News & Reviews

Review: The Pleasures of Rediscovery (Luigi Perrachio’s and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Piano Quintets), InfoDad.com, 1/25/24

“David Korevaar, under whose supervision the work was published (as recently as 2022!), integrates the piano sound very effectively with that of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, and the performance as a whole evinces sincerity, understanding, and a deep respect for the music and the composer.” | full review


Review: Glorious music gloriously played by pianist David Korevaar and the Carpe Diem String Quartet (Luigi Perrachio’s and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Piano Quintets), Classical CD Reviews, 1/19/2024

“All through the piece, I was captivated by the ensemble playing. I was particularly impressed with the size, breadth and amplitude of the piano contribution…This recording is a major accomplishment for David Korevaar and this CD is an important and indispensable release.” | full review


New CD release!  Da Vinci Classics has released the recording of pianist David Korevaar and Carpe Diem String Quartet performing Luigi Perrachio’s and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Piano Quintets

David Korevaar and Carpe Diem String Quartet: Amy Galluzzo, Ariana Nelson, Korine Fujiwara, Marisa Ishikawa
Listen now to Luigi Perrachio: Quintet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello and Piano (1919), Allegretto semplice
Buy now


Korevaar values Broomfield Symphony community connection, Broomfield Leader

“Distinguished professor and pianist Dr. David Korevaar — who opens the Broomfield Symphony’s 2022 performance schedule on Oct. 29 — appreciates the value of performing arts within society.

‘There’s something very special about the Broomfield Symphony, because it is truly a community orchestra and those are getting fewer and fewer…For me it’s important to be part of my community (and) Broomfield is part of our local orbit.’ Now celebrating its 40th season, Korevaar said the Broomfield Symphony embodies community connectivity.”


Renowned pianist, CU prof David Korevaar diversifies repertoire for free show, Daily Camera, 8/24/22

“Korevaar’s career is filled with collaboration, international acclaim and inspired instruction as a professor within University of Colorado’s College of Music. From conducting master classes in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan as part of the U.S. State Department’s cultural envoy program to performing last summer with Carpe Diem String Quartet at the Snake River Music Festival…Korevaar remains a sought-after performer and teacher stateside and internationally. While he stays committed to the classical music that was produced before his time, he also thrives on working with contemporary composers.”


Ars Nova Singers Artistic Director Thomas Morgan shares behind-the-scenes highlights from his work on our latest globe-trotting rendition of “Irish Tune” | blog post

“David is known for his brilliant piano playing, as well as his extensive backcountry hiking, including in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area (in the remote, rugged, western portions of Boulder County). When I was starting to explore visual ideas for this project, David’s photography suggested a number of unique possibilities, and provided plenty of inspiration for me to assemble the video elements in a creative way that celebrates the extraordinary beauty of our county.” | full article


Watch David’s April 25 recital for the Chopin Society of Connecticut | video


Faculty Tuesdays continue from an empty Grusin Hall, SharpsandFlatirons.com, 10/22/20

“Pianist David Korevaar is excited for his upcoming Faculty Tuesdays livestream. He will perform on the Oct. 27 concert, ‘Signs, Games + Messages,’ which will feature works by Karol Szymanowski, György Kurtág and Fauré.

‘(In chamber music,) we do a lot with eyes, with body motions, with the sense of breathing, which doesn’t mean we have to see the breathing apparatus,’ Korevaar says. ‘It’s a whole-body thing.’

This will be Korevaar’s third livestream this fall, after a solo livestream and a duo livestream with violinist Charles Wetherbee in mid-October.

‘It’s a new adventure,’ Korevaar says. ‘In a livestream, you don’t have the opportunity to fix stuff, but you get the same self-consciousness about the bloopers. With chamber music, it’s easier because there is mutual energy, and everybody is working together.'”  |  full article


2020 Virtual MahlerFest To Feature Acclaimed Pianist David Korevaar May 13, Broadway World, 5/11/20

Colorado MahlerFest, which had previously announced the cancellation of this year’s in-person festival, announces the 2020 Virtual Colorado MahlerFest, May 13-17, 2020. The festival has curated a collection of performances, films, a virtual symposium, art gallery, and more which will be released each day at 3:30 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time. Materials will be released across a number of online platforms and collected at MahlerFest.org/MahlerFest-Online. Among the highlights, acclaimed pianist David Korevaar will perform Schubert’s Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960 on May 13 at 3:30pm MDT. | full article


An Interview with David Korevaar by Robert Hjelmstad, 5/10/20

During the Covid-19 quarantine period, pianist David Korevaar took to social media to share an ambitious personal project; he set himself the challenge of recording (from his living room) and sharing (via Facebook and YouTube) all 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas. The original time frame for the challenge was 60 days–he eventually finished the project in 41. The recording project was enjoyed by his long-time fans and also introduced the artist to some people for the first time.  |  full interview


Bringing the Beethoven: Pianist David Korevaar, SharpsandFlatirons.com, 3/27/20

“Korevaar, the Helen and Peter Weill Faculty Fellow and a distinguished professor of piano at the CU Boulder College of Music, is planning to play all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas over 60 days. Each will be posted in turn on his YouTube channel.”  |  full article


