Press
“This was my first opportunity to hear the pianist Stephen Beus, and the first chance in a long time to hear again the music of composer Ronn Yedidia, whom I have long respected. I was very glad to hear the work of both last night via the Klavierhaus livestream…
Ronn Yedidia’s music, I was reminded, is modern, sophisticated, emotional, and accessible…
The Grand Etude No. 20 features virtuosity, yet also warmth and delicacy. Though in a different idiom, it reminded me somewhat of the E-Flat Major Prelude of Chopin.
The Prelude No. 16 was lovely and sensitive. (For me, it also brought to mind the E Minor Prelude of Chopin.)
Grand Etude No. 7 is longer than the other two works, seemingly also more adventurous technically and harmonically. It featured a left hand whirlwind, the mood of which changed throughout the piece, a somewhat impressionistic aesthetic, and it concluded with an explosion!”
- Classical Music Guide, December 2022 (by Donald Eisler – in review of pianist Stephen Beus’ recital at the New York Piano Academy on December 4, 2022)
“Judging from this excellent CD there is no doubt that Yedidia’s compositions for clarinet are melancholic, touching and intimate. The music is tonal, romantic, well-crafted and tuneful… This disc is clear evidence that the art of writing good tunes is still alive and well.”
- MusicWeb International, January 2013 (in review of 2012 American Classics’ Naxos CD featuring Ronn Yedidia’s clarinet & piano works)
“Fiterstein puts his multifaceted artistry to splendid use in this programme of music by Israeli-born composer Ronn Yedidia, also the recording’s articulate and expressive pianist. The repertory employs clarinet, piano and strings in invigorating and poignant conversations, many influenced by ethnic sources from Israel and elsewhere. The modal flavours in Yedidia’s music are partly what make it so instantly appealing. Harmonies travel surprisingly from major to minor (and back again), and phrases head on vibrant rhythmic tangents with feet rooted in dance forms. The disc’s opening selection, World Dance, is a whirlwind example of Yedidia’s ability to embrace many cultures and set them leaping. Clarinet and piano share honours here and in the other two affecting pieces in the collection, the Chopin-influenced Impromptu and the pensive Nocturne. Two other pieces are scored for the same instruments. Yedidia pays heartfelt tribute to a late colleague in Farewell, Nathaniel, something of a song without words, and ventures into sweeping and haunting territory in Poeme. The clarinet teams with piano and string trio in Concertino, a work of romantic and brooding persuasion. The strings take a break midway to let the clarinet set off on a moody cadenza, which Fiterstein plays to the dramatic hilt.”
- Gramophone Magazine, July 2012 (in review of 2012 American Classics’ Naxos CD)
“… he writes with the 19th century just round the corner (Chopin’s at large in the Impromptu). Yedidia also writes with ethnic influences, Jewish and Arabic especially, wistfully dancing in and out the music… Treasure the earliest work, Poeme (1995), for a beautiful reflective interlude nine minutes in. And let’s welcome the Concertino, the longest piece on this recording, usefully strengthened by three string instruments, a cadenza showcase for Alexander Fiterstein’s liquid clarinet, and culminating in an exciting finale.”
- BBC Music Magazine, July 2012 (in review of 2012 American Classics’ Naxos CD)
“Here’s a lighthearted album that meanders across various classical and world music genres. There’s a natural fluency to the way Israeli composer and pianist Ronn Yedidia writes for the terrific clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein, whether Yedidia is borrowing from Arab, Spanish, klezmer or jazz idioms. The tune “World Dance” for clarinet and piano is jaunty and irresistible. The more straightforwardly classical “Concertino” for clarinet, piano and strings is more serious, with an extraordinary cadenza that shows Fiterstein at the top of his game.”
- NPR, April 2012 (in review of 2012 American Classics’ Naxos CD)
“A delightful set of chamber works with strong ethnic influences.”
