“A genuine musician-Isaac Stern

“A fully realized and exciting performance”-The New York Times

“Une interpretation lumineuse”-Le Monde

“Maitre des equilibre ... Du grand art”-Diapason

“Irreprochable Chopin de Dang Thai Son”-La Presse

"Dang Thai Son's impressionistic interpretive skills and his almost lighter-than-air technique perfectly suited for Debussy [...] Son played them (Chopin pieces) delicately and masterfully [...] He certainly stands as among the most accomplished of his generation"
Culturespot LA (Los Angeles, USA), March 2019

"With each composition, Son displayed the highest caliber of intellectual clarity and artistic elegance. There was never a moment of confusion in his interpretation as he showed a patient care for every note, guiding the listeners through the music."
South Florida Classical Review (Miami, USA), June 2018

"Heartfelt piano pieces with a singing quality... Even in the loudest of passages, Dang never resorted to banging in order to project. Such is the mark of true musicianship"
The Straitstimes (Singapore), June 2018

"Not since Shura Cherkassky played in Jordan Hall in 1990 have I heard piano tone as beautiful as Dang Thai Son's. And as then, I inquired whether the instrument had somehow been tricked out. The astounding Vietnamese-Canadian musician, who won the Warsaw International Competition in 1980 (and heads to the Oberlin faculty next fall), has become such a master of subtle gesture, roseate coloration, and seemingly infinite dynamic control that you could place him in front of an acoustic recording horn and mistake the result for the work of a keyboard golden ager."
The Boston Musical Intelligencer, May 2018

"Dang Thai Son's Paderewski CD deserves to top any list of recommendations for this powerfully work. Dang brings an ideal mix of poetry Piano Concerto in A Minor; Dances polonaises and brilliance - qualities which won him the 1980 Chopin Competition - to this live performance from the Chopin and his Europe Festival in Warsaw, supported at every turn by sophisticated playing from the Philharmonia under Vladimir Ashkenazy. But what makes this recording truly special are the solo piano pieces often mistakenly relegated to salon music. Paderewski is loftier than that, and nothing better illustrates this outstanding Vietnamese-Canadian pianist's feeling for his style than the opening "Melodie Op. 16" with his Chopinette cantinela. Sometime small pieces are the real test of great pianism"
BBC Music Magazine, May 2018

"Ce magnifique disque, a se procurer sans hesitation, est une nouvelle reference qui s'impose pour la musique d'Ignacy Jan Paderewski. On y trouve la quintessence de l'ame polonaise [...] Dang Thai Son a donc raison de nous faire parvenir ces quelques miniatures fascinantes et ce Concerto delectable, d'autant plus que ses prestations, baignees dans une atmosphere intimiste favorisee par la delicatesse des timbres, sont de hautes qualites [...]. C'est ainsi que les oeuvres pour piano seul sont presentees avec un sens du toucher extraordinaire, avec cette douceur et cette finesse des couleurs renvoyant aux meilleures traditions « chopiniennes » dont les Polonais sont particulierement fiers. "
ResMusica, November 2017

"It was easy to understand why Dang, 36 years after his first prize in the Chopin Competition, remains such a favorite in Poland. He found inner lines and undercurrents in the great C minor Nocturne (Op. 48 No. 1) that I don't think I've ever heard another pianist touch upon. His control and unfaltering rhythm enabled him to sing out the melodic content in a manner that was a lesson for any pianist."
International Piano Magazine, September/October 2016

"the pianist takes us through various expressive categories ... His pianistic sound is based on warm singing lines, but he never stresses the bel canto inheritance at the expense of deeper musical substance. This recital is not just well-groomed Chopin playing, [it] also demonstrates the pianist's individuality."
BBC Music Magazine, June 2011

“Dang Thai Son est irreprochable comme pianiste, comme musicien et comme interprete.”
La Press, Claude Gingras, Canada, March 2010.

