The Week in Reviews, Op. 103: Isabelle Faust, Gil Shaham, Jinjoo Cho

Written by Laurie Niles
Published: October 20, 2015 at 5:07 PM [UTC]

Isabelle Faust performed the Berg with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

• The Arts Desk: "Isabelle Faust was the most exquisite and sensitive interpreter imaginable. Her playing was fluid and otherworldly, undemonstrative and totally integrated into the orchestral sound. It would have been matter-of-fact had it not been so beautiful. For music supposedly written according to Schoenberg’s 12-note system, it was in places remarkably lush and harmonically satisfying."

Isabelle Faust. Photo by Felix Broede, courtesy the artist

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

• The New York Times: "Gil Shaham proved a controlled, eloquent soloist more than capable of balancing wistfulness and regret, anger and hope. Mr. Shaham’s encore, the 'Gavotte en rondeau' from Bach’s E major Partita, rightly had an improvisatory, joyful feel."
• New York Classical Review: Shaham always seemed sure of exactly where he wanted to take the music, and he guided the listener ably, whether through the wandering ruminations of the Andante tranquillo, or through the cheeky humor of the scherzando section....The encore that he offered, the Gavotte en rondeau from Bach’s E Major