Review: PERRACHIO: New Poems; 25 Preludes, American Record Guide, September/October 2019
David Korevaar, piano; MSR 1710

Born in 1883, the Italian Luigi Perrachio often is best described as an Italian impressionist— as Grove Music Online says, “Debussy and Ravel are rarely left sight of for long”. And a lot of the music here does remind me very much of Ravel and Debussy. Other pieces, like the fifth of the New Poems, seem to have the harmonic simplicity of Copland’s American works. Still and all, they mostly remind me of Ravel, particularly the aphoristic 25 Preludes, which Grove identifies as his best known work. They require a pianist with virtuosic technique and an artist’s sensitivity for producing a wide spectrum of tone color. David Korevaar is the right pianist for these pieces. Previously lauded by Mr Becker for his Ravel program (Jan/Feb 2006), he excels here as well. We haven’t reviewed any of Perrachio’s music as far as I can tell, and he is scarcely represented in the current catalog. Knowing his music better certainly helps to flesh out the picture of early 20th Century Italian music. But I hope Korevaar will record more Ravel and also Debussy. I know the competition is keen, but I believe what he would do with those great compositions would contribute significantly to our experience of them.


Review: MahlerFest XXXII, Kelly Dean Hansen, 5/23/19

“In addition to playing the demanding piano part in the Elgar, (Korevaar) took on a challenge few pianists would dare: one of Franz Liszt’s legendary arrangements of the Beethoven symphonies for solo piano. These arrangements are notoriously difficult, among the most challenging things for any pianist to tackle. In Korevaar’s hands, the Fourth Symphony lost none of its identity despite the absence of the orchestra. This is a testament to both Liszt’s skill as a transcriber and Korevaar’s pianism. The perpetual motion finale—certainly not idiomatic for the piano—was breathtaking. In fact, this may rank as Korevaar’s finest Boulder performance in several years, and that is saying something.” | full review


Review: PERRACHIO 9 Poems – 25 Preludes • David Korevaar, Gramophone, May 2019

“Kudos to David Korevaar for bringing Perrachio’s inventive and pianistically resourceful piano music to light and playing it so wonderfully well. Excellent sound…” | full review


Review: PERRACHIO Piano Music • David Korevaar, MSR MS1710, Gramophone, March 2019

“The Italian composer and pianist Luigi Perrachio was born in Turin in 1883 and first learned music as a child from his father, an amateur pianist. After gaining a law degree in Turin he studied music in Bologna before travelling to Paris, where he first heard the music of Ravel and Debussy, who greatly influenced him. Perrachio then settled in Turin, where he taught at the Liceo Musicale from 1925 to 1955. As a writer, pianist and conductor, he was a propagandist for contemporary music and an educational reformer. Of his modest output, in the Debussy-Ravel tradition, the 25 Preludes (1927) for piano are best known. He was important in promoting new through his activities as a performer and organizer, especially with a group he put together, the ‘Double Quintet of Turin’. He was far from prolific as a composer, only as a consequence of significant arm-twisting from his friends. Innate shyness, combined with an aristocratic sense of composing, led him to publish only a small part of his works (especially those for piano and lyrics) and starting from the mid-twenties to confine himself to a sort of voluntary isolation. On this beautifully produced CD, the brilliant American musician David Korevaar gives intelligent, thoughtful and dynamic performances of piano pieces by Luigi Perrachio – bringing this deightful assured music to a much wider audience. ‘A musical epiphany.'”


Review: PERRACHIO Nove Poemetti, 25 Preludi • David Korevaar, MSR 1710, Fanfare (Jerry Dubins), May/June 2019

“This is altogether a fascinating album and the music a real treat for the ears. It would be reason enough to applaud David Korevaar for discovering these works and enabling us to hear them on record for the first time, but a standing ovation is in order, along with the applause for playing of such beauty and artistry of such penetrating insight. Urgently recommended.”  | full review


Review: PERRACHIO Nove Poemetti, 25 Preludi • David Korevaar, MSR 1710, Fanfare (Huntley Dent), May/June 2019

“(Korevaar’s) touch is worthy of Debussy and Ravel, his phrasing captures the melodic line with an unerring ear, and he incorporates the quicksilver Impressionist gestures with delicacy. The result is that the poetry intended by Perrachio comes through perfectly.” | full review


Review: PERRACHIO Nove Poemetti, 25 Preludi • David Korevaar, MSR 1710, Fanfare (Colin Clarke), May/June 2019

“Quite a find here—literally! Korevaar’s disc…is a major addition to the catalog; in fact, it is nothing short of revelatory. Luigi Perracchio could hardly ask for a better interpreter. One fervently hopes this opens the door to more recordings of Perrachio’s music.” | full review


Pianist David Korevaar Discusses the Music of Composer Luigi Perrachio, Fanfare, May/June 2019

“This recording features the world premiere of two Perrachio compositions, the Nove Poemetti (1917–20), and 25 Preludi (1927). The Nove Poemetti (Nine Poems) are a collection of short works composed between 1917 and 1920. Most are accompanied in the score by a brief verse that complements the music. The 25 Preludes are in the tradition of like works by Bach, Chopin, Scriabin, and other composers…David Korevaar proves himself a superb advocate. His playing is technically brilliant, with a wonderful plasticity of phrasing and colors, and at all times displaying a captivating flow and momentum.

