DARMSTÄDTER ECHO
"'15 etudes for sting octet'... Jimmy Lopez, 2008 Kranichsteiner Music Prize winner. Here, American Jack Quartet joined the Arditti Quartet to create a sequence of aphoristic short pieces, each one dedicated to a playing technique or sound topic. Pizzicati, tremolo, harmonics, glissandi, rhythmic pulses, harmonic diversification; all were explored with much fantasy. This was entertaining music in the best sense possible. In addition, almost orchestral sonorities were cleverly utilized. In a fully packed Orangerie, Lopez received the biggest applause from all four composers present, and justifiably so."
-Klaus Trapp, July 24, 2010
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
"Ginastera and Revueltas are beloved pioneers, and López, 32, is one of the most interesting young composers anywhere today."
-Andrew Patner, July 9, 2010
STAR TELEGRAM
"The concert ended with the world premiere of Lago de Lagrimas by young Peruvian Jimmy Lopez. The flute concerto starred Jessica Warren-Acosta playing a flute with a sliding head joint. She bent notes like a trombone. The first movement, Suplicio, was Baroque in its depth and emotion, the same low, sad flute melody cycling against exquisite, golden orchestrations. Staccato walls of rhythm propelled Transmutacion, blunt-force declarations that tried to maintain momentum...a quiet, beautiful glow remained."
-Chris Shull, November 20, 2009
STAR TELEGRAM
"FWSO disc 'Inti' brings little-known Peruvian compositions to light...Fiesta! by Jimmy Lopez is full of brassy shouts, bubbling percussion and syncopated full-orchestra rumbles...By turns brash and coolly luxurious, Fiesta! is vital, vigorous music, exciting and engaging across its four movements."
-Chris Shull, August 25, 2009
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
"Composer Jimmy Lopez, born in 1978 and another Peruvian, also took a bow Thursday. He aims for fun in his “Fiesta!” and succeeds splendidly, making festive use of the orchestra: energized by Latin dance rhythms and an unvarnished directness that is so typical of New World art but rare back in the old country."
-Pierre Ruhe, May 31, 2009
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
"...Peruvian composer Jimmy Lopez, a Harth-Bedoya protege, just 30 and with an intriguing seven years of study at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, displayed a real sense of making music from disparate sources in his ill-titled "Fiesta!" (2007). The intriguing blend of trance, techno, Latin rhythms and a keen understanding of orchestral instruments made the 10-minute piece a highlight of the evening."
-Andrew Patner, October 25, 2008
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"...Jimmy Lopez's "Fiesta!"...packed explosive brass licks and wild fusillades of drums."
-John von Rhein, October 25, 2008
CHARLESTON CITY PAPER
"The program's novelty was Fiesta, by young Peruvian tunesmith Jimmy López. Written just last year, it's a perky number that marks him as a composer to watch. Under resident conductor Scott Terrell's assured baton, the four-movement work engaged its listeners with infectious energy and complex, shifting Latin rhythms. I liked the opening section's jazzy swing, leading into a languorous string theme floating over muttering woodwinds. The edgy second movement skittered in all directions, laced with violent outbursts. The CSO's crack percussionists got a real workout in the final two movements, as the piece drove to a frantic finish with primitive punch and brassy flourishes."
-Lindsay Koob, October 8, 2008
NEW YORK TIMES
"Although Mr. Harth-Bedoya, in introductory remarks from the stage, called “Fiesta!” a “miniature symphony,” it actually represents a genre with an even older tradition, a virtuosic suite of dances giving refined expression to popular idioms. Mr. López proves himself expert in orchestration..."
-James R. Oestreich, September 22, 2008
STAR TELEGRAM
"Rhythmic riffs were repeated and passed around; syncopated snippets suggested salsa beats; strings pounded out a pulse and whirred in blurry glissandi. Fiesta! was frenetic, mirroring the club life that inspired it."
-Chris Shull, Sep 20, 2008
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
"True to its name, Fiesta! is a high-energy piece – its fourth movement is called "Techno" – with lots of percussion and catchy rhythms. Its sense of good cheer is hard to resist. Mr. López was present to take bows."
Olin Chism, September 19, 2008
KANSAN UUTISET MAGAZINE
"...the interpretation of Jimmy Lopez's Incubus was a performance that will stay on the mind. It was unpredictable in every sense... Lopéz says this work has taken him to technical and emotional realms that are foreign to him. In the performance this translated into the players whispering, grumbling, yelling and stabbing their shoes audibly against the ground."
-Jouku Huru, April 2008
BALTIMORE SUN
"Jimmy Lopez's 'Fiesta!' had a kinetic kick, with great brass licks and percussion flourishes."
-Tim Smith, May 2008
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
"Wild visionary's music provided an amazing experience. Jimmy López loves instrumental masses and rhythm. The composition concert of Jimmy López (born in Peru in 1978 and studied in Finland) besides being an amazing experience produced by his overwhelming music was also a formidable proof of his cooperational skills; the support provided by many patrons and institutions have made this event possible. A large orchestra featured many nationalities; there were three conductors and two soloists. The evening awakened the feeling that, also in music, we live in a global era."
-Veijo Murtomäki, April 2, 2007
HUFVUDSTADSBLADET
"...López himself was unnecessarily humble in his welcoming speech and in the concert programme, where it was not very clear who had composed the works. When the music is as good as this, there is nothing to be ashamed of."
-Wilhelm Kvist, 2007
EL COMERCIO
"One of the pieces that will be played today during the National Symphony Orchestra's concert is the tone poem 'América Salvaje', a piece that has been especially composed by the young Peruvian musician Jimmy López Bellido, and that originated as a commission by the Minister of Education, Javier Sota Nadal, to heighten the inauguration of the National Library of Peru, which will take place tomorrow."
-2006
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
"....Jimmy Lopez's 'K'asa', a multifaceted piece for violin and piano. The piece's character and expressive world were pleasingly extensive; the demands on the players considerable. There was boldness in the music and the composition's power of communication and quality always remained high. Fine piece!".
-Veijo Murtomäki, 2004
EL COMERCIO
"It is great to ascertain that young Peruvian musicians, who are barely above 20, are having success in the international scene among circles of high professional standards. A good example is Juan Diego Florez, although he is not the only one. Thanks to them, news from Peru are positive but their scope is more restricted. We would like to comment a recent case, which is all the more interesting because it belongs to the field of composition. Recently, in Boston, the 'Alea III 2003 International Composition Prize' was awarded to Jimmy López for 'K'asa', for violin and piano."
-José Quezada, 2003
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
"Most pieces were scarcely applauded, but the Peruvian Jimmy Lopéz's Carnynx, overwhelmingly loud for a small hall, pulled roars of applause from the audience."
-Jukka Isopuro, 2002