“With the APO, the Grieg concerto gave the Italian pianist the opportunity to combine crispness with poetry, effortlessly moving from impeccably chiselled minor to yearning major, in response to eloquently pleading cellos. The cadenza journeyed from rapturous nocturne to leonine roars and after, the adagio allowed Bax further exquisite dialogue with orchestral colleagues; the finale had the unbridled swing of a folk dance in which all were merry participants. A seat in the circle was an advantage at encore time, watching Bax play a Scriabin prelude using just one hand, with a richness of tone that you might have thought was coming from two.”

New Zealand Herald (William Dart), April 2019