Review | Greensboro Symphony Celebrates American Classics with Gershwin, Bernstein, Copland, and Price

Excerpts from review by Timothy Lindeman

Cultural Voice of North Carolina

Photo credit: Lynn Donovan Photography

"The featured soloist was the Venezuelan-born pianist Gabriela Martinez, with whom Dragon has worked several times. A graduate from the Juilliard School of Music, she has performed with most of the great orchestras in the U.S. and Europe. Furthermore, she soloed with the GSO under the baton of Guest Conductor François López-Ferrer, turning in a memorable performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto last year.

I am constantly amazed at the level of musicality, virtuosity, and depth displayed by so many young artists. Martinez is certainly one of these; her playing of the Gershwin was probably the most individual interpretation I have ever heard. She took lots of liberties, especially with the slow section, making the music fresh, regardless of how many times one might have heard the piece. But there was also plenty of flair, with some passages as fast as one could imagine. She and Dragon kept an eye on each other, so they were perfectly in sync. It was a brilliant conclusion to the first half of the program."

Read review in full here.