HOPKINSON SMITH

Hopkinson Smith has been called the most moving of present day lutenists...he approaches the lute's universe with a musicality which goes far beyond the seemingly limited voice of his instrument. We invite you to explore on this website the magic of his lute and its music.

Filtering by Category: Concert Review

Filtering by Tag: English

Reaction by Anne Whelan to a concert of Elizabethan music in Australia in November 2019

Thank you so much for having Hopkinson Smith play at The Little Music Room. It was such an inspiring and beautiful concert yesterday. Hoppy’s  playing was in every way an inspiration for its logic and  speaking and singing qualities, his amazing ‘timing’ with a slow pulse continuing through all the music and a humor and dancing quality when required. The figurations were so fine and the beautiful broken chords at the endings of pieces and sections were exquisite. This repertoire is a world unto itself! A truly wonderful concert!

San Diego Early Music Society Scores Again

But it is Smith's mastery of early lute music, his meticulous technique, elegant phrasing, emotional involvement and engaging writing (he wrote the program notes) that inspire this: "As we grow into a repertoire and ingest its language and freedoms, a process of entering the creativity of an époque gradually takes place." True for the artist--and certainly true for the audience.

Read More

A Duo, a Trio, a Quartet, and a Lute Recital: Diversity Rules

Philadelphia, December 4th, 2015

[...] An elegant and genial figure on the platform and a master of his instrument, Smith not only achieved prodigies of prestidigitation in the faster pieces, but in the slower ones, his superfine delicacy of touch evoked just the kind of magic that so much of Shakespeare’s work shared with his contemporaries in that same golden age of English music, drama, and literature. 
The spell Smith cast over his listeners assured him of an enthusiastic ovation. This he rewarded with an additional piece by Anthony Holborne, aptly choosing that composer’s Fare thee well. [...] 

by Bernard Jacobson (Seen And Heard International)

Review: Hopkinson Smith

[...] The audience was dropped into the musical world of the time - a fascinating experience more intense than in a choral or instrumental group experience.

We were guided by the masterly playing of Hopkinson Smith, one of the great lutenists who is also, quite clearly, a master of the baroque guitar. [...]

The large audience loved it all, not the least Smith's lovely dry explanations of just what he was going to play. [...] 

by John Button (The Dominion Post, Wellington, NZ)