Pianist Warren Jones: Reviews

"...Wednesday's NCH/The Irish Times Celebrity concert by the violin and piano duo of Catherine Leonard and Warren Jones placed what you might regard as exemplary test pieces at either end of what turned out to be an evening of hugely stimulating music-making.
The lazy meditativeness of Ravel's opening movement was beautifully caught, as if the two players were musing with a kind of independent togetherness. Jones's dissection of the piano writing in the central Blues movement was endlessly fascinating, with even the slightest and shortest of chordal dabs given perfect harmonic colouring, and the violin's strumming sounding more banjo-like than ever. The moto perpetuo finale was breathlessly exciting. "
— Michael Dervan, The Irish Times , March 27, 2009

"...Mr. Jones navigated the first movement's currents with cool expertise, and in the subsequent movements he hit his stride. The orchestral effects of the opening sounded spot on and the more lyrical passages were played with finesse. Best of all, the development section, with its odd and beguiling harmonic migrations, was lucidly rendered and commanded our attention throughout.
Appropriately, Mr. Jones made the slow movement sound as if it were being coined on the spot; you held your breath in anticipation of what would come next. And in the playful finale, Mr. Jones made you breathe a sigh of relief with his witty and amiable virtuosity. With playing that was aware of both the music's overall shape and the nicety of its details, the performance, one imagines, was just about as the composer would have wished."
— Santa Barbara News-Press , September 15, 2008

"Ms. Dehn chose her partners well. The excellent Warren Jones was her pianist and proved not only a helpful accompanist but a poetic player in his own right. His liquid lines in the three Brentano Lieder of Strauss were ravishing."
— Fred Kirshnit , The New York Sun, December 5, 2007

"The songs of Richard Strauss, however, five of which followed, are never easy. The soprano - gorgeous in a powder blue gown and iridescent wrap - treaded cautiously, particularly in the middle part of her range, which bordered on an incorporeal delicacy. On the top, though, the familiar gilt-edged timbre still gleamed, while Warren Jones, the superb pianist, judiciously reduced the dynamic without sacrificing tonal depth. In a near-flawless "Morgen," Jones's pearly luminescence and Dame Kiri's silken line were in magical, crystaline confluence."
— Matthew Guerrieri, The Boston Globe , October 17, 2007

"In this case, the programmatic bedfellow was Brahms' Sonata for Clarinet for Piano in E-flat, Opus 120, No. 2. Franch-Ballester returned, joined by pianist Warren Jones, for captivating performance of the piece, individually and conversationally majestic in the reading...Whatever subjective baggage a listener brings to this side of Brahms, it made for a wonderful vehicle for these fine musicians. They brought precision and passion to the task, in the right measure."
— Josef Woodard, Santa Barbara News-Press , April 23, 2007

"The Borromeo, the faculty string quartet in residence at the New England Conservatory in Boston, blends warmth with technical elegance. ... In quintets by Elgar and Dohnanyi, the musicians welcomed pianist Warren Jones, who is best known for his collaborations with celebrated singers and instrumentalists.
But Jones is a musician par excellence no matter what he is interpreting. With the Borromeo, he adapted his finely etched pianism to every phrase, finding the right balances and making sure he was the dominant force or secondary player in the artistic conversation."
— Donald Rosenberg, Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 14, 2004

"From the beginning, Te Kanawa included [accompanist Warren] Jones when accepting applause. This was not only a gracious gesture on her part but also an acknowledgment of his enormous contribution to the success of the recital. That support was obvious in the lightness and probing depth of his introductions to Strauss' 'Standchen' (Serenade) and 'Morgan' but equally important in his thoughtful mirroring of Te Kanawa's dynamics and phrasing throughout the recital."
— Chris Pasles, Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2004

"Dame Kiri Te Kanawa opened the Kimmel Center's classical-music season Saturday ... in recital with pianist Warren Jones ... The well-chosen program had novelty, such as Hahn's pastiche of Bach's 'Air on a G String' in 'A Chloris' and the Puccini song 'Sole e amore,' which was later modified for the opera La Boheme. The biggest challenges were positioned at points when Te Kanawa would be vocally freshest, progressing from there into her comfort zone but avoiding sameness with fluctuating emotional temperature and varied piano writing, which was always noticeable because Jones is so interesting. He brought a particular celestial expansiveness to Strauss' 'Morgen.' We know from the composer's own recordings that he'd never stretch a musical idea so far. ... It was the recital's high point."
— David Patrick Stearns, The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 20, 2004

