, University of Melbourne, Australia
Piano concerto (Joannes Roose) – Rachmaninoff No.3, Melbourne Sinfonia, Melba Hall, Australia
Voice (Gloria Londoño) & piano – Spanish/Latin repertoire, Auditorio de la universidad, Bogotá, Colombia
Piano solo – Rotary International, Fundraising Concert, MLC Auditorium, Melbourne, Australia
Violin (Jane Ng) & piano – Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, London
Cello (Beate Altenburg) & piano – Auditorio de la Fundación Canal, Madrid
Oboe (David Walter) & piano – Auditorio del conservatorio, Avila, Spain
Flute & piano – Conservatorio de Córdoba, Spain
Piano Concerto (Dobbs Franks) - Beethoven No.5, Victoria State Orchestra, Sth Melbourne Town Hall, Australia
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Piano concerto (Lawrence Foster)
Brahms No.1 - Australian Youth Orchestra, Sydney, Australia. 2004 |
*Performing career break 2012-16. Completion of PhD and FRCA exams.