…As in the case of the Poems, I found the Preludes to be highly attractive and compelling listening. That is a credit both to the composer, and of course, Korevaar’s superb playing and interpretation. It’s clear that discovering, learning, and performing Luigi Perrachio’s music has been a labor of love for David Korevaar.” |  full article


Review: LOWELL LIEBERMANN: Piano Works, Vol 3 – David Korevaar – MSR, Fanfare, Nov/Dec 2018

“Pianist David Korevaar, to whom Liebermann has dedicated at least one work, displays his considerable gifts in these readings. He dashes off the technical demands of some of these works with aplomb, while caressing the simple and quiet sections to bring out every last bit of their poetic nature. Here is a pianist with palpably clear musical gifts and intelligence, and one who should be widely heard.”  |  full review



Review: LOWELL LIEBERMANN: Piano Works, Vol 3 – David Korevaar – MSR
, Audiophile Audition, December 4, 2018

“David Korevaar measures this music as only an insider can, providing sumptuous performances in outstanding, gracious sound.”  |  full review


Review: Lowell Liebermann Piano Music, Vol 3, MusicWeb International, November 2018

“What makes the disc especially notable is the exceptional pianism of David Korevaar. He has already given us excellent discs of Chopin works and Hindemith sonatas, both for this same label. He has also recorded CDs of JS Bach works, Schubert sonatas and much chamber music. After listening to his interpretation of these Liebermann works, I can’t imagine significantly better performances. Moreover, I doubt whether you’ll get the chance to hear much competition in this repertory at any time in the near future. For Liebermann admirers then, this disc is probably essential; for those wanting to explore good contemporary piano music, here’s a fine prospect.”  |  full review


Review: Lowell Liebermann Piano Music, Vol 3, Gramophone, October 2018

“Needless to say, one needs boundless resources of technique, tone, color, and musical imagination to do Liebermann’s keyboard aesthetic justice. David Korevaar possesses these qualities in spades and manages to create an individual character with each selection. Both the present disc and Korevaar’s two earlier Liebermann volumes brilliantly reflect this pianist’s probing individuality and firm commitment to the material.”  |  full review


Review: AN ADVENTUROUS UNDERTAKING: Piano music by Lowell Liebermann, Music & Vision, 8/11/18
heard by GERALD FENECH

“With this third volume, David Korevaar continues on his journey of recording all of Liebermann’s works for the piano between 2001 and 2017 and the programme is, maybe, one of the most imaginative and representative of the composer’s immense gifts to write music that is modern and yet so beautiful and attractive…This is an adventurous undertaking, superbly performed and sumptuously annotated and recorded.”  |  full review


Piano professor set to give music’s first Distinguished Research Lecture, CU College of Music, 2/20/17

“Korevaar is the first music faculty member to be awarded the lectureship, which is awarded annually to faculty based on peer nominations and the nominee’s body of academic or creative achievement and prominence, as well as contributions to the university’s educational and service missions.”  |  full article

Watch full lecture


Listen to David Korevaar’s interview with George Preston on KCME’s Culture Zone (Colorado Springs), KCME Radio, 2/17/17


CU pianist David Korevaar receives high faculty honor, Daily Camera, 2/16/17

“David’s contributions to the university, the Boulder community and the world music stage make him an incredible ambassador for the College of Music and the university.” |  full article


Review: Frédéric Chopin: Piano Music; David Korevaar, piano – MSR Classics, Gramophone, December 2016

“Given David Korevaar’s penchant for putting together interesting and cohesive concert programmes, it’s not surprising that his all-Chopin disc embraces many moods and styles. Indeed, Korevaar’s first selection, the C minor Nocturne, Op 48 No 1, runs the emotional gamu between its stark mezza voce opening and the middle section’s tumultuous octave outbursts, helped by the pianist’s full-bodied sonority and huge dynamic range…

Korevaar sheds fresh and often unconventional light on the G minor (First) Ballade. The opening theme’s myriad repetitions markedly differ, yet are inevitably unified, while the pianist brings uncommon melodic clarity to the rapid fioritura and heroic virtuoso patterns…This revelatory interpretation alone is worth the disc’s price.”  | full review


Review: Frédéric Chopin: Piano Music; David Korevaar, piano – MSR Classics, Fanfare Magazine, Nov/Dec 2016

“Korevaar’s album is a textbook case of how much is to be gained by having Chopin played by a pianist in his artistic maturity. It’s not just the greater consideration and emotional substance to be heard in the interpretations. It even affects something as distinctive as tone…Throughout this CD one hears Korevaar weighing his chords so that he creates a tone always suitable to the substance of the music. If you want to see what this both sounds and looks like, I strongly recommend Korevaar’s YouTube concert video of Mozart’s 25th Piano Concerto, with the pianist conducting the Shonan Chamber Orchestra…The CD’s sound engineering is excellent…I would recommend it to anyone for whom Chopin is not a momentary melodic gratification, but rather a deeply considered condensation of reality. It ain’t kid stuff.” | full review


Review: Frédéric Chopin: Piano Music; David Korevaar, piano – MSR Classics, Classical.net, October 2016

