Send them out to schools from shore to shore, with piano teachers on hand to sign up students afterward, and the future of classical music will look a lot brighter … THE 5 BROWNS proved that classical music can reach teens and twenty-somethings on their own ground, but without posturing or cheapening the product.
—Dallas Morning News (Scott Cantrell 4/13/06)
Aware of all these reasons not to attempt such a feat, the immensely talented and youthfully attractive quintet performed the intricate score with aplomb, apparently finding the technical and musical hurdles of the piece well within their skills. They were right — the performance was a triumph, driving the audience to near-frenzy…One can only celebrate the unabashed joy and love of music heard and seen in the performances of The 5 Browns. Their development as a musical ensemble has been an exciting journey, one enhanced by their charm and intelligence as well as their willingness to create ever-higher targets for themselves, a valuable lesson for us all.
–The Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Richard Storm 3/16/12)
Rarely does one see five grand pianos huddled onstage, much less hear them played simultaneously in concert. But play them the 5 Browns did on Saturday at the Music Center at Strathmore, in a performance that was as spontaneous as it was personable. The five Utah-bred siblings, all in their 20s, made their Washington area debut with a program that ranged from classical to jazz. By introducing pieces in turn and casually interacting with the audience, they broke down the barriers of the traditional piano recital. Sitting in a semicircle of Steinways, the brothers and sisters demonstrated their ability to draw orchestral colors out of the 440 piano keys.
–The Washington Post (Grace Jean 11/5/07)
“The Edge of the World” was fun to hear. I was astonished by the precision with which the talented Browns executed their keyboard gymnastics, not to mention their crisp coordination with the CSO under James Conlon.
–Chicago Tribune (John von Rhein 8/11/11)
Before seeing them in action, one had to wonder about the appeal of this quintet of Juilliard-trained siblings. Most classical pianists can’t draw anything near the audience this group gets on its national and international tours…All was neatly executed, perhaps the family bond explaining the remarkable precision…In between the big works, solo pieces demonstrated high levels of technical and interpretive skill. Of even more interest were duets that put together different sibling combinations in rarely heard repertoire….The family could not have become such a sensation without music-making like this.
–The Virginian Pilot (Lee Teply 5/9/09)