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For the Record, Op. 374: Natalia Lomeiko, Kinga Augustyn, Chiaroscuro Quartet
Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening! Click on the highlighted links to obtain each album or learn more about the artists.
Ysaÿe
Natalia Lomeiko, violin
Yuri Zhislin, violin
Ivan Martín, piano
Russian-born violinist Natalia Lomeiko, who is a Professor of Violin at the Royal College of Music, presents "some of Ysaÿe’s most evocative and rarely heard works — from the youthful Grande valse de concert and poetic Rêve d’enfant to the passionate Poème élégiaque, the tender Amitié, and the rhapsodic Extase. In the hands of award-winning artists Natalia Lomeiko, Yuri Zhislin, and Iván Martín, the music reveals Ysaÿe’s extraordinary ability to merge Romantic lyricism with bold harmonic imagination." BELOW: "Amitié," Op. 26 for two violins and piano.
Keep reading...
The Week in Reviews, Op. 541: Isabelle Faust, Daniel Hope, Anne Akiko Meyers, JACK Quartet
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.
Isabelle Faust performed Robert Schumann's Violin Concerto with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Dinis Sousa.
- Violinist.com: "Here is a violinist with a beautiful sense of phrasing and expression, backed up with a reliable technique seemingly capable of delivering just about anything the moment requires: a gorgeous melody, a blistering fast passage, double-stop trills, perfect-pitch octaves - even a vulnerable little spiral of a chord at the end of her solo encore."
- Seen and Heard International: "Relentlessly difficult and borderline harrowing, (the Schumann Violin Concerto) is miraculous in its best moments – which, in Faust’s hands, were many. From the first note, she dug in with fierce conviction and tenacity and the orchestra rose with her."
- San Francisco Classical Voice: "Isabelle Faust, one of just a few violinists who play the work these days, has an attractively dark, mellow timbre....the hall could not disguise, nor even partly relieve, the relentless fatigue that this score produces."
Review: Violinist Isabelle Faust Performs Schumann with LACO
On Saturday German violinist Isabelle Faust made a rare Southern California appearance, performing Robert Schumann's Violin Concerto in D minor with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) and guest conductor Dinis Sousa at the Colburn School's Zipper Hall. It was the first time I'd seen her perform live, and wow, did she deliver - as did LACO and Sousa.
Here is a violinist with a beautiful sense of phrasing and expression, backed up with a reliable technique seemingly capable of delivering just about anything the moment requires: a gorgeous melody, a blistering fast passage, double-stop trills, perfect-pitch octaves - even a vulnerable little spiral of a chord at the end of her solo encore.
She played Schumann's seldom played (and historically maligned) violin concerto with commitment and conviction. In our interview with Isabelle, she called this concerto an "anti-concerto," and after Saturday's performance, I could see why. There is no cadenza for the soloist, anywhere in the piece. The intensity of the orchestra in the first movement doesn't waver - even to make way for the soloist. Schumann gives the violinist a lot of odd gestures, and Faust leaned into that, adding color and even at times using non-vibrato to great effect.
I had the feeling that this concerto does not "play itself." For example, the melody of the second movement feels almost set against the orchestra. The last movement requires taking a simple theme laced with a thicket of notes and crafting it into meaningful music - something she did with joyous energy.
Orchestra and soloist were enthusiastically dialed in with each other, sensitive to the details and making it work together.
But despite this exceptional performance, I did have some issues with the architecture of this concerto. Most bewildering was the second movement, which is widely considered to be this concerto's the best asset - its emotional center of gravity. While it presents gorgeous material (that melody, in Faust's hands!), it all lies in a strange rhythmic bed. Keep reading...
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Interview: Violinist James Ehnes and the Minnesota Orchestra: A Three-Decade Partnership
James Ehnes is not only one of the most respected violinists on the planet, he’s seemingly the most charming guy in the world. "Be nice, be kind, be respectful" is the mantra he learned early in life, and it still guides him today.
In a candid conversation with Minnesota Orchestra violinist Emily Switzer, Ehnes reflected on everything from the emotional landscape of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto to what his Stradivarius continues to teach him. He spoke about why teaching matters to him, his long-standing connection with the Minnesota Orchestra, and even his favorite ritual when he visits the Twin Cities.
A few moments stood out. Ehnes shared that he has learned "it’s up to me to separate myself from some of the stress of life," a reminder of the pressure many accomplished artists navigate. And when asked what he might do if he weren’t a musician, he offered an answer that was a bit tongue-in-cheek: "Science or technology...something where there are answers to be found."
