Tom Poster

Solo and concerto performances

“Poster skilfully changed the styles of his playing as demanded by the composer, creating arresting forward motion in the polyphonic sections and then sudden radiant stillness through the chordal accompaniment of the beautiful Adagio melodies. The endings of both the sonatas were also moments of poise and serenity.”
MusicOMH.com, April 2006 (Beethoven Sonatas Ops. 109 and 111, Barbican Hall)

“The British pianist, Tom Poster, proved himself an unparalleled sound-magician. It was fascinating to observe the way he led the audience into the dreamworld of Schumann’s C Major Fantasy, for whose fragmented poetry he has a flawless instinct. A tender melancholy resonated from his performance of Schubert’s G flat major Impromptu, whose melody was not simply celebrated for its pathos but translated into delicate structural form. And in Beethoven’s Tempest Sonata, Poster opened the audience’s ears to the piece’s mysterious internal coherence, to the lucid dialogue in the Adagio and to the tonal magic of the Finale.”
General-Anzeiger, December 2005 (International Beethoven Competition, Bonn)

“Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1… presented no problems last Saturday for Tom Poster, the 24-year-old rising star who already plays with the confidence and technical assurance of a veteran. Launching into that famous, gloriously majestic opening theme, Poster established his credentials early on, embracing the roller-coaster of emotions with exuberance and fluency. By contrast, the Andante semplice was treated with elegance and lightness of touch, before summoning up that earlier energy for the final Allegro con fuoco. Poster is not afraid to show his enjoyment, and all the players were swept along in the wake of his infectious enthusiasm. This was as virtuosic a display as you could hope for; a real tour de force.”
Oxford Times, July 2005

“One Pianist Defies Tradition… lean, dark-haired, green-eyed Tom Poster, 23, gave the jury and the small audience reason to sit up and listen. Poster defied the competition cliches and opened with late Beethoven, giving an attractively high-spirited, accessible performance of the Sonata in E, Opus 109… he concluded the audition winningly with a brilliant rendition of 20th-century French composer Olivier Messiaen’s jazzy, joyfully dissonant Regard de l’Esprit de Joie (”Meditation on the Spirit of Joy”)… Poster is clearly a musician with great potential to make a mark on the international scene.”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 2005 (Van Cliburn Competition audition recital, Lugano)

“A prodigious talent… Quite amazing.”
Daily Post, July 2004 (Solo recital, Chester Festival 2004)

“A deeply thought out, original conception of the work… Poster’s touch in the floating, cantilena melody of the Adagio was truly exquisite.”
Oxford Times, January 2004 (Beethoven Emperor Concerto)

“The real joy of the evening, however, was Tom Poster’s masterly account of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue… his lyrical, unforced interpretation… rhythmic subtleties and dreamy chords - for a moment, the Sheldonian became a Manhattan nightclub.”
Oxford Times, November 2003

“An artist of fastidious tonal refinement and rare musical intelligence… This was playing of great distinction, allying the necessary bravura to a strikingly beautiful sound and a keenly individual kaleidoscope of tonal colours.”
Dorset Echo, November 2003 (Solo recital, Weymouth Music Club)

“Tom Poster… displayed great authority and astounding virtuosity [in Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini]. The public, won over by the commanding presence of this young man, gave him a standing ovation.”
Est Républicain, March 2003 (Epinal International Piano Competition 2003)

“Tom Poster… won over his audience with his alert and lively playing, revealing a true rapport with the orchestra.”
Liberté de l’Est, March 2003 (Epinal International Piano Competition 2003)

“A pianist-composer of distinction… His 1998 Illumination for violin and piano… gave scope for Poster’s own extrovert talents.”
The Times, January 2002 (Park Lane Group recital, Purcell Room, London)

“I caught a magnificent piano recital in the Friends Centre by 20-year-old Tom Poster, playing tumultuous Cesar Franck and ravishing Ravel with a maturity way beyond his years.”
Daily Mail, May 2001 (Solo recital, Brighton Festival)

“This was an enchanting performance… Poster is surely a natural exponent of 20th-century French music; he understands the mixture of lucidity and inner tension, and has an ear for the most subtle dynamic gradations… Marvellous.”
Oxford Times, February 2001 (Ravel Concerto in G)

“Tom Poster’s performance of the Grieg [Concerto] was one of the most thoughtful I can recall… a limpid tonal purity not unlike Gieseking… There was all the evidence here, both technical and musical, of a major talent.”
Oxford Times, January 2001

“Tom Poster… stunned us with his interpretations of Liszt and Chopin. Such devastating confidence and love of his music is the mark of a star performer.”
Gulf Daily News, November 2000

“The standards achieved by the young people performing here were astoundingly high. After hearing the opening performance by Tom Poster of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini it seemed impossible that he could fail to win.”
Financial Times, June 2000 (BBC Young Musicians Final Concert, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester)

Chamber music performances

“The passion which the Aronowitz Ensemble brought to Elgar’s Piano Quintet in A minor equalled their finesse in the [Vaughan Williams and Gurney] song cycles.”
Guardian, July 2007 (Cheltenham Festival)

“Evidently empathetic towards Britten’s mode of expression, Guy Johnston and Tom Poster gave a lucid performance [of Britten’s Sonata for cello and piano] that was coloured equally with passion and intensity.”
The Strad, June 2007 (Duo recital, Bishopsgate Institute, London)

“Manuel de Falla’s Seven Songs were delivered with an interpretive flair that evoked all the fiery atmosphere of the original words, with pianist Tom Poster coming into his own. But, for mood, nothing could beat the three Tangos by Astor Piazzolla, smouldering such Latin passion that St George’s briefly became a smoky Argentinian nightclub.”
Guardian, March 2007 (Balsom Ensemble, St George’s, Bristol)

“Best of all, though, was the second half of the Fauré Piano Quartet no. 1 which was backlit by Tom Poster’s fluent, translucent pianism… an energising spontaneity in the finale, while the slow movement oozed crepuscular magic.”
Venue, May 2006 (Aronowitz Ensemble, St George’s, Bristol)

“The Gallic finesse of the Fauré [Piano Quartet No. 1] was enhanced by the ensemble’s warmth of tone, an adept colouring and phrasing, and a temperament that struck an ideal balance between rapture and reason… The Aronowitz works as a true ensemble, listening, responding, moving as one and creating mellifluous, fascinating textures. Its tour is well worth catching.”
Daily Telegraph, April 2006 (Aldeburgh Easter Festival)

“I can recall few London debuts as exciting as this… a heroic interpretation of the [Brahms] G minor Piano Quartet. With the piano lid wide open, all four rose to the climaxes with seemingly limitless power. Yet there was also extraordinary delicacy, as Poster combined magically with the strings in the quieter passages of the first movement. There was further magic in the Intermezzo, broad phrasing at the ideal tempo in the slow movement and scintillating virtuosity in the Hungarian rondo… It is difficult to see how these fine players can greatly advance from this bridgehead. Let us hope we have many more chances to hear them attempt to do so.”
The Strad, March 2005 (Aronowitz Ensemble, St John’s Smith Square, London)