“The dreamy, tranquil side of Chopin finds Korevaar in especially fine form: try the lovely aforementioned D-flat major Nocturne and notice how the pianist’s rich velvety tone and tender phrasing seem to make the music float serenely in heavenly skies. Indeed, and the three Mazurkas are also played quite convincingly: the G major and A-flat major Mazurkas are given hearty, colorful treatments – appropriately so, but the darker C-sharp minor Mazurka, while elegant and stately throughout, has a lovely wistful quality, again thanks to the pianist’s wide-ranging dynamics, as well as his unerring sense in grasping the emotional character of the music.”  | full review


David Korevaar named a 2016 Distinguished Research Lecturer at the CU College of Music

The Distinguished Research Lectureship is among the highest honors bestowed by the faculty on a faculty member at CU Boulder. Each year, the Research & Innovation Office requests nominations from faculty for this award, and a faculty review panel recommends one faculty member as a recipient. 2016 honorees are David Korevaar (Music) and Thomas T. Veblen (Geography). David will be giving a lecture, “The score is alive….with the sound of music,” on February 24, 2017, 4-6:30 PM at Grusin Music Hall, University of Colorado Boulder.


Review: SCHUBERT: Piano Sonatas in G, D 894; in A, D 959; David Korevaar – MSR Classics, Classical.net, September 2016

“Korevaar captures the serenity in the opening movement of the G major sonata (D. 894) with a mesmerizing, silken tone, making Schubert sound more richly Romantic than is usual. The playful music later on conveys an infectious joy…In the end, one must observe that Korevaar’s performances arguably have as much subtlety, color and character as most of the better efforts.”  |  full review


Review: Frédéric Chopin: Piano Music; David Korevaar, piano – MSR Classics, Czech Music Direct

“David Korevaar plays a programme of Chopin favourites. He brings to these timeless masterworks an approach that makes them sound newly minted, which is helped by the lovely sound of his Shigeru EX piano.”


Review: Frédéric Chopin: Piano Music; David Korevaar, piano – MSR Classics, Audio Club of Atlanta, June 2016

“American pianist David Korevaar has his own distinctive approach to the works of Frédéric Chopin, and I personally find the results very gratifying. He packs a lot of music into the present MSR release, and all of it bears his personal stamp. The selections are mostly very well-known examples of distinctive Chopin genres – ballade, scherzo, nocturne, mazurka, and barcarolle – but they sound refreshingly different here.” | full review


Review: SCHUBERT: Piano Sonatas in G, D 894; in A, D 959; David Korevaar – MSR Classics, American Record Guide, May/June 2016

“Everything is caressed, fondled in a manner most attractive, as he [Korevaar] never pushes things beyond the bounds of good taste. There may be some who would disagree with me, but few will remain unmoved by his restrained emotionalism.”

“There is much to enjoy in both these performances, and the pianist has obviously given great thought into his interpretations.” | full review


Review: SCHUBERT: Piano Sonatas: No. 18 in G; No. 20 – David Korevaar, piano; MSR Classics, Audiophile Audition, 4/14/16

“…With Korevaar’s naturally warm and comforting pianism, with wonderfully engrossing tonal qualities, the experience of this disc is definitely rewarding and enlightening. The sound matches the playing—burnished and gratifying.” | full review


Review: Paul Hindemith’s Sonatas for Viola and Piano, Strings Magazine, 4/11/16

“A new recording of three of Hindemith’s sonatas for viola and piano, by violist Geraldine Walther and pianist David Korevaar, presents an engaging survey of the German composer’s contributions to chamber music focused on viola.”http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/m/msr01593a.php | full review


Review: Paul Hindemith – Viola Sonatas; Geraldine Walther, viola; David Korevaar, piano; MSR Classics, Classical.net, November 2015

“It is a three-movement sonata that opens with a long solo passage for the piano, which Korevaar plays with a sense of urgency, the dark music sounding anxious and harried, not overly percussive or harsh. Both the violist and pianist throughout this movement phrase the music with a deft sense for its weird colors and roiling character, the viola sounding weighty and exigent and the piano’s legato crisp and lean. The players capture the gloom and doom of the ensuing movement with the same incisiveness, the viola singing mournfully and so beautifully. The finale is riveting: the violist actually sounds suave in the anxiety and drive here, while the pianist imparts an exotic sort of color to the music’s fabric, never allowing the blunt forte chords to sound harsh but to serve to propel the music toward its anxious and ambivalent ending…The two play the other sonatas just as convincingly…The album notes on the music by David Korevaar are enlightening.” | full review


JOY and Twyla Tharp’s 50th Anniversary Tour, DC Metro Theater Arts, 11/12/15

“With music by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by David Korevaar and Angela Hewitt, the company floods the stage with duos and trios…”


It’s time for trios at Littleton church, Centennial Citizen, 10/21/15


Review – Paul Hindemith: Sonata for Viola and Piano – Sonata for Viola and Piano, Opus 25, N° 4 – Sonata for Viola and Piano, Opus 11, N° 4, ConcertoNet.com, 10/21/15
Geraldine Walther (Viola), David Korevaar (Piano)

“In the opening Sonata for Viola and Piano, we hear a more daring and dissonant composer with its shadings of Bartok by use of cadenza formation. But the ensuing Opus 25 brims with even more jarring overtones. Walther and Korevaar dissect the three movement sonata dynamics assiduously, yet there’s an occasionally softer side imbedded within this Hindemith music.” | full review


