“...magnificent pianism...”

“Pianist David Kaplan’s account of Mozart’s Fantasie and Fugue in C Minor was the standout performance. His playing had a dazzling range of dynamics and emotional weight. Mozart is often played too subtly for the real dynamic contrasts to shine through, but Kaplan hammered away, bringing out the piece’s turbulent emotional underbelly. For all the bombast of his performance, he retained the sense of control that is integral to Mozart.
Schoenberg’s Sechs Kleine Klavierstucke (Six little piano pieces), often a work that confounds audiences, was given a vibrant reading. Kaplan highlighted the changes in the instrument’s color at different ends of the keyboard in a way that seemed to make the work less atonal. Kaplan then led into Klein’s own Piano Sonata No. 1, and the relation to the Schoenberg was apparent.
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“Prokofiev’s famous, and famously difficult, Sonata in D major, Op. 94 ended the concert. It was refreshing to hear the fine David Kaplan play with full force and no hint of pussyfooting around to make way for the flute. Ms. Gregory and Mr. Kaplan nailed every virtuoso passage and played the entire piece with heroic abandon. The encore was Fauré’s Morceau de Concours. It couldn’t have been played more beautifully.”

“...the excellent and adventurous young pianist... played ... with command, elegance, and character.”