From the Press …

The Times (London):

"John-Edward Kelly is a commanding virtuoso, capable of great intensity and tonal resource, but also restrained, at times even austere. He played beautifully, with fine feeling for the long phrase, and in the 20th century pieces rose to really impressive heights, bringing refinement, conviction and concentrated energy to the music."

The Guardian (London):

"John-Edward Kelly's Wigmore Hall solo recital on Friday demonstrated how modern composers have responded to his artistry, giving ample opportunity to exploit his phenomenal technical gifts and his easy and quite extraordinary power in the soprano register of the alto saxophone, which imparts a searing dramatic quality."

Gramophone (Great Britain):

"John-Edward Kelly glides through the hair-raising virtuosity with breathtaking ease. This is the kind of advocacy Allan Pettersson, who never heard the work, can only have dreamed of. "

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (U.S.A.):

"John-Edward Kelly is a virtuoso who possesses awesome technical facility and a keen ear for beautiful tone. He's also, it seems, a musician of uncommon strength and character. His playing is charismatic, as meaningful as it is dynamic, as intelligent and thought-provoking as it is exciting and tasteful."

Süddeutsche Zeitung, Munich:

"John-Edward Kelly is unquestionably the most outstanding alto-saxophonist of our time."

Frankfurter Allgemeine, Frankfurt:

"John-Edward Kelly: fantastic!"

Neue Musikzeitung (Germany):

"John-Edward Kelly is a phenomenon on the Saxophone. His technique is as remarkable as his memory."

Luzerner Tagblatt (Switzerland):

"Kelly sparkled through the certainty of his execution, as well as through the rich variety of his tonal nuances, through his musical joyfulness and the liveliness of his interpretation. But what was remarkable is that, in his rendition of a simple folk-song as an encore, he was able to show yet further new tonal and expressive qualities."

Hufvudstadsbladet, Helsinki:

"John-Edward Kelly is the uncrowned king of his instrument, a masterful musician who played (Anders Eliasson's Symphony NE 3) from memory."

Der Tagesspiegel (Berlin):

"The American saxophonist John-Edward Kelly played with the exemplary technique and stylistic insight he is renowned for through his many concerts and recordings. The concert in the Philharmonic and the soloist were given with the warmest conceivable reception."

DELO (Yugoslavia):

"Great talent rightly applied, total mastery of his instrument, outstanding knowledge of the scores (he plays everything from memory) and realization of the music with virtuosity and depth of feeling; these are the characteristic qualities of John-Edward Kelly."

Mannheimer Morgen (Germany):

"As an alto-saxophonist, John-Edward Kelly could hardly have a superior. He is a master of this instrument, which he brings to song with an art of declamation equal to that of the human voice. Kelly forms a composition with infatuating beauty-of-tone."

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Last revision: 20 March, 2000

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