“Zacharias, who had a score on his music stand all evening yet seemed never to turn a page, led a perfectly shaped performance with gestures that were demonstrative but never exaggerated. He deployed a full complement of strings onstage, including no fewer than nine basses; their prominence heightened the melancholy atmosphere. The rhythms were surprisingly nimble for the ultra-refined sound he achieved… Before intermission, Zacharias led Mozart’s G-major concerto (K.453) from the keyboard. Here was an airier, more precise sound, and Zacharias’s graceful, restrained style was a model of eloquent dialogue with a reduced orchestra. The slow movement, faultlessly paced and gorgeously played, has an unusually somber episode in an otherwise contented musical expanse — proof that, as in Schubert, the shadows are never all that far away.”
The Boston Globe
‘One must ‘speak’ music..." Christian Zacharias is a narrator among the conductors and pianists of his generation. In each of his elaborate, detailed and clearly articulated interpretations, Zacharias is interested in what lies behind the notes.
With his distinctive combination of integrity, unique style, surpassing linguistic expressiveness, deep musical insight and assured artistic instinct paired with his charismatic and captivating personality, Christian Zacharias has made a name for himself not only as one of the world’s leading pianists and conductors, but also as a musical thinker. Beginning as a pianist and later moving on to work as a conductor as...
“An outstanding instrumental soloist who is also brilliant conductor is hard to come by. However, Christian Zacharias of Germany is one such exceptional talent – a well versed, intelligent pianist on the one hand and a conductor with a broad repertoire, including opera, on the other.”