Cal Performances program confirms Tharp’s genius, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/18/15

“Tharp set “Preludes and Fugues” to 20 movements of “The Well-Tempered Clavier” (heard in a fine recorded performance by David Korevaar), repeating the C major prelude at the end. It starts with a courtly, almost waltzing, duet with Savannah Lowery and Tharp veteran John Selya. It ends 45 minutes later with the dozen dancers holding hands in a circle.” | full review


Listen to David’s interview with KRCB’s Curtain Call host Charles Sepos on David’s October 18, 2015, recital in Newman Auditorium, Santa Rosa Junior College


Review: Schubert: Piano Sonatas, D894, D959; David Korevaar, piano – MSR ClassicsAudio-Video Club of Atlanta, September 2015

“The music’s the thing for David Korevaar. As I can say of this artist and only a few others, he is self-effacing to the point where he sublimates his own personality to the service of the music at hand. To be sure, the former student of Earl Wild (piano) and David Diamond (composition ) has ample techical prowess. But he also shows a keenly defined sense of form and a beautiful feeling for tone color that enable him to make his points naturally, withot fuss or undue display. And that allows him to present the music of Franz Schubert to us as it is, without egotism or showy virtuosity.” | full review


Review: HINDEMITH Sonatas for Viola & Piano Geraldine Walther, viola; David Korevaar, piano – MSR Classics, Audio-Video Club of Atlanta, September 2015

“You can gather by the smiles lighting up the faces of violist Geraldine Walther and pianist David Korevaar that they’ve contended with some of the most challenging works in the repertoire and come out on top.” | full review


Review: HINDEMITH: Piano Sonatas 1 – 3; Suite “1922” – David Korevaar, piano – MSR Classics, Audiophile Audition, May 2015
Ecstatic Hindemith worth every penny

“David Korevaar is a pianist of ample technical facility and an enormous range of color. I was expecting more of the latter than we get here, but he holds back on any undue sense of display or impressionistic attitudes and gives us fairly clean, unadulterated Hindemith, which in these pieces serves us and the composer quite well. It is almost useless to compare the earlier Gould recordings, as severely delightful as they are, or even the recent Hyperion collection of the Sonatas with Markus Becker, perhaps the best-sounding Hindemith piano disc to date, because Korevaar’s conception is so diametrically opposed to either of these gentlemen. The sound here is excellent, very warm and enveloping, and this suits the temperament of the performances perfectly, which are direct and highly communicative and intimate. Superb work all the way around, and few recordings are so easily recommendable.” | full review


Review: HINDEMITH Piano Sonatas Nos. 1–3. Suite “1922” – David Korevaar, piano – MSR Classics, FANFARE Magazine, May/June 2015

“I found the piano sonatas on this set to be both well constructed technically and warm in feeling and scope. Perhaps this comes from pianist Korevaar’s wonderfully lyrical reading, full of nuance and played in a singing style…” | full review


Review: Hindemith: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3; Suite “1922.” David Korevaar, piano – MSR Classics, Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, May 20, 2015

“In these vibrant performances these works come across as abounding in character and craft. The Second Sonata is a beguiling gem and the brawny First and elaborate Third, with its bold final fugue, deserve to be heard more. Mr. Korevaar also includes Hindemith’s brash, impish Suite for Piano “1922” (written that year), with movements inspired by a shimmy and ragtime. Hindemith disavowed the piece after arriving in American in 1940. He was wrong: Just listen to Mr. Korevaar’s compelling performance.” | full review


Review: Hindemith: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3; Suite “1922.” David Korevaar, piano – MSR Classics, American Record Guide, May/June 2015

“I and others have praised Korevaar’s many gifts, among them a prodigious technique, a seemingly limitless range of tonal color, and— especially useful in Hindemith—a great facility with polyphonic textures…Korevaar is scrupulously faithful to Hindemith’s markings and tempos; and Hindemith, a consummate performer himself, probably knew very well what he wanted. The sound is excellent. This release is an important one for Hindemith lovers everywhere.”


Review: Hindemith: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3; Suite “1922.” David Korevaar, piano – MSR ClassicsGapplegate Classical-Modern Music 

“A new recording of his three sonatas 1936 plus his piano “Suite 1922″ gives you all the music as interpreted by the talented and very sympathetic pianist David Korevaar. This is music that is by no means easy to play properly, but David is fully equipped and beautifully interpretive, and so is able to breathe genuine life into the works…I have not heard better performances of these works. They are milestones in Hindemith’s output and Korevaar understands them completely. They will give the Hindemith aficionado plenty of joy and they will serve to introduce his music to those unfamiliar in the basking illumination of sympathetic interpretation. They are works that should be heard by anybody interested in the modern movement, and the performances are exemplary.” | full review


‘Frames’ set to take dance, musical journey outside the box at Broomfield Auditorium, Broomfield Enterprise, 4/8/15
“…this show has made me stretch my aesthetic base nicely”


Review: Hindemith: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3; Suite “1922.” David Korevaar, piano – MSR ClassicsClassical Net

“American pianist David Korevaar has a considerable and varied discography that takes in works by J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Ravel, and many contemporary composers…If you owned only this MSR disc of the sonatas, you would probably need no other.