"The 17th anniversary Art Song Festival at the Cleveland Institute of Music is redefining the genre it celebrates. ... Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe commanded the stage with the presence of a diva in her recital Thursday night, and her partner, pianist Warren Jones, matched her dramatic style. They presented Haydn's cantata, 'Arianna a Naxos,' with high theatricality. Pouring out rich and powerful sonorities, Blythe plumbed the passionate emotions of an adoring woman who is abandoned by her lover and wishes to die. Jones then took the solo spotlight, playing a Liszt tone poem with a singer's sensibility and a virtuoso's technique."
— Wilma Salisbury, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 29, 2004

"Symphony Hall was aglow with nostalgia Friday night because two of America's favorite singers were together, Frederica von Stade and Samuel Ramey. ... support came from the prince of American collaborative pianists, Warren Jones (a graduate of the New England Conservatory); he played with complete mastery of music, words, and situation - he was the third important singer onstage."
— Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, May 9, 2004

"Once more, the University of Chicago's professional concert series has proved itself to be an essential element on Chicago's classical music scene. ... Such was the case Friday night when Canadian-born bass-baritone John Relyea made his local recital debut ... with pianist Warren Jones. ... Jones' dappled piano set a rapt, rhapsodic mood in Barber's 'Rain has fallen,' and the interplay between his galloping, harshly metallic piano and Relyea's dramatically long-lined song in 'I hear an army' was chilling."
— The Chicago Sun-Times, April 25, 2004

"Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey and pianist Warren Jones offered an imaginative program featuring English and American songs ... Griffey and Jones presented the music with loving devotion, shaping Griffey's lines and gestures with an affecting blend of finesse and power. Jones is so winning a partner for singers that it was a particular pleasure and no surprise to hear him bring alive the turbulence of Griffey's 'Barcarolle for Piano' solo."
— The Tribune-Review (Pittsburg, PA), April 23, 2004

"Tenor Griffey ... enlisted ... the keyboard wizardry of Warren Jones (who is as good as you get today when it comes to vocal accompanists) ..."
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 22, 2004

"... Jones rendered all the songs from the heart. As an added treat, Jones gave a solo piano performance of Griffes' Barcarolle, Op. 6, #1. Jones has a lyrical touch and a commanding technique, and he brought a welcome degree of emotional intensity to this piece."
— Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY), March 24, 2004

The Olmos Ensemble with "... pianist Warren Jones, a sensitive and lively musician who illuminates everything he plays. ... The performance was everything one might wish, with superb, deeply committed playing all around."
— San Antonio Express-News, March 19, 2004

"Pianist Warren Jones, perfectly assaying his role, was the assertive, spirited, sure-footed (and sure-handed) leader. ... Jones established the Schubertian mood immediately with a velvet touch and an organic pulse."
— San Antonio Express-News, May 24, 2001

"At the piano was the wonderful Warren Jones, full of imaginative flecks and sensitive to the evening's radically different styles."
— New York Times, 5/08/01

"... the Jones magic is something that, like a subatomic particle, must be inferred from its effects rather than observed directly. And those effects were evident from the opening measures ..."
— San Francisco Chronicle, April 28, 2001

"Jones was witty, swaggering, sensitive, and full of character in everything he did; some liquid details in the duets were utterly ravishing. He was also remarkable in a solo piece ... played it in a mood of wistful reminiscence."
— Boston Globe, June 6, 2000

"There are doubtless many reasons why Jones is the preferred accompanist of several of the world's leading singers. ... he delighted again and again ..."
— San Antonio Express-News, May 31, 2000

"Jones was the singer's sympathetic soul mate ... His tonal palette was rich, his dynamic range wide, his timing perfect."
— Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 27, 2000

"Jones, a sensitive pianist ... He's a rare catch."
— Washington Post, May 13, 2000

"His playing was characteristically full of character and choice texture."
— New York Times, May 10, 2000

"Jones' playing was a marvel as always ..."
— San Francisco Chronicle, May 2, 2000

"Warren Jones was exquisite ..."
— New York Times, February 5, 2000

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