18th New Orleans International Piano Competition
“Tierra hit his stride with a reading of Cesar Franck's 'Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue' - a spiritually charged performance that reminded one that Franck, like Messiaen, served as a church organist for many years.”
“Chetan Tierra gave blazing performances of Scriabin's 'Sonata No. 4' and Brahms' 'Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Book 1'. His Scriabin sang: unfolding in a relaxed, organic fashion that gave each fifth-finger trill, splashed chord and bass note plenty of room to breathe. Playing the Brahms chestnut on the fourth day of competition, it would have been an accomplishment to keep a jaded audience from squirming. Instead, Tierra held piano lovers on the edge of their seats with a reading so full of rhythmic verve and dancing energy that he might have started his performance by snapping his fingers.”
"....came closest to matching Tierra's warm tone and soulful manner"
“Tierra --- knows the virtues of constrained emotion - a modernist mind- set that lets him tackle the high rhetoric of the 19th century repertoire without tipping into melodrama. In Liszt's 'Ballade No. 2' for example, he never let the piano distract from the music - revealed the tolling heart and harmonic riches of a work that could have been composed yesterday. His selections from Debussy's 'Images' fit beautifully next to the Liszt. These works can sound like musical illustrations in other hands, but Tierra avoided the usual sound effects to conjure abstract bliss from rolling figures, sweeping arpeggios and crossed-hand harmonic explorations. He seemed just as comfortable with Bach, and concluded with a revival of Alberto Ginastera's explosive 'Sonata No. 1.' Composed in 1952, this astounding piece needs a player who can deliver everything from celeste-like tinkling to rhythmic bombs. Tierra did it all with unerring musicality.”