I Care If You Listen critic Don Clark is more than convinced by Nadia Shpachenko’s new Quotations and Homages recording:
“Nadia Shpachenko‘s new Reference Recordings album Quotations and Homages is a clear winner… Coming on the wings of her Grammy-nominated album Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013, also on Reference Recordings, Quotations and Homages showcases Shpachenko’s prodigious pianism and her ability to conceive and execute innovative and accessible programs. As the title suggests, the compositions on the album pay tribute to and quote composers ranging from Bach to Ustvolskaya. Shpachenko compares her program to a “rummaging process” through hand-me-down clothes: reimagining, trying new things, recycling, tossing out. Most of the nine works on the program were commissioned by or dedicated to Shpachenko, and all amazingly fit together in a cohesive, yet ever-shifting whole. … Shpachenko’s technique and interpretation are above reproach.… If anything, Quotations and Homages is even more absorbing, creative, and entertaining than Woman at the New Piano. The album is a fascinating and approachable glimpse into the music of then and now realized through the hands and mind of a most interesting and dedicated musician. Usual state-of-the-art Reference Recordings sonics and informative notes on the works, composers, and performers completes the package.”