Other (Selected) Reviews and Testimonials

• “Tanya Ekanayaka is a musician of rare accomplishment. Her pianism is fresh and powerful, technically assured and emotionally persuasive. As a composer she has the ability to synthesise her inter-cultural experience to create music that is original and compelling. In an age when the composer-pianist seems like a moment from the past, Tanya Ekanayaka shows us the potential of such a complete musicianship.”
  Peter Nelson
  Professor Emeritus, University of Edinburgh, UK
• “Tanya Ekanayaka's music is subtle, beautiful and surprising. Whereas many Asian composers like, say, Takemitsu or Tan Dun, have arrived in European concert halls through a combination of international modernism and carefully crafted encounters with Asian folk and classical music, Tanya has travelled in precisely the opposite direction. Her starting point is in her experience as a pianist playing music of Western serious music tradition, and in particular the mid-Romantic repertoire. It is after a long journey through the rich language of mature Western tonality that she eventually reaches, along a purely instinctive and intuitive path, the popular melodies and hymns of her native Sri Lanka. It is through the arpeggios, embellishments and filigree of the language of Chopin and Liszt that she approaches the graceful ornamentation of her cultural tradition: the circles and slender pillars of the Polonnaruwa vatadage; the colourful costumes, movements and rhythms of Ves or Naiyandi dances.”
  Nigel Osborne MBE, FRCM
  Professor Emeritus, University of Edinburgh, UK
• “Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka first performed at St. Martin-in-the-Fields on Friday 30th July 2010, representing Sri Lanka in St. Martin’s Pianists of the World Series. Dr. Ekanayaka is a very intuitive performer, her interpretation of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 15 in D being a prime example of her exceptional technical accuracy and sympathy to the emotional contrasts of this work. The audience for this concert was the highest of the month at 404. Dr. Ekanayaka returned to us in 2012. Once again, Dr. Ekanayaka attracted the highest audience of the month, with 448 of our patrons enraptured by her performance. Based on her success in these two recitals, we invited Dr. Ekanayaka to take part in our 2013 series, again to represent Sri Lanka in the Pianists of the World Series on October 25th. With this performance the audience was 501, one of our largest of the year. Her performances and compositions are of an exceptional quality and from my experience I believe her to be an incredible asset to classical music in the UK.”
  Concerts Management, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London

Tanya Ekanayaka: ‘Adahas-Of Wings Of Roots’

• “In Adahas: of Wings of Roots, Ekanayaka filtered her thoughts on traditional Sri Lankan music through the prism of classical music. She also paid homage to the other pieces on the programme by making the motif of their key signatures a central theme. The blend of styles worked well.”
  The Scotsman
• “A virtuosic work, based on romanticism but with a strong influence of Sri Lankan dramaticism”
  Concerts Management, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London

Tanya Ekanayaka: ‘Dhaivaya: Alter(ing) Hue’

• “This work exemplifies her ability as a contemporary composer to combine technical brilliance, innovative ideas especially in terms of rhythmic devices, while maintaining a pleasant melodic inclusivity, appealing to both our die-hard contemporary music audience and those who are new to this genre.”
  Concerts Management, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London

Rachmaninov: Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 3, No. 2

• “Dr. Ekanayaka’s performance was sublime…one of the standout performances of 2012.”
  Concerts Management, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37

• “Tanya Ekanayaka could be viewed as a pianist from the top drawer due to her ability to blend sparkling technique with poetic imagination and artistic flair. She is a true artist, for she possesses a variety of coloristic resources. The stiffest hurdle for the pianist in this robust, emotionally-charged C minor concerto is the celebrated cadenza towards the end of the first movement, and she cleared it with consummate ease. Her touch was sublime, and her interpretation, deeply introspective and coloristic. The slow movement contains a hauntingly beautiful melody to which she gave a lofty, artistic interpretation. In the ebullient third movement, she slipped into top gear and performed the rondo with rhythmic elan and delicate brushstrokes worthy of a Fragonard painting. It was a thrilling performance from beginning to end, cemented by a powerful rapport between conductor and soloist.”
  The Daily News of Sri Lanka

Tanya Ekanayaka: ‘Vannam (Gajaga, Hanuma, Mayura) & You’

• “‘Vannam & You’ based around the tonal centres of the Haydn Sonata, and the charmingly played Für Elise which followed, opened arrestingly. It was full of rhapsodic flourishes and more than a soupcon of modal exoticism. The scintillating, shimmering cadenzas, ever reaching into the highest register of the keyboard, were particularly effective here.”
  Musical Opinion Quarterly, UK (January-March 2014 edition)

Tanya Ekanayaka: ‘In Lotus; Olu Pipila With Moment’

• “‘In Lotus; Olu Pipila With Moment’ had fetching languid and pensive moments; there were mystical overtones here, very much evoking the music of Bloch, perhaps especially the fourth of the Visions & Prophesies. It was centred around the notes G and A, the keys of the two preceding works, Chopin’s First Ballade and Debussy’s L’isle Joyeuse.”
  Musical Opinion Quarterly, UK (January-March 2014 edition)

Beethoven: Sonata in C Major (Waldstein) Op.53

• “A mature performance which held our attention throughout! Beautifully realized.”
  LGSMD Pianoforte Performance Reviews

Chopin: Ballade in G minor No.1 Op.23

• “Tanya Ekanayaka, in her rendition of the popular but difficult Chopin Ballade, proved herself equal to its technical challenge with a flawless execution. She captured, too, the theatrical brilliance of the piece.”
  The Island newspaper of Sri Lanka

Ravel: Jeux d'eau

• “Exquisite shading of tone was demonstrated in Jeux d'eau with subtle 'colouring' entirely appropriate for Ravel's music.”
  FTCL Pianoforte Performance Reviews
• “The shimmer and sparkle of cascading water in Ravel's Jeux d'eau was well-captured with a lightness of touch and mood.”
  The Scotsman