Press Notices

WASHINGTON DC "....organist Donald Sutherland gave a dazzling performance of Louis-Claude Daquin's variations on some old French carols."

"Bach's rarely performed Canzona in D minor followed, blending rather severe registration with a warmly phrased reading....an intense musical experience. Sutherland closed with Reger's huge Phantasie and Fugue on B-A-C-H in grandiose style."

" . . . a spectacular solo performance of Max Reger’s intricate Introduction and Passacaglia in D minor. This was notable not only for the sheer physicality demanded by the work, but also for Sutherland’s ability to find and explore every nuance in the piece."

NEW YORK CITY (Carnegie Hall, with Phyllis Bryn-Julson, soprano) "Her man at the piano, Donald Sutherland, was excellent, especially in the wonderful Messiaen accompaniments."

The New York Post

SYRACUSE "Organist Donald Sutherland led off with a performance of the Bach G Major Prelude and Fugue that was as impressive for its delicacy of phrasing as it was for the sweep of line that sound the finely-wrought individual sections together. The same concern for both detail and over-all effect were just as evident later on....Sutherland's playing of the Bridge piece was a particular achievement - the music itself is strangely reticent in its expression; the insight with which it was played made a pleasure out of what could easily have been an enigma."

KANSAS CITY "Sutherland's playing was forceful and interesting....and he had plenty of opportunity to show off his bravura technique."

BETHESDA "In a stunning work for organ and metal instruments, Donald Sutherland demonstrated....that there are ways of bringing new life and excitement to organ recitals. The performance was superb, and the audience's reaction emphatically approving."

RICHMOND "During Bach's Toccata in F Major, Sutherland established a steady tempo, loped through the opening measures over a long pedal point, then took off on the rising sequences that followed. Glorious music, played gloriously....Throughout the evening, Sutherland played with assurance and sensitivity."

CHAPEL HILL "....the Bach G Major Prelude and Fugue which Mr. Sutherland played from memory at the organ. He deserves a huge BRAVO for memorizing this difficult work - something rarely attempted by organists these days."

REVIEWS OF 1996 all-Liszt CD (Gothic)

"....one of the most intensely satisfying Liszt recitals of recent years....Sutherland makes of the great Ad nos Fantasy a spellbinding marvel, alternately rapt and heaven-storming--which is to say, Gothic, indeed."

"Sutherland is a brilliant performer with excellent line, registrations, and timing."