Review | "California Symphony Blows the Roof off the Joint"

The San Francisco Classical Voice raved of Charlie Albright’s performance with Conductor Donato Cabrera and the California Symphony in September, 2019, writing that “The piano soloist for the Beethoven concerto, clear fan favorite Charlie Albright, performed the work, especially the finale, with a precision that any performer would envy.

He also provided the two most astonishing fireworks in an evening of them: his jaw-droppingly virtuosic and complicated cadenza during the concerto followed by his almost equally impressive encore, which took the form of an on-the-spot, prelude length improvisation on four random notes elicited from audience suggestion (the lack of giggles when someone suggested “g minor” as a note punctuated the welcoming environment that much more). The match with Bernstein was perfect: educational, interactive warmness and lightheartedness amid daunting levels of skill.”

The entire review is available here.