from C.B.C. Radio 2's In Performance:

Tim Pyper - a very sensitive player, a very nimble player - has a wonderful sense of registration and marvelous footwork - tremendous technique. But he has a songlike quality to his playing which is a rare thing in the organ world.

Peter Togni

from The American Organist:

The outstanding recital by Tim Pyper on the Hutchings-Casavant-Evers in St. Peter's Cathedral shows that the future of Canadian organ playing is bright indeed. Mr. Pyper, currently a student of David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music, is a native of Toronto and was the 2001 winner of the RCCO National Organ Playing Competition. Playing from memory, he showed effortless technique and sensitive musicality in his performance of Dupré's Prelude and Fugue in G Minor. David Conte's Soliloquy, premiered by Michael Farris in honor of Walter Holtkamp's 40th anniversary in organbuilding and then played at Farris's funeral, was haunting and expressive. Herbert Howells's Rhapsody in C-sharp minor showed beautifully shaped phrases, as did the organ transcription of Gerald Finzi's Forlana, originally for piano and clarinet. Throughout the recital Mr. Pyper coaxed lovely colors from the organ, especially in Calvin Hampton's Lullaby. Olivier Messiaen's Dieu parmi nous was the rousing conclusion to the recital, which brought the audience to its feet in appreciation.

Patricia Wright

from R.C.C.O. Ottawa's Pipelines:

The penultimate concert in our 15th season of Pro Organo concerts was held Friday evening March 26th at Knox Church. Tim Pyper, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and current Assistant Organist at St. James Cathedral Toronto, performed a superb recital of works by (among others) Togni, Conte, Bach, Persichetti, and Reubke.

The concert opened with a short, spirited, Canadian work: "Alleluia" by Victor Togni. With nary a pause, bench adjustment, or registration check, Pyper launched into his programme, full of confidence and panache. It was an impressive start to the concert. Later in the half, we heard some particularly beautiful playing in "Soliloquy" by the American composer David Conte. Melodies unfolded with easy elegance and the glistening legato registrations were beautifully understated. At the heart of the first half was Bach's "Prelude and Fugue in C Major" (BWV 545). Surprisingly, it was here alone that Pyper reverted to the printed page, an exception in an otherwise memorized recital. As elsewhere, however, there was no question of this performer's technical mastery of the music. Indeed, it is seductively easy to forget just how difficult this music is when listening to a performer such as Pyper!

We were also treated to two movements from Vincent Persichetti's "Sonata for Organ". I was not familiar with this work - it was worth the price of admission alone for this introduction to Persichetti's organ music. The bulk of the second half consisted of Julius Reubke's "Sonata on the 94th Psalm". A monumental work of the German romantic period, we heard playing that was assured and technically fluid. As the Sonata's torrential stream of sixteenth notes and triplets unfolded, Pyper left no doubt that he alone was in charge.

Overall, I was extremely impressed by Pyper's polish and professionalism. All but the Bach was memorized and all registrations were executed by the performer himself. Short interactions with the audience between works or groups of works were delivered clearly, casually and confidently. Not least, Pyper's playing and posture at the console were a model of a quiet and efficient technique. I wished he'd played an encore.

James Calkin