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"Full Clarity of line helps flawless Speidel
technique …With an artist of this calibre every
piece has authority." "… Sontraud Speidel appeared as a Clara
Schumann of our time, with bravura and intimacy, and
virtuosic sweep and delicate shading …" "… A piano recital, which was a musical
event even for fastidious ears … A sensitive artist
like her, who is a servant of the work of art, is not
regarded as being usual in Rome." "… The climax of the concert, and an
irretrievable musical delight, was the interpretation of
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in d minor by Speidel.
Touching the keys not only with her fingers, but also
with her soul, she revealed the entire force of that
outstanding concerto. The interpretation of the pianist
reminded us of historic performances by Clara Haskil." "… Calm and self-evident virtuosity,
which places itself at the service of the musical
substance. Artists, who play music with this human
approach, are much important …" "Winkler´s Concerto presented at
Tanglewood…Sontraud Speidel was the strong, well
prepared soloist …" "Outstanding chamber concert with Speidel
… a musical adventure… " "... The German pianist received much acclaim
… at the Wigmore Hall. She achieved effortless
accuracy throughout a long and testing programme, and the
range and beauty of her tone brought complete integrity
to the works she played …" "Almost too good ... Speidel is one of those
artists to whom the word incredible aptly can be
applied…The listener was led to hear the passion in
her playing …As her hands sailed up and down the
keyboard, the notes rolling off like drops in a spray of
water, one could only be amazed that such skill exists." "… The pianist Speidel - on of the most
outstanding currently in Germany … With great
sympathetic understanding, and with her own, self-evident
virtuosity, Sontraud Speidel proved her technical
brilliancy and her power of interpretation. An amazing
artist, and a graceful priestess of music of the highest
rank ! …" "… She is a master of her craft. Her
bravura technique was well matched by her sensitivity and
gave the audience an experience to be remembered." "Brilliant piano debut in the Town Hall:
Sontraud Speidel kindled fireworks … played with a
perfection that almost cannot be surpassed. The concert
was an art happening par excellence … Robert
Schumann’s “Grande Sonate in f minor”: An
interpretation like that of this huge piece will not be
played again soon…" "Conquering playing - the Piano Sonata op. 1
by Johannes Brahms was played completely unspectacularly
and without any aggressive approach. This interpretation
was wholesome for the opus of Brahms; a lot of warmth and
artistic understanding of the composition. The artist did
not play for the sake of exhibiting her own ability: she
still served the piece, however without neglecting an
individual interpretation …" "… During the concert in the Schumann
House, Sontraud Speidel remained concentrated and proved
her admirable condition, which became obvious in the
finale of Hummel’s large Sonata op. 81 in f# minor.
She stretched out the middle part with intimacy, and in
the first and last movements, her playing impressed with
the fastest tempi …" "Sontraud Speidel brought it off with a
stunning performance that fully exposed the range and
depth of Beethoven´s marvellous creation (Diabelli
Variations). Not only was her playing technically
faultless, it conveyed brilliantly the wealth of emotion
in the work … Coming after this, the shorter pieces
were like a light dessert after a sumptuous main course,
Rachmaninoff at first happy and exuberant (“Love´s
Joy”), then heavy, even melancholic in the
sentimental way of waltzes (“Love´s Grief”).
Again Speidel was faultless, both technically and
emotionally." "Sontaud Speidel built an artistic monument
for Fanny Hensel, Felix Mendelssohn’s sister, with
this brilliant recording, which must be praised for the
interpretation and playing technique." "… With the pianist Sontraud Speidel, an
ideal, sensitive, and engaged artist was found." "Sontraud Speidel is nimble and flowing and
has distinct affinity for this repertoire." "… Sontraud Speidel proves the
brilliance and sovereignity of both herself and the
composer by her powerful, engaged, and at the same time
sensitive playing." "Schumann’s spirit came forth from her
hands … Pianist with color, charm, and spirit …
Full-blooded pianist … Her great strength is the
enormous breadth of variation of her touch, and her
technical perfection that never ends in itself …" "A remarkable pianist … an inexorable
architecture, a superior approach, a clarity and just a
right amount of energy, which allows her to draw
thrilling paintings with superb colors … In the art
of S. Speidel, there is much elegance, intelligence,
mastership, transparent intuition and a continous
relevance which lierally fascinates" "Sontraud Speidel at the piano: a rare
virtuoso … Sontraud Speidel is a great pianist, and
her program is not lessened by her virtuosity." "Music-Mission of the highest artistic
quality. Sontraud Speidel in the Town Hall: Kehl had a
pianistic event … she showed a breath-taking
perfection in pearlyscales, engaging passages of thirds
and octaves, thrilling playing of chords, dreamily secure
technique, masterful playing of nuances … a wide
scale of pianistic art, which rarely can be heard …" "A piano concert, which cannot be desired
nicer … Sontraud Speidel is a master of nuanced
touch, and of a well-reasoned and deeply-felt cultivation
of sound. Her art of phrasing, and sensitively pointed
agogics prove her high musicality, her talent for
interpretation, and her deep and poetic seriousness. Her
self-evident “craftsmanlike” skills, and her
enormous playing technique, are the basis for her
intimate expressive approach, which made the evening with
Sontraud Speidel an event …" "Piano recital of lyricism, fine
control…a wonderful capacity for shaping the
minutest gesture…She is a thinker and a poet …" "… with the pianist Sontraud Speidel, a
performer was found that enthralled the audience …" "… made Joseph Haydn’s Piano
Concerto in D Major a festival of clarity, virtuosity,
precision, and pearl-like shining figuration …" "… Sontraud Speidel convinced [in the
Schwetzingen Festival] as soloist in the Sinfonietta [by
Martinu] impressively with her keen accuracy and clarity
of interpretation, and also with defining a clear
boundary between lyrical intensity and Romanticism, and
the danger to fall back into the conventional: hallmarks
of a sovereign interpretation …" "Many good pianists have been introduced
recently in several concerts, but then, Sontraud Speidel
came and made all of them fall into oblivion … in
short, it was an event. Sontraud Speide's audience
completely forgets the virtuosity, because the pianist,
who won several prizes, does not put on airs. With the
greatest self-effacing approach, she plays her program by
heart in a clarity and purity that succeeds only in the
greatest artists, of which Sontraud Speidel is surely one." "… The Piano Concerto of Chopin was the
climax of the evening. With breath-taking sovereignty,
Sontraud Speidel varied the themes of the Maestoso with
fine scales of brilliant elegance … Many shouts of
"bravo" rewarded the brilliant pianist." Translations: Dr. Jürgen Rodeland, John Nisbet
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