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The Week in Reviews, Op. 536: Alexi Kenney, Maxim Vengerov, David Kim

February 11, 2026, 5:04 PM · In an effort to promote the coverage of live violin performance, Violinist.com each week presents links to reviews of notable concerts and recitals around the world. Click on the highlighted links to read the entire reviews.

Alexi Kenney performed Gyorgy Ligeti’s Violin Concerto and other works in a program called "Dream Awake" with the San Francisco Symphony.

• San Francisco Chronicle: "At 32, Kenney, a Palo Alto native and San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra alumnus, has shown himself to be almost unnervingly good at everything he tries — leading orchestras, playing Schumann on gut strings, and now, curating. 'Dream Awake' felt mostly cohesive and never confined. There was room to be surprised."

Maxim Vengerov performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Ivan Fischer.

• New York Classical Review: "Vengerov led the orchestra on a merry chase, treating Tchaikovsky’s marking 'vivacissimo' as synonymous with 'prestissimo.'"
• Bach Track: "... an inspired performance, navigating the piece’s notorious technical difficulties with extraordinary ease and displaying an unusually wide dynamic range. His virtuosic playing was most breathtaking in the first movement cadenza, delivered with startling speed and masterful control."

David Kim performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Rafael Payare.

• Bach Track: "He thoughtfully articulated every note, turned dynamic shifts on a dime and even conjured a sense of wild reverie in the cadenza, though he seemed most at home in the prettiest lyrical passages."

Nathan Cole and violist Steven Ansell performed Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

• Boston Musical Intelligencer: "In a way, the standup pair also continued to lead and reinforce their respective sections by playing in the tuttis, but when they emerged as duoists, their very different personalities did in fact complement each other. If, in the deep middle movement, Cole’s aristocratic tone and manner of delivery evoked Donna Anna’s elegant but poignant 'Non mi dir…,' then Ansell’s embodied the earthiness and humor of Leporello."
• Boston Classical Review: "...the sweetness of (Cole's) instrument fit the Andante’s lyricism well and the brightness of his upper register cut a fine figure in the Presto."

Yoonshin Song performed Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade with the Houston Symphony and Marin Alsop.

• EarRelevant: "This performance featured Houston Symphony concertmaster Yoonshin Song, whose playing combined refinement and expressive depth. The first movement—“Phaedrus, Pausanias”—opens with an extended violin solo, which Song delivered with tender intimacy, superb bow control, and scrupulous observance of Bernstein’s markings—slides omitted, as instructed."

William Shaub performed with pianist Kevin Class, cellist Adam Ayers and bassoonist Adam Ayers for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster Series concert, "Tides of Solitude."

• Arts Knoxville: "The program as a whole suggested an exploration of a more reflective side of Valentine’s Day, something that Shaub and his colleagues managed with a sensitive balance of ensemble artistry and musical introspection."

Noah Bendix-Balgley and cellist Bruno Delepelaire performed the Brahms Double Concerto with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Thomas Søndergård.

• Edinburgh Music Review: "...the soloists were clearly having a great time playing together, and they were beautifully balanced in the Andante second movement, especially when pouring out one of Brahms’s lovely melodies an octave apart."
• Vox Carnyx: "They were superb, too, and – as orchestral musicians – supremely sensitive to their relationship with the players around them. It is possible that this was as fine a performance of the work as you are likely to hear, and the intricacies of that opening movement were the most fascinating part."

Rebecca Roozeman won the Netherlands Violin Competition 2026, performing Saint-Saens’s Violin Concerto No. 3 with Residentie Orkest and Otto Tausk.

• Seen and Heard International: "...her connection with the audience was unmistakable. Her playing projected calm assurance and clarity. She let the concerto unfold in broad, elegant paragraphs, trusted the music’s natural flow and avoided exaggerated contrasts."

Lisa Batiashvili performed Lindberg's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

• Seen and Heard International: "This was a commanding performance from first to last, replete with lyricism and virtuosity."
• Bach Track: "The soloist rarely gets a pause, so the 25-minute span is demanding enough. Lisa Batiashvili was equal to all the work’s demands right up to a show-stopping cadenza of coruscating brilliance."

Adé Williams performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra.

• JOLT: "Guest violinist Adé Williams did not simply play the violin, but practically became the violin throughout her solos in the Sibelius piece."

Georgii Moroz won the Singapore International Violin Competition 2026, performing Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Joshua Tan.

• NUS News: "Rising Ukrainian violinist Georgii Moroz emerged as the First Prize winner at the Singapore International Violin Competition (SIVC) 2026...The second and third place prizes went to Danish violinist Michael Germer and Chinese violinist Zou Meng respectively."

Please support music in your community by attending a concert or recital whenever you can!

You might also like:

• The Week in Reviews, Op. 535: Augustin Hadelich, Randall Goosby, María Dueñas
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 534: Gil Shaham, Blake Pouliot, Simone Porter
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 533: PatKop, Himari, Vadim Gluzman

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