Accolades:
“Brian Woods is very personable and engages the audience even before he sits down to play. He explains each of his pieces so even a novice has no trouble following the music. He is very passionate and his technique is amazing. The Rachmaninoff Sonata was very well received and there is no doubt that the audience would love a return.”
Renee Cherniak, Music Director, L’Ermitage Foundation (Los Angeles, CA)
“We owe you thanks for performing such a splendid concert. Your playing is fresh and dynamic, your interpretations of the classic piano repertoire are thought-provoking and sincere, and your presence on and off stage is infectious. You drew our audience into your playing, and they continue to speak so highly of your concert days after. We wish you only success in your career, and we hope there might be a chance to welcome you back to Marysville in the future”
Dr. Richard Jeric, Music Director, Music on the Hill (Marysville, OH)
“Mr. Woods combines flawless technique with rare and creative artistry. The colors he achieves and the emotions he elicits cannot fail to touch the soul.”
Dr. Rebecca Casey, Professor of Piano, Ohio Northern University (Ada, OH)
“Your playing was truly wonderful, full of ideas, and beauty. An especially touching second movement to the Rachmaninoff [Sonata No. 2], though there was muchbeauty and strength throughout the entire afternoon...I am very glad that we engaged you.”
Jeff Harris, Vice-President, Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, PA)
“Brian Woods gave a magnificent performance at the Grand Theatre and at the Keokuk Middle School and High School. Brian has an extraordinary ability to. captivate audiences of all ages. His impeccable finger control and moving dynamics paint a picture with each note.”
Keokuk Concert Association (Keokuk, IA)
“I couldn’t have been more impressed with everything. You are an amazing pianist and a delightful person. The master class was terrific too. I will definitely be bringing youback in the future.”
Joe Deleault Executive Director, Dana Center for the Arts (Manchester, NH)
“Thank you for everything you did for us during your short visit here. First, by providing such a warm, supportive, and productive environment for the piano students. And second, by giving a truly exceptional concert of some very demanding repertoire, never allowing the virtuosic passages, which you dispatched with ease, to supersede the musical narrative or the melody, so important in that repertoire. It was simply a splendid performance that helped me hear those pieces in a new light, and I am very grateful to have heard you play. I hope to have the opportunity to hear you play again in the future, whether back at Saint Anselm or at another venue.”
Andrew Haringer, Chair of Saint Anselm College Music Department (Manchester, NH)
Press for WANDERINGS (July 2024 Album Release)
“As both a listener and a pianist, I find Mr. Woods selected repertoire of works by Fryderyk Chopin, Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger, and Amy Beach stimulating and uncommonly intuitive. Mr. Woods here plays [the Ballades] with rhapsodic imagination and emotional intensity.” Building upon these cornerstones, this gifted pianist traverses the diverse paths that meander through the music of three still-under-appreciated--and largely poorly-served on recordings--masters of nuance, spotlighting not only the influence of Chopin but also the harbingers of later innovators that course through these aural wanderings. This is a recorded introduction to a musician of rare technical faculty and interpretive insight as auspicious as Martha Argerich’s early Liszt Sonata recording.”
Joseph Newsome, Voix de arts
Updated July 2024