- Audiophile Audition, March 2012 (in review of 2012 American Classics’ Naxos CD)
” Yedidia is doing a rare thing in today’s musical world: in addition to composing all the works on his concert’s program he also masters two instruments – piano and accordion… what he has created in the past two decades is a tradition which attracts many people who are in love with music… what took place on stage was a feast of classical & romantic styles alongside more modern & experimental music including progressive jazz & new age. The final portion featured pure ethnic music which brought the house down.”
- Epoch Times, May 2010 (following the “21st Century Music & On” concert featuring Ronn Yedidia’s music at New York’s Merkin Concert Hall on April 18, 2010)
“The concert opened with a two-piano work (“Perspectives”) co-composed by Ronn Yedidia and Haim Cotton as an homage to the 200th anniversary of Frederic Chopin’s birth. The two musicians have designed a blueprint for a work which contains both their own authentic musical themes as well as several of Chopin’s – and which epitomizes their abilities as composers & pianists. The end result was a mavellous composition of some 20 minutes which displays a diversity of piano styles – classical, romantic, ethnic and jazz.”
- Epoch Times, May 2010
“Ronn Yedidia’s three pieces for clarinet & piano followed his songs. They featured the very romantic Impromptu at the start, then the lyrical & deep Nocturne, and finally the eclectic World Dance which blends ethnic dance sources such as Spanish, Balkan, Jewish and Arab. It was an interesting and most ear-pleasing experience.”
- Epoch Times, May 2010
“As a dessert – the DanzaNova quintet (founded by Ronn Yedidia) took the stage. Yedidia appeared with a white shirt, without a jacket, armed with an accordion and accompanied by an ensemble of violin, acoustic guitar, double bass & percussion – and together they exhilarated the audience with tunes in the spirit of ethnicity and chanson – from the Balkan, the Middle East and South America.”
- Epoch Times, May 2010
“Ronn Yedidia’s ‘Song On The Land’ could have had its origin in a violin romance by Grieg, full of flowing passion and tasteful musical phrasing.”
-Sundsvalls Tidning, Sweden, May 2010
“Two of the most soulful works of the evening, both an emotional and musical high – were Ronn Yedidia’s Israel-inspired ‘Song on the Land’ and tango master Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Oblivion’. The audience was left charmed by the Ahn Trio’s musical command as well as their natural rapport and refreshing programming.”
- Herald Tribune, Sarasota, Florida, January 2010
“At the early show Polkastra, a virtuosic ensemble led by the violinist Lara St. John, with the composer Ronn Yedidia as its accordionist, played wildly idiosyncratic and original music from its new recording, ‘Apolkalypse Now’… Between the Eastern European dances the musicians played works of their own – most notably Mr. Yedidia’s ‘Flying Gypsy Polka’, a vigorous accordion workout…”
- Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, September 2009
“…the Ahn sisters brought a soulful lilt to Ronn Yedidia’s graceful ‘Song on the Land’.”
( following the out-of-doors summer concert at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park)
- Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, August 2008
“…’The Song on the Land’ was written fairly recently by Ronn Yedidia, who is American-educated, but has Jewish roots reaching back to Israel, and perhaps it is that Old World relationship that makes his tune (and the two others he arranged) sound like European baroque from back when the Kings were commissioning works for their courts (the flamboyant violin dramas made me picture that classic stairway scene in ‘Young Frankenstein’).”
- Hybrid Magazine, 2008 (reviewing Ahn Trio’s “Lullaby for my Favorite Insomniac” CD on SonyBMG)
“The opening work was Israeli composer Ronn Yedidia’s “The Song on the Land” (1996). Popularized by the Ahn Trio, this unabashedly sentimental ode was inspired by the composer’s travels throughout Israel and captures its recollected beauty. Though originally written for bassoon and piano, the piece workd well in this transcription for flute, cello, and piano.”
(about a performance by the Keowee Chamber Players in Asheville, North Carolina)
- Classical Voice of North Carolina, January 2008
About Lullabye in review of Ahn Trio’s “Groovebox” CD on EMI Classics:
“…a deeply expressive work.”