Korevaar makes about the best case imaginable for these pieces, in a sense achieving the logically impossible: he seems to make the music sound better than it is! Excellent sound by MDR and insightful notes by Korevaar. Strongly recommended, especially to those who are aware that there’s more to 20th-century piano music than Prokofiev and Rachmaninov.” | full review


Review: Hindemith: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3; Suite “1922.” David Korevaar, piano – MSR ClassicsInfoDad.com

“While Hindemith’s piano sonatas will certainly not be to all tastes, those seeking a particularly appealing recording of them will very much enjoy David Korevaar’s performances on MSR Classics…The second sonata, which Hindemith considered closer to a sonatina, is the slightest of the three, but there is a fair degree of drama in its three movements – and Korevaar brings this out to especially fine effect. The third sonata is in four movements and is the darkest of the works, more serious than No. 2 and less lyrical and warm than No. 1. Its harmonic tension is considerable and is a key to its effective interpretation, and Korevaar brings it out with a sure hand (actually two sure hands).” | full review


Pianist David Korevaar and Helander Dance Theater Present “Frames” on April 10 and 19 in Broomfield, May 1 and 2 in Boulder | press release


Young Musicians from Around the World Set to Compete at Third Annual Dallas International Piano Competition, March 11-14, 2015

Dallas Chamber Symphony hosts annual competition for young professional pianists from across the globe.

“The event’s jury panel includes: David Korevaar, a renowned pedagogue at the University of Colorado at Boulder and extensively recorded performing artist . . .” | press release


Review: David Korevaar’s Fine Hindemith Cycle, Classics Today

“David Korevaar often is a colorful, stimulating, and provocative pianist. Think, for example, of his Bach Goldberg Variations and Well-Tempered Clavier cycles, and his Ivory Classics Brahms Variations, late Beethoven sonatas, and Dohnányi releases. With that in mind, his relatively straightforward Hindemith playing may surprise.”  |  full review


The Solo Recital As A Social Event: David Korevaar, Utah Public Radio, 11/21/14


Review: Brahms: Viola Sonatas & Trio CD, American Record Guide, July/August 2014
Geraldine Walther, viola; Andras Fejer, cello; David Korevaar, piano

“Together, these three make a very rich, Central European sound. Textures are plush, colors are dark, and vibrato is wide, just as they should be for this music. As these musicians play together regularly at the University, ensemble is very tight and balances are perfect…”


Recording session at Colorado Public Radio, April 2014

David Korevaar (piano) and Charles Wetherbee (violin) perform Edward Elgar’s “Salut d’amour,” Jules Massenet’s “Meditation,” and “Improvisation: Andante cantabile” from Violin Sonata in E-flat by Richard Strauss, recorded April 2014, Colorado Public Radio


Review of Brahms: Viola Sonatas & Trio CD, Music & Vision, May 18, 2014

Characteristic Patina – ‘… Walther-Korevaar-Fejér are exemplary in all three works.’

“David Korevaar’s mastery is heightened with a large and varied repertoire, enhanced by work alongside living composers and with writing his own music.”


Review: Brahms: Viola Sonatas & Trio CD, Audiophile Audition, May 10, 2014

“Easily one of the best-played and recorded chamber music discs I have heard in a couple of years, and even easier one of the best recordings of the viola version of the sonatas I have even encountered.” |  full review


Review: David Korevaar’s Bach Partitas CD, Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music, April 14, 2014

“The set is rather marvelous and the music, of course, is some of Bach’s very best. The multi-movemented, French inspired dance suites sound better than ever in Korevaar’s hands…Highly recommended.” | full review


Review: David Korevaar’s Bach Partitas CD, Clavier Companion, January/February 2014

“In this superb recording, Korevaar liberates Bach’s music from the notion of a single authentic text, thus generating a unique spontaneity in his approach to the partitas. Korevaar’s playing is nuanced, marked by lyricism, a beautiful tone, and an unabashed use of the full capabilities of the piano. His embellishments are especially imaginative, offering a creative approach to ornamentation that is fresh and stylistic, breathing new life into these well-known works. The generally relaxed tempos are sensitive and natural, and demonstrate the pianist’s refreshing lack of interest in virtuosity for its own sake; interpretations of No. 2 in C minor and No. 4 in D major are particularly outstanding. Korevaar’s personal approach, which at first may seem impulsive to some listeners, actually reveals a deeply perceptive understanding of the style of these dances, and highlights the context in which they were composed. An enlightened contribution.” ~Vanessa Cornett


David Korevaar’s Bach Partitas CD (MSR 1461) has been listed as a 2013 “Critics’ Choice” in American Record Guide


Review: The Boulder Chamber Orchestra with Soto and Korevaar: Truly exceptional in every way, OpusColorado.com, December 22, 2013

“This concerto has six major subjects in the first movement alone, and Korevaar carefully delineated each one in the most delightful way imaginable, through impeccable dynamic phrasing and nuance…”


Review: Brahms: Viola Sonatas (2), Op. 120; Trio, Op. 114; Geraldine Walther, David Korevaar, András Fejér; MSR Classics, Phil’s Classical Reviews, November 2013

“David Korevaar, well-known for his Bach, Beethoven and Ravel, is one of those rare solo pianists who shine as bright in chamber music.”
“Pianist David Korevaar already proved he has a smooth hand on Gershwin’s work by performing Rhapsody in Blue several years ago with the orchestra, and on Sunday, he established himself in the forefront of performing the American master’s works.” ~The Durango Herald, July 23, 2013


Review: Bach Partitas CD, David Korevaar; Gramophone, July 2013

“In the intelligent booklet-notes accompanying David Korevaar’s recording of Bach’s Partitas, the pianist discusses the music’s dance origins in extensive, well-researched detail.”

