Beethoven and Sivelov

"It usually doesn't take long to hear what makes Bargemusic the perfect chamber music hall, and on Saturday evening that moment occurred when the violinist Mark Peskanov, the cellist Sophie Shao and the pianist Niklas Sivelov began the slow second movement of Beethoven's "Ghost" Trio in D (Op. 70, No. 1). The musicians had just roared through the opening movement with an uncommon ferocity, but having arrived at the slow movement, they pulled back, producing a tightly controlled, intensely focused pianissimo.
Classical Music In a standard hall - even a comparatively small one like Alice Tully or Merkin - the sound they produced would have been not just quiet, but distant as well. In the intimate confines of Bargemusic, though, this restrained passage sacrificed nothing in presence or fine-grained detail.
The score soon has the musicians back at full volume, producing nearly the same heat level as the first movement demands, and the Presto finale replaces the second movement's darker hues with the energy typical of a Beethoven finale. If the pianissimo playing is where the assets of proximity are the clearest, a small room has plenty to offer in fast, loud movements too, most notably a sense of the music's visceral power.
Mr. Peskanov, Ms. Shao and Mr. Sivelov also played Beethoven's Trio in E flat (Op. 70, No. 2), in a performance with similar virtues, if slightly less drama. Between the two Beethoven works, they gave the premiere of Mr. Sivelov's "New York Trio." In a brief, amusing back and forth with Mr. Peskanov before the performance, Mr. Sivelov, who is Swedish, said he had visited New York many times, and that he hoped to capture the city's energy and, as he described it, "chaotic feeling."
There wasn't a lot of chaos in the three-movement work, but there were plenty of sharp edges, starting with the series of strident chords that opens the score. There were also some jazz-influenced turns, particularly in the piano line - in both its chord voicings and its rhythmic verve - in the finale.
The work's slow movement, which Mr. Sivelov said is marked Adagio lamentoso, began with an affecting but not overly dolorous cello solo and included an extended section for just the violin and piano, as if fault lines ran through the ensemble. Of the three movements, this was the most diffuse, but an energetic finale soon put it back on course, catching something of the city's vibrancy in themes that circled through the ensemble, with transformations accruing as each instrument took them up."

New York Times 2005, Allan Kozinn

Recital at Tivoli, Copenhagen

“der var næppe et øjeblik I det uortodokse program, der ikke fyldte sindet og rev I kroppen med åndelig intensitet og fysisk vælde. På en rent ud foruroligende vis traf han Schumanns egenart, spændt ud mellem det sværmeriske og det virtuost opbrusende I en udpræget nervemusik fuld av mørke understrømme og med et næsten smertende intenst espressivo I andantinon”

Politiken, Jan Jacoby

Schönberg Concerto with MSO/Markus Lehtinen

“dramatic and colourful interpretation, profoundly powerful and with lots of imagination. Sivelov is the the perfect ambassador for Schönberg. Dynamical and intense”

Sydsvenskan, Matti Edén

Racmanninov Paganini Variations
Umeå Symphonic Orchestra / Kristjan Järvi

“Insightfull Rachmanninov playing-passionate and with lot of the Russian melancholy”

Norra Västerbotten

"Explosive Sivelov impressed- finesse, playfullness, and intensity”

Västerbottens Kuriren

Rachmanninov Concerto nr 4
on tour with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra / Hannu Lintu

“Force and drama in the 4th Concerto- Sivelov may be the man to make this concerto popular”

Helsingborgs Dagblad

No Strings Attached together
with Martin Fröst and Malena Ernman in the Berwaldhall, Stockholm

“Sweden has finally got the combination of classical stars that we awaited for such a long time”

Dagens Nyheter, Thomas Anderberg

Swedish Radio Orchestra/ Esa-Pekka Salonen

“Niklas Sivelöv gave an impressive performance of Bartók's First Piano Concerto. Powerful, sensitive and with unfailing precision"

Svenska Dagbladet

"In spite of all the martellato passages the concerto got an almost lyrical touch"

Expressen

Mozart Concertos nr 16& 26
with The Swedish Chamber Orchestra / Thomas Dausgaard

“Artistic profoundness and with a playful spirit-his own cadenzas were splendid”

Örebro Kuriren

E. Chausson Concerto for violin, piano and stringquartet
with Jonas Båtstrand and Oslo Stringquartet

“Sivelov proves a real ambassador for the highly romantic style of Chausson: with great sensitivity and well-balanced. His sound is devine.”

Västerbottens Kuriren

London: (Barbican Hall)

“a pianist of utmost sensational quality”

Geneve: (Prokofiev 3)

“ Niklas Sivelov est un pianiste dont l’intelligence sait explorer toutes les ressources de son instrument…et avec un virtuosité pe´tillante.”

Copenhagen: ( Tivoli )

“With an intense brilliance, a finely controlled touch, exquisitely formed detail and an impeccable sense of style"

Politiken

Winthertur: (Prokofiev 3)

“ Pianistischer Bravour! Niklas Sivelov verfugt uber ein stupendes Können. Brillant breitete er den Effekten, Läufen, Akkordetten und Schwungspassagen aus, deren Schwierigkeit er souverän zu meistern verstand“

Winterthur Zeitung

Göteborg: ( Tchaikovsky 1)

“A very personal approach that reminded the famous Horowitz- Toscanini interpretation“

Göteborgs Posten

Mozart nr 16
with Norrkopings Symphonic Orchestra / Sachio Fujioka

“Mozart with a lot of inspiration and breathtaking vitality”

Norrköpings Tidningar

Korsholm Festival:(Beethoven, Schumann)

“His playing gave the feeling that Maestro Beethoven himself was at the keyboard”

Zurich Tonhalle:(Bach, Schumann, Honegger and Ginastera)

“Kompromissloser Gestalter”

Neue Zurcher Zeitung

Bartok 1/ Esa-Pekka Salonen

”en hemlighetsfull lyrisk framtoning trots alla tangenthamrande passager. Dessutom framfördes den med en härligt cool jazzattityd-som om Duke Ellingtons ande plötsligt svävat in i Berwaldhallen”

Expressen, Göran Persson

Prokofiev 3
Kungl. Filharmoniska Orkestra / Paavo Berglund

”Exakt och mjukt piano”

Dagens Nyheter, Marcus Boldemann

Recital i Berwaldhallen

”Piano med kraft och finess”

Svenska Dagbladet, Lars Hedblad

Pianokonsert av Lars Ekström,
The Dream Age med SRSO/Willén

”Den virtuosa och orginella pianostämman kongenialt omhändertagen av Sivelöv”

Dagens Nyheter,Thomas Anderberg

Skrjabin Konsert med HSO / Willén

”Talangfullt pianospel- med värme och intensitet”

Expressen, Sören Angeldorff

Beethoven 4 med Sundsvalls Kammar Orkestra / Willén

”Lyriskt intensiv Beethoven-dramatiskt svepande med stor vitalitet”

Sundsvalls Tidning, Jörgen Lundmark