- Evening Music with David Garland, WNYC, June 2004
“…nostalgic, very beautiful and very romantic.”
- Deseret News ( Salt Lake City), August 2004
“…very melodic and soft…”
- The Tack Online, September 2003
“…the unsuing Lullabye by Israeli-born composer Ronn Yedidia rivets with soul stirring sweetness.”
- Nuvo.net news, June 2003
“elegiac”
- Fanfare Magazine, May 2003
“hauntingly lyrical”
- The Indianapolis Star, April 2003
“The final work, Yedidia’s Lullabye, is a fitting close to this album; an intensely moving tribute to the composer’s generation before (not only his, but our own today) who are slowly departing from the world and taking with them life experiences and knowledge that we will never find out about.”
-Audio Mercenary, Brisbaine, Old Australia, 2003
“Groovebox’s closer is Ronn Yedidia’s Lullabye, a beautiful work that tells us that the show has come to an end…Lullabye brings us down gently and lulls us into comfort and complacency. The Ahn Trio works the emotional piece into equal parts of bitter longing and reflection to great effect.”
- Music Tap (presented by The Digital Bits), April 2003
“In the Yedidia ‘Lullabye’, we heard a painfully beautiful song…Simple lines developed into an expressive canvas of emotion that remains poignant in memory. It’s not the complexity that astonishes, it’s the detailed dovetailing of lines, of sounds, of melody, intricately and luxuriously woven. It was silent serenity, specifically transcribed for Ahn sound.”
- The Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, April 2003
“somber, melodic”
- Jet Setter Magazine, February 2003
“Lovely”
- The Seattle Times, February 2003
“mysterious”
- Paul Duffy, amazon.com, December 2002
“wistful and gentle”
- Classics Today.com, December 2002
“A Precious and timeless work.”
- Asian American Press, December 2002
“Ronn Yedidia’s sweet Lullabye closes the CD; it’s complex and sweet, a benediction on the souls of those who have gone before. It’s also a smart choice for the Ahns, who offer this tender psalm with unsentimental grace.”
- iclassics.com, November 2002.
“Just as the Trio’s scoring is unique, so is its style: a romantic composition in the vein of 19th and early 20th-century masters… It is a brave thing to do, even in these pluralistic days, particularly music that is so retrograde in content and matter. The most important thing, once prejudice about returning to the past is put aside, is the question: Does the piece work without sounding like a cliche or a pastiche of old mannerisms ? – It does.
Putting the clarinet in the place of the violinist is a novel idea and while the instrument does not make quite the impact of the latter, it lends character. Yedidia is comfortable in this idiom and writes well in it, without apology or fuss. He has melodic ideas, which he expresses with finesse, and enough edge to give contrast to those smooth-limbed pleasantries. In fact, some of the most compelling writing came when he was in that mode.”
(following the world premiere of Trio for clarinet, cello and piano)
- Seattle P-I, July 2007
“Taking a symbolic trip to the Middle East after intermission, the Ahns played ‘The Song on the Land’, New York based composer Ronn Yedidia’s lovely, melodic nostalgia trip about Israel, apparently his home away from home.”
- The Indianapolis Star, September 2005
“The Arabesque by Yedidia is delightful… and the Lullabye for alto flute and piano is sensual.”
(about the release of Arabesque and Lullabye on the CD “Prevailing Winds”)
- Flute Talk Magazine, May/June 2004
“Ronn Yedidia’s 1997 Rondo Macabre which came before the Prokofiev on the second half, certainly suggested why Lara St. John appealed to the folks at Sony Classical: I don’t think I’ve ever heard a piece fuller of opportunities for violinistic vamping, and St. John was definitely not one to leave a phrase unvamped… as musical spectacle it was pretty well irresistible – the fast bits and the sultry bits alike.”