“La justesse du rubato, la nettete du trait, le refus du pittoresque facile, la concentration du jeu, la differenciation des trois Mazurkas de l’opus 59 temoignent d'une intimite profonde avec l’esprit de la musique"
Concertonet.com
, Didier van Moere , France, March 2010.

"Dang Thai Son is undeniably the most impressive pianist at the Gala Concert on Chopin’s 200th Birthday"
Gazeta Wyborcza
, Poland, March 2010.


Photo: Hirotoshi Sato

“Dang Thai Son is the consummate Chopin interpreter, fully attuned to the music’s heart and soul, a master of multitude of notes and dynamic shifts. His way with the bel canto aspect was flawless, smooth as silk and pure like morning dew."
Singapore Symphony Orchestra Newsletter, Chang Tou Liang, Singapore, January 2010.

"Il tire du Erard un son si subtil que l'on oblie le corps sonore du venerable instrument"
Diapason
, February 2011 (about the Chopin Nocturnes recording on Erard 1849 period piano).

“Dang is a musician of sensitivity and taste. Though his technique is of the competition-winning variety, he doesn’t use it to showboat or set fires... [h]is focus remains on the music, not on self-aggrandizement.”
Orange County Register, Timothy Mangan, April 2007.

“Dang Thai Son apporte a ce repertoire [Tchaikovski et Rachmaninov] la puissance herculeenne requise et, en meme temps, le charme et la melancolie qui l’habitent. Autant il sait faire tonner son piano avec vehemence, autant il sait y detailler une melodie avec le plus grand art. ”
La Presse, Claude Gingras, Canada, April 2006.

“... the kind of concert one has not heard in a long time... a magical atmosphere... ”
Kacper Miklaszewski, 2005.

“... une technique irreprochable... Dang Thai Son fait corps avec les envolees lyriques ... vivant avec passion sa musique”
La Marseillaise, France, December 2004.

“The main star of the evening, however, was the Vietnamese pianist Dang Thai Son, whose rendition of Mendelssohn’s Concerto in g minor had all the hallmarks of a first class performance.”
Prague Autumn Festival, Vladimir Riha, September 2004.

“... a performance that brought part of the audience to its feet (...) I have seldom heard such superb Chopin in the flesh during my lifetime”
Times Colonist, Victoria, Canada, January 2003.

“Pianist captivates by creating spellbinding tonal images... Flying across the keys with fleet fingers, he played with lightning speed and crisp clarity.”
The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, USA, November 2002.

“... une indeniable maturite pianistique et musicale... Un musicien humble, qui joue sans manieres et qui sert, tout simplement, la musique... l'artiste vietnamien, efface, digne, serieux, commande le respect. ”
La Presse, Montreal, Canada, February 2002.

“An extremely clear performance combined with an uncommon sensitivity...a handful of pearls thrust on a floor of marble.”
Giornale di Brescia, Italy, November 2001.

“Why haven't we heard of him before? (...) Dang Thai Son is a superbly accomplished pianist, with a flabbergasting technique and musicianship of a high order. He plays with seamless legato, brilliant dexterity, and immense power. He has an impeccable sense of style... His interpretations are sensitive, unmannered, and characterized by an intense concentration on the inner spirit of each composer and each composition...a musical experience not to be forgotten.”
The San Diego Reader, USA, November 2001.

“It was a first-rate performance... a musical spirit worth sampling more often.”
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada, February 2001.

“He is a pianist of superb discipline and undeniable distinction... The playing was first-class... a digitally spectacular and musically delirious performance of Ravel's La Valse.”
The Boston Globe, USA, February 2001.

“Une autorite de grand maitre et une indeniable musicalite tant sur le plan stylistique que sur celui des moyens digitaux... Le piano de Dang Thai Son est celui d'un magicien. ”
Pianiste, France, Decembre 2000/Janvier 2001.

“Autorite, intelligence, style irreprochable vont au trefonds de la sensibilite musicale. "
Le Monde de la Musique, France, Septembre 2000.

 


Dang Thai Son, copyright © 2011