“…….the Accordes Quartet delivered a convincing reading of Brian Chatpo Koo’s String Quartet No. 2. Bristling with dissonance, angularity and intensity, the piece offered the white-hot inspiration one seldom encounters on the western concert circuit these days.”
William Littler, Music critic, The Toronto Star, 9/12/1997
“I am impressed by the originality of his thinking and by his work. He has found a way, in his music, to place Western avant-garde techniques and structures at the service of this own particular beliefs and inherited culture. This is rare among composers of non-European background. His work, then, emerges as a wholly original contribution to the present-day repertory of music.”
Peter Sculthorpe, Professor in music, University of Sydney, Australia Report on Koo’s PhD thesis
“I am very impressed by the seven works in this portfolio. They show the hallmarks of a mature composer who writes with courage and conviction. I respond positively to the underlying dramatic elements notably in the larger scaled works and I am particularly impressed by the masterly sense of timing and the wonderful sense of registral space throughout all the works. One is continually drawn to the impressive range and subtlety of textures, the harmonic richness, rhythmic flexibility and formal procedures. The works are satisfying in their range of expression and the way in which they lead the listener to ever deeper levels on subsequent listening.”
John Rimmer, Professor in music, University of Auckland, New Zealand Report on Koo’s PhD thesis
“The unconventional use of Chinese folk instruments is particularly laudable. The solo sanxian is well exploited and surpasses the boundary of traditional and modern. The careful blending of so-called east and west in the use of instruments is very successful.”
Wing-Wah Chan, Professor in music, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Report on Koo’s PhD thesis