“A generally understated, direct account of the A-minor Partita (No 3) reveals Korevaar at his best, as does No 6, where the pianist displays a high degree of controlled freedom in the Toccata’s easy ebb and flow. The Air is sedate yet gently lilting, and the Sarabande’s ornaments and discreet pedal effects illuminate the music’s harmonic tension. The carefully scaled dynamics and gradations of touch with which Korevaar shapes the Gigue’s contrapuntal layers and embellishments rank high in recorded Bach pianism.”

“Strongly individual and authoritative Bach pianism.”


Review: BACH: Partitas, David Korevaar, MSR 1461, American Record Guide, July-August 2013

“Korevaar’s tone is, if anything, better than ever, and the recording engineers and production exquisite. (If I get to record another CD one day, I’ll bring this disc in and say, ‘The piano should sound just like this!’) The interpretive choices are compelling and often quite fresh; two examples that stand out are the elegant Sarabande in Partita 5 (where he makes more sense out of Bach’s ornaments than any other pianist I’ve heard) and the delicate, tonally controlled gigue from the same work. He embellishes every repeat, and his choices are fascinating; he brings the same kind of freedom to the toccata from Partita 6, which—again—is the best performance of this movement I’ve heard on piano.”


Review: BACH: The Six Partitas – David Korevaar, piano – MSR Classics MS 1461, Audiophile Audition, May 12, 2013

“Korevaar’s touch is quite elegant in all these suites, each individual line taking on a real personality of its own, and especially noteworthy is the delightful ringing piano tone he gets out of his Steinway D in the major-keyed Partitas, something many artists overlook in Bach, as if he is a tone-color automaton. Nothing could be further from the truth, and Korevaar senses this intuitively. MSR gives him excellent engineering as well, the piano tone warm and clear. You need Gould and Perahia, but I think we need to add Korevaar to the list as well. Warmly recommended!”


Review: Johann Sebastian Bach: The Well-Tempered Klavier, Book I, BWV 846-869; David Korevaar (piano), ConcertoNet.com, April 7, 2013

“In Korevaar’s hands, the Prelude in A Flat Major spreads it wings wide and is filled with joy. Its fugue is quiet, uplifting and still driven. The G sharp minor moves gently and is particularly expressive. The music breathes in the slow parts, while maintaining a forward momentum. Korevaar’s performance is compelling and warm; his contrasts bring forward the emotional content. The intensity of his rendition is achieved, not by playing loud or by speeding up, but often by going quiet so that you can hear the master at work. The performance is intimate and satisfying.”


Review: Symphony performance both powerful and sweet, Pueblo Chieftain, March 11, 2013

Colorado Springs’ KCME’s Michael Campion talks with David Korevaar about his recent Bach Partita recording, his approach to music and teaching, and his upcoming performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Pueblo Symphony on March 9, 2013.


Review: Personal Pianism – Plus – Bach: The Six Partitas for Harpsichord – David Korevaar, piano, InfoDad.com, February 28, 2013


Review: JS BACH PARTITAS: The Six Partitas for Keyboard, BWV 825-830, Atlanta Audio Society

“David Korevaar, that wonderful American pianist who was once a pupil of Earl Wild and now balances a very active performance career with teaching at the University of Colorado, gives us yet another splendid exhibition of technical prowess allied with musicianship in this account of Bach’s six keyboard Partitas. His is a first-rate achievement on a number of levels, beginning with the firmly-centered, sensually beautiful, clear tone that permeates the entire recital. These works, which were originally written for harpsichord, usually sound to good advantage in piano arrangements, but never, to my recollection, better than this…”


Review: JS BACH PARTITAS: The Six Partitas for Keyboard, BWV 825-830, Amazon.com

“David Korevaar’s piano playing is wonderful in these works, his lightness of touch, something which is sometimes missing in András Schiff’s recordings, enabling him to get every nuance from Bach’s beautiful music, it is almost enough to win me over to Bach on the piano, it certainly is in these works! On the whole, David Korevaar’s playing is slower than that of András Schiff, some 17 minutes across the six Partitas, and for me it is this more relaxed approach to the music which gives this new recording the edge, as it allows Korevaar time to make the piano sing. The enjoyment of this beautiful music is further enhanced with Korevaar’s own extremely informative booklet notes, which give wonderful insight into Bach the man and his music, added to this, the recorded sound is also excellent, a warm and sympathetic acoustic capturing this beautiful music well. A most rewarding and excellent recording, and one which deserves the highest praise and recommendation!” ~Stuart Sillitoe


