The Boston Musical Intelligencer

BOSTON

(The Mother Church, July 2011)

“If Nathan Laube is any indication, the organ has a much brighter future than some would believe in this age of broadening definitions of church music.  This young man is an unpretentious, attitude-free, and brilliant artist who, it would seem, has to be one of Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Outliers:’ if he hasn’t practiced for 10,000 hours yet, he certainly sounds as though he’s on his way to Gladwell’s benchmark.  His playing speaks for itself with lucid phrasing, uncanny use of solo and ensemble color, and perception and depth unusual in someone his age.  He also spoke about the music with great maturity, and half of Sunday evening’s program was music he had arranged for the organ.  No Virgil Fox or Cameron Carpenter flamboyance for this young artist: the music comes first.”

“Leading off with the Liszt Symphonic Poem from Les Preludes, ‘Poeme symphonique #3,’ Laube made the organ sound as though this music had been written for it rather than an orchestra.  I have never heard so many gloriously beautiful sounds emerge from this magnificent instrument, and I’ve enjoyed some superb players there through the years …”

“… Flawless technique again made this music [the Chopin C-sharp minor Etude] sound perfect on the organ, and we went out into the night, grateful for a musician who at the tender age of twenty-three can play to this astounding standard, at the same time without a trace of shallowness or overwrought showmanship.  Don’t miss him the next time he’s in town!”