REVIEWS

September 21, 2008

Oskar Espina Ruiz at the Treetops Chamber Music Society, Stamford, CT, with Metropolitan Opera Orchestra artists
Jeffrey Johnson, Stamford Advocate, CT

"The outer movements [of "Assobio a Jato" ("The Jet Whistle") by Heitor Villa-Lobos, transcribed for clarinet and cello by Espina Ruiz] became a showcase for the crystalline high register of Espina Ruiz, who plays in the stratosphere of his instrument with freakish clarity and precision.”

July 23, 2006

Oskar Espina Ruiz and Noriko Nagasawa in Recital, Teatro Nacional, San José, Costa Rica
Andrés Sáenz, La Nación, San José, Costa Rica

“Masterful soloist: polished sound, fine intonation, sustained breath and agile fingering supported interpretations of a pure musicality.”

July 13, 2005

Concerto performance of Oskar Espina Ruiz with the St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony, Philharmonic Hall, St. Petersburg, Russia
Alina Tsiopa, Nevskoye Vremia, St. Petersburg, Russia

“The interpretation of Oskar Espina Ruiz was highly expressive, perfect in all the details and virtuosically executed.”

July 29, 2004

Julián Menéndez, an Appreciation
Charles Neidich, liner notes to Julián Menéndez Rediscovered, Kobaltone KB 13703, 2004.

"(...) The 2 CDs of his clarinet and piano music, wonderfully performed by Oskar Espina Ruiz, Noriko Nagasawa, and Keiko Kurachi opened my eyes and ears to one of the most significant clarinetists of the twentieth century. Menéndez, judging by his compositions, must have been a formidable virtuoso. (...) Menéndez's music, I realized listening to these CDs, fills an important niche for the clarinet. While we have operatic fantasias and virtuosic show pieces, aside from a couple of attempts by French composers, we have virtually no late romantic concerto-tone poems which, for instance, make up an important part of the violin repertoire, of which Chausson's Poem is one of the outstanding examples. Oskar Espina Ruiz plays the music with great feeling and technical aplomb. He shows how in Menéndez's compositions, the clarinet soars like a violin."

July 29, 2004

From a Menéndez Disciple
J. Vicente Peñarrocha, liner notes to Julián Menéndez Rediscovered, Kobaltone KB 13703, 2004.

"This recording of the works for clarinet and piano by Julián Menéndez is the result of the profound knowledge of Oskar Espina Ruiz, of his excellent technique and his sensitivity, and of his acknowledgement and appreciation of the figure and the oeuvre of an extraordinary clarinetist and excellent musician. As a disciple and admirer of Don Julián Menéndez, I express my gratitude in his name, as well as in the name of all of us who appreciate his figure and oeuvre."

July 29, 2004

“Bravo and Congratulations”
Richard Stoltzman, liner notes to Julián Menéndez Rediscovered, Kobaltone KB 13703, 2004.

"You have performed a great service to all clarinetists and have truly honored the memory of this Spanish master of the clarinet. I listened to both CD’s with growing admiration for Menéndez as composer clarinetist, and for you as master interpreter of his music. Bravo and congratulations. You have opened a beautiful treasure chest of repertoire for the world of clarinetists. Well done!"

November 30, 2002

Oskar Espina Ruiz in Recital, Centro Cultural de España, Asunción, Paraguay
José Luis De Tone, ABC, Asunción, Paraguay

“Through bewitching vibrancy and expressiveness Oskar Espina Ruiz brings forth the notes with an energy that reaches down to one's soul.”

September 7, 2000

Oskar Espina Ruiz and Keiko Kurachi in Recital, Luther Ichigaya, Tokyo, Japan
Eiichi Hashimoto, The Clarinet, Japan

“Extremely advanced technique and passion.”

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