"The Berlin friends of chamber music who normally are interested in every concert, and who appear in hordes, unfortunately missed this wonderful event in the Hochschulsaal. Great cellists are rare and the American cellist Richard Sher has to be counted among them - it was his first Berlin appearance. His pianist brother Daniel Sher accompanied him in a most sympathetic way. Richard Sher plays on an Amati cello (1650).

The concert opened with the charming and playful E major Sonata by the French baroque composer Francois Francoeur, followed by the Suite No. 5 in C minor by Bach which Mr. Sher played with high sensitivity and seamless melodic phrasing. In the Sonata in E minor, Op. 38 by Brahms, the two brothers collaborated successfully in bringing out the joy and passion of the work. The high point of technical virtuosity could be heard in the fast dance rhythms of Prokofieff s Sonata in C major. Leonard Bernstein's Meditation No. 1 sounded like a sacred hymn from the "Old School". The concert ended with Tchaikovsky's "Pezzo Capricciosso" Op. 62, played with humor and sparkling lightness."

Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin

General excellence is what is expected of the principal cellist in an orchestra, and that is the kind of playing Richard Sher provided in his program in Carnegie Recital Hall on Tuesday night. A former principal cellist with the St. Louis Symphony, he now holds a similar position with the Brooklyn Philharmonic.

Mr. Sher's program was conventional enough, including as it did Vivaldi's sonata No. 6 in B, Beethoven's Sonata No. 2 in G minor (Op. 5, No. 2), Bach's Suite No. 5 in C minor for unaccompanied cello and Schumann's Five Pieces in Folk Style. Fortunately, the artist gave a satisfactory account of the music, with Diane Walsh as his equally expert pianist.

The cellist has a darkish, bronzelike tone that be can color easily whenever he wants to. He communicates a strong rhythmic sense, not something all his colleagues bother to do, and his left hand is largely accurate. There were minute flaws in intonation, here and there, and an occasional jump to a high note would land off center, but in the context of the fine playing they were not bothersome."

Mr. Sher spun out legato lines smoothly when called for during the course of his program, but it was in the rapid movements of most of the pieces that he excelled. The snapping rhythms he brought to the Vivaldi allegros, the rollicking spirit of the Beethoven rondo and the lively Bach gigue were memorable. The Schumann showed a broader emotional range on the cellist's part, as it should have, and these were most enjoyable for the wealth of spirit invested in them.

Raymond Ericson
The New York Times

The refreshing recital by cellist Richard Sher and pianist Erika Nickrenz at Weill Recital Hall (December 20) combined natural, solid musicianship with impressive technical resources. Sher's tonally ascetic and restrained playing, though sometimes a little too reserved, etched the outlines of each pieces to good advantage: Debussy's Sonata teemed with understated yet steamy tension, Prokofiev's Sonata was light and unforced, and Beethoven's 'Bei Mannern' Variations flowed elegantly along well-established Classical lines. Best and most original was Bach's E-flat Solo Suite, whose Prelude and Bourees displayed bold and assertive strokes; it will be interesting to hear Sher applying similar sweep to the other five cello suites. From the open-lid piano Nickrenz contributed elegant and secure accompaniments distinctly superior to those one usually encounters in such recitals.

Channan Willner

Richard Sher, a cellist who has been heard often locally as a soloist and chamber musician, and who has recently founded the Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, played a long and substantial program Tuesday evening at Weill Recital Hall. To music of Debussy, Beethoven, Bach, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky, he brought sound, thoughtful musicianship, technical capability and a subtler responsiveness to the character of each piece than is sometimes encountered in instrumental recitals.

Bach's fourth cello suite, in E flat, was a particularly fine piece of work. Mr. Sher had a calm bow for the double stops of the sarabande, drawing rich sonorities where some cellists dig in too hard, and the dexterity of the gigue was unruffled. In Prokofiev's C-major sonata, Opus 119, he conveyed the quizzical blend of lyricism and spry (but no longer biting) wit. Occasionally in the Debussy sonata he seemed a little abrupt about phrase endings; occasionally, to this taste, the vibrato became a little monotonous; in general, one could have few complaints, and could enjoy the music.

Will Crutchfield
Review/Recital, The New York Times