-San Francisco Classical Voice, May 2004
“His Grand Etudes (for solo piano) are quite amazing… I’m also amazed by his Toward The Gardens Of Heaven. To my mind he is one of today’s greatest living composers ! Gorgeous and powerful music !”
-Scott Sheppard, 2004
“…a stunning new work by the Israeli composer Ronn Yedidia!”
(about Piano Sonata No. 3, Outcries)
- Frank Salomon Associates Roster of Artists 2003-2004
“.. It was a tuneful number, expertly crafted in an aggressive salon style. The Pollack Hall crowd got a kick out of it.”
(about Lara St. John’s Canadian premiere of Rondo Macabre)
- The Gazette, Montreal, April 2004
“Especially enjoyable was Mr. Yedidia’s Waltz, of which he and cellist Glowacka delighted us with an encore.”
(about Waltz for cello & piano)
- The New Music Connoisseur, September 2003
“…a technical showcase, expressing all levels of dynamics as well as complicated brilliance, speed, flashing jazz accents and unbridled emotion. One never felt that the technique took over from the sensitivity and expression of the music.” (about Piano Sonata No. 3, Outcries, as performed by Alon Goldstein)
- The Pilot, North Carolina, October 2002
“Boulez, Messiaen, Schoenberg and Glass take their turns in this energetic work…A technical showpiece.” (about Piano Sonata No. 3, Outcries)
- The Birmingham News (USA), May 2002
“Nothing drove that home like Outcries, the Sonata No. 3 by one of Alon Goldstein’s fellow Israelis, Ronn Yedidia. It poured out in a single, tempestuous stream of consciousness…A drama!”
- Orlando Sentinel, February 2002
“Marc-André Hamelin…believes that Frederic Rzewski’s “The People United Will Never Be Defeated” and Ronn Yedidia’s Third Piano Sonata are miracles of contemporary writings.”
- “The Composer-Pianists” by Robert Rimm, 2001
“The superb encore, a piece by Ronn Yedidia, was played with great sensitivity.” (about Lullabye)
- Ha Aretz, Israel, April 1996
“Within the past few years new works have returned again and again to the theme of visual colorism. Ronn Yedidia, a young Juilliard-trained, Israeli-born composer who works in electronic media, relies on what he conceives to be a full spectrum of electronic sound that accumulates, an effect that is most notable in his Concerto for Piano, Electronic Instruments, Choir and Orchestra (1991).”
- “Color Codes” (Modern Theories of Color in Philosophy, Painting and Architecture, Literature, Music, and Psychology) by Charles A. Riley II, 1994
“The peak of Marc-André Hamelin’s recital was the Third Sonata, “Outcries”, by the Israeli born composer Ronn Yedidia…The work is of an undeniable modernism, but accessible; that of one who definitely has something to say…the Yedidia transformed the evening into a real event.”
- La Presse, Montreal, Canada, July 1991
“Highly crafted, emotionally engaging work” (about Black Snow)
- New York Newsday, April 1991
Biography in “American Keyboard Artists” as composer, educator and performer.
- 1989 and 1991 editions
“Yedidia’s concerto recast the Lisztian virtuoso piano concerto in a contemporary medium…the Concerto lasted just under 30 minutes, but Yedidia’s wealth of invention and compact construction justified the duration. (It was) comparable with the restless Expressionism of early Schoenberg and late Scriabin,…the composer has his own voice.”
- Los Angeles Times, July 1990
“When he played his composition, “Prophets”, Ronn Yedidia captivated us with his amazing technique and musicality.”
- Ha Aretz, Israel, August 1989
“Constantly fascinating” (about Piano Sonata No. 3, Outcries)
- Ma’ariv, Israel, January 1989
“The height of the evening…real expressiveness which stems mainly from the musical language as well as the instrumental nuance…the work admirably contends with some of the basic problems of contemporary music.” (about Piano Sonata No. 3, Outcries)
- Ha Aretz, January 1989