Printer-friendly version

The Week in Reviews, Op. 102: Vilde Frang, Renaud Capucon, James Ehnes

Laurie Niles

Written by
Published: October 13, 2015 at 8:03 PM [UTC]

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.

Vilde Frang performed the Britten with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

  • The Seattle Times: "Looking as if she had just stepped out of a Pre-Raphaelite painting, the soloist gave an utterly committed, finely nuanced performance that made it clear she owns this difficult, often fierce concerto."


Vilde Frang
Vilde Frang. © EMI CLASSICS

Renaud Capucon performed the Brahms with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

  • Chicago Tribune: "This was very much a young virtuoso's Brahms, yet a performance sensitively attuned to the inner serenity that is so endemic to the composer's musical psyche. A prime example of this was the slow movement, played as a reverie of quite ravishing tonal beauty, whose arching phrases Capucon delivered with the utmost poetic concentration."
  • Chicago Classical Review: "Capuçon brought notable freshness to the concerto with a finely judged blend of sweetness and sinew. There was ample youthful fire in the opening movement with the drama reflected in the synergy between the soloist and Bychkov’s hard-charging accompaniment."

James Ehnes performed Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

  • Ottawa Citizen: "Canadian violinist James Ehnes laid down a memorable performance: subtle, exquisitely controlled, with a pure, focused, limpid tone that allowed even the most whisper-quiet passages to cut through the dense orchestration. The final movement slipped by like a dream. Ehnes made Prokofiev’s endless cascades of chromatic scales swirl delicately, like a tiny snowglobe blizzard."

Nicola Benedetti performed works by Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky and Turnage, with her ensemble in Dublin.

  • Irish Times: "...the performing was fresh, focused and energetic, despite the last-minute cancellation of a flight on which two members of Benedetti’s hand-picked, conductorless ensemble were booked to travel from Glasgow."

Gil Shaham performed Bartok's Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

  • The Philadelphia Inquirer: "The music strained a bit at the seams, though soloist Gil Shaham firmly sustained the piece's lyricism, helping to carry the ear through the particularly detailed thickets of the orchestration."

Callum Smart performed the Beethoven with the Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra.

  • Nottingham Post: "The Violin Concerto was in the safe hands of former BBC Young Musician Callum Smart. Not only did he display technical wizardry (the unusual cadenzas demanded plenty of that) but he allowed the tenderness of the slow movement to speak for itself without any hint of self-indulgence."

Henning Kraggerud performed Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Auckland Philharmonia.

  • Stuff: "It was not an over-dramatic performance highlighting the technical difficulties of the piece but more the melodic lines and rich emotions, particularly in the second movement Adagio which is the heart of the piece."

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

This entry has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

Facebook YouTube Instagram Email

Violinist.com is made possible by...

Shar Music
Shar Music

Violinist.com Shopping Guide
Violinist.com Shopping Guide

Miroirs CA Classical Music Journal
Miroirs CA Classical Music Journal

Pirastro Strings
Pirastro Strings

JR Judd Violins
JR Judd Violins

Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic

Corilon Violins
Corilon Violins

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

Dimitri Musafia, Master Maker of Violin and Viola Cases
Dimitri Musafia, Master Maker of Violin and Viola Cases

Anne Cole Violin Maker
Anne Cole Violin Maker

Classic Violin Olympus

Coltman Chamber Music Competition

Metzler Violin Shop

Southwest Strings

Bobelock Cases

Johnson String Instrument/Carriage House Violins

Bay Fine Strings Violin Shop

Jargar Strings

Fiddlerman.com

FiddlerShop

Violin Lab

Connolly

Barenreiter

Nazareth Gevorkian Violins

Laurie's Books

Discover the best of Violinist.com in these collections of editor Laurie Niles' exclusive interviews.

Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1, with introduction by Hilary Hahn

Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2, with introduction by Rachel Barton Pine

Subscribe