“Anyone who has seen Korevaar perform knows how deeply he loves the music he is playing. That matters almost more than his astounding technical virtuosity.” ~Daily Camera | full article


Review: The Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra, the Colorado Chamber Players, and David Korevaar are beyond compare, OpusColorado.com, 11/10/12


Review: Chamber Music Festival features renowned artists, The Poly Post, 10/23/12


Review: The Boulder Chamber Orchestra: Contrasts and ArtistryOpusColorado.com, September 30, 2012

“Korevaar’s performance of this work was as charming as the piece itself. The piece goes very quickly with all kinds of scale-like passages and difficult finger work in the right-hand commented by octaves in the left-hand…I was struck from the outset of how comfortable Korevaar seemed to be with the orchestra, and in turn, how comfortable Saless was with Korevaar. There is always give-and-take between soloist and conductor, but these two gentlemen seem to be in complete agreement about how this piece should be performed…”


Boulder Chamber Orchestra plans to mix things upDaily Camera, September 16, 2012

“The season opens next week with “Salt and Stone,” the two basic elements. The popular David Korevaar, professor of piano at the University of Colorado, plays Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 21,” with the famous “Elvira Madigan” theme, and a virtually unknown “Rondo” for piano and orchestra by Beethoven. The orchestra also plays the great “Linz” Symphony (No. 36) by Mozart.”


Symphony vs. Concerto: Know the Difference?KUNC, May 18, 2012
Interview with David Korevaar on KUNC Radio


Back to BachDaily Camera, January 22, 2012

“Pianist David Korevaar has attained “rock star” status at his recitals during his years on the faculty of the University of Colorado College of Music. He presents yet another ambitious and exciting program for the free Faculty Tuesday series. J.S. Bach’s six partitas, his most refined suites for solo keyboard, were among the relatively few of the master’s pieces to be prominently published during his lifetime. Among his keyboard works, they are also particularly effective on the modern piano. Korevaar plays four of the six partitas (Nos. 3-6) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Grusin Music Hall in the Imig Music Building. Early arrival is advised, since Korevaar’s recitals tend to fill to capacity and beyond.”


Review: Boulder Phil, Butterman, and Korevaar: ExceptionalOpusColorado.com, January 16, 2011


Review: David Korevaar outshines the Broomfield Symphony
OpusColorado.com, October 23, 2011


Review: The Clavier Trio: Fomin, Castro-Balbi, and Korevaar, are world-class
OpusColorado.com, November 6, 2011


David Korevaar at Wigmore Hall, London

Robert Matthew-Walker, Musical Opinion, May/June 2007

“The American pianist David Korevaar presented a fascinating recital at the Wigmore Hall on 4 April, at times calling on the Ricardo Viñes Piano Music Collection of over 800 scores at the University of Colorado, where he holds a Professorship. Thus, he began with Six Préludes by Jean Roger-Ducasse, which at once declared his excellent technical and musical gifts. This was playing of a high standard, reminiscent of the art of Robert Casadesus and Samson François. These wholly impressionistic pieces made a strong impact, a good introduction to Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales, which were equally well projected. The first half ended with Louis Albert’s Sillages, a Suite in three movements. This well-written score did not create so strong an impression as the works that preceded it, although it was also excellently played.”

“The second half began with Lowell Liebermann’s fine 2002 Third Sonata, admirably performed from memory, a work of no little quality. This was followed by Liszt’s Three Petrarch Sonnets and First Mephisto Waltz, in which Korevaar’s sensitivity, rhythmic command and precision were outstanding.”


Max Harrison, Musical Opinion, May/June 2007

“With Juilliard plus tuition from Earl Wild and Abbey Simon behind him, David Korevaar on 4 April fielded a heady mixture of extremely familiar and arrestingly obscure piano items. Thus Liszt and Ravel alternated with Jean Roger-Ducasse and Louis Aubert, the latter contemporaries of Ravel. Roger-Ducasse’s Six Preludes were pleasant and most sensitively played by Korevaar, yet could only sound, 100 years after publication, like exercises in a sub-Ravelian manner. Though more energetic, almost virtuosic, the same was true of Aubert’s Sillages Opus 27, the title meaning “furrows” and signifying the wakes formed as a boat moves through the sea. These again were beautifully executed, yet the moment Korevaar turned to Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales, dedicated to Aubert, a gulf was readily apparent. In these eight movements dwelt a lyricism sharply focussed, crammed with new ideas on melodic, rhythmic and harmonic levels and to which Korevaar evinced real temperamental affinity.”

“After the interval came music by the American Lowell Liebermann, better known for his orchestral works and his operas Dorian Grey and Miss Lonelyhearts. Once again the recitalist displayed an affinity with the composer, as witness the two CDs on the Koch label he has made of Liebermann’s keyboard music. In the Third Sonata Korevaar showed a quite different pianistic face while still sounding immaculate and this 2002 score was not excessively long nor painfully dissonant.”

“Liszt’s three Sonetti del Petrarca might be taken as an earlier version of the lyricism so evident in Ravel and Korevaar gave performances very moving even to those of us who have heard them countless times from other pianists. He went on first to a triumphant reading of Liszt’s First Mephisto Waltz, this being capped, for an encore, by his vivid characterisation of Ravel’s Alborada del Gracioso.”