Tomas Svoboda in Review
photo: Jan Kavan Jr.
Tomas Svoboda is one of the most widely performed living composers of art music in the western, classical, concert-hall tradition. This is his solo premiere on a recording entirely of his own works. It is a landmark in his career and a major contribution to the world's body of recorded music.
"Svoboda is that rare modern composer unafraid to disclose feelings, expressed in rich melodies and sonorities. This collection spans three decades, from 1965 to 1994, and is vividly pictorial. Strong rhythms, startling clarity of textures and appealing melodic shapes range from mild and carefree to insistent and driving."
-- David Stabler - The Oregonian (Jan. 2000)
"...a gem; it joyously explores the composer's Czech roots and diverse tonal explorations. Like the great Czech composer Janacek, Svoboda writes primarily lyrical music with surprising twists and turns. And like that of his contemporary Tobias Picker, Svoboda's music has the echo of nostalgia -- both playful and pensive. These are warm engaging works."
-- Bill Smith - Willamette Week (Feb. 2000)
"Seeing him play reveals the astonishing dexterity that goes into these economically composed pieces...strikingly original works with echoes of Shostakovich and Debussy...with several (recordings) in the works...consider yourself lucky if he plays a concert with each release."
-- James McQuillen - The Oregonian (March 2000)
"...a brilliant talent for developing bittersweet themes that stay with the listener while rarely stooping to the overly cerebral or gratuitously dissonant...a rhythmic subtlety and lyrical freshness that sets him apart from most of his contemporaries."
-- Bill Smith - Willamette Week (June 2000)
"The sheer variety continues to astonish: Sonata No.2... flinty, jazzy neo-classicism with a graceful swinging slow movement...Eulogy...gently mournful; the Four Waltzes evoke a lost Vienna with modernist harmony...Svoboda's technical wizardry... In a forest: Bagatellesis a poetic farewell to the Bohemian forest...Sonatina...full of straight-lined melody and surprising modulations... another example of Svoboda's amazing stylistic range... the sound is of audiophile quality."
-- Jack Sullivan - American Record Guide (Sept./Oct. 2001)
