Eclipse

“With the inner peace that his playing expresses, Spee shows in this work, par excellence, that he is capable of becoming a pianist of stature.”

“This is an enchanting release! The music is not complex but utterly beautiful, and Brendon Heinst always makes the finest recordings that are available.”

“Spee’s judicious and stylish elegance, yet intensely effective playing will not fail to conquer the hearts of even the most vigorous doubter. Yes! This is wonderful stuff!”

“The following unpublished piece by Henkemans played by Spee, Andante con Moto from 1939, shows that given the current revaluation of tonality as in the music of Mathilde Wantenaar and Rick van Veldhuysen, Henkemans really does deserve a place back in the Dutch composer canon.”

“Dutch pianist and composer Mattias Spee has emerged as an ambassador for the - once maligned - music of Hans Henkemans. Last month, his album was released on the TRPTK label. Of particular note is Henkemans' opus 1, a Concert for piano and strings.”

“With this recording, Spree and Spanjaard have rescued a Dutch composer that was not only unjustly neglected but also purposefully removed from the music scene. However, it may take some time before Henkemans will be fully reinstated in a position he ought to have had: An noteworthy exponent of Dutch cultural tradition in the 20th century. Do I have to mention that Brendon Heinst stands for the best-sounding high-resolution possible? Do listen for yourself.”

“Spee emerges as an Edgar Allan Poe-like narrator, with a great sense of emotional undercurrents. It is also fascinating how the pianist - over the grave - seeks the musical conversation with Henkemans himself in four 'intermezzi' of his own.”

“Great performance - The latter words apply first and foremost to Mattias Spee's tremendous artistic achievement, for that is certainly not amiss where both these albums are concerned. The music is extremely well-presented, is alternately energetic and delicate, resilient and graceful, expressively deeply layered, and enveloped in a rich palette of light and shadow within a ravishing texture, with, in addition - the one flowing from the other - a highly developed sense of form and content.”

“The sonic realm of Henkemans (student of Willem Pijper) is that of Ravel: full, saturated harmonies, delicate melody lines and often a hint of longing or wistfulness.”

“This CD shows just how appealing and special Henkemans' music is. It also certainly helps that Spee is a technically competent but, above all, passionate ambassador of Henkemans. Let us hope that Henkemans will continue to move many listeners, something he has strived for throughout his life.”

“Mattias Spee, meanwhile, is a committed advocate. His superb technique and ability to get under the skin of the music produce breathtaking listening sessions. [...] The music of the middle movement has a wonderfully meditative character that gradually builds toward extroverted moments. A short, virtuoso finale maintains the tension until the very last bar. Praise for soloist and orchestra who indulge in this musical adventure with verve.”

“Protopopov's one-movement Piano Sonata, opus 6, has an enormous tension arc of over half an hour, in which Spee succeeds in keeping the listener glued to their seat. Sometimes pounding, sometimes whispering softly: with his versatile playing, the pianist captures both the gaping abyss and the beauty of the flower growing at its edge. [...] Beautiful that Spee's album is an ode to individuality, not only that of the young Protopopov, but also his own.”

“The three piano sonatas Spee recorded, all from the 1920s, are capricious pieces in which an undeniable talent turns his material inside out musically and emotionally. No easily digestible melodies - if there are any at all - but clusters of sound that sometimes skirt the boundaries of the manic.”

“[Mattias Spee] gives highly powerful and convincing performances of these very demanding sonatas, and gentle and expressive ones of the shorter works, including his own.”

“It is wonderful the way Spee has completely mastered this highly complex and physically demanding idiom. But then, he has immersed himself one hundred percent in the life of his Russian colleague. [...] I greatly admire Mattias' perseverance and tenacity.”

“After all, this is not bite-sized classical music, but emotionally charged work with depth that only really comes into its own after several listens. Which is a compliment to Spee. Apart from the rather impressive playing style of an evidently perfectionist artist, the recording and production of Eclipse Vol. 3: Sergei Protopopov can also be called outstanding. The sound is well balanced, refined and rich in dynamics. Which makes this CD, which by the way is also available as a high-res download, a sonic feast.”

“Spee's been described as having a “velvet touch,” and certainly there's ample evidence on hand to support it, and Protopopov is fortunate to have him as his spokesperson when the pianist's playing is articulate, eloquent, and wholly sympathetic to the composer's vision and sensibility.”

“In the realm of music, pianist Mattias Spee is a true adventurer. He is constantly looking for unusual, unknown piano repertoire. His discoveries resulted in his CD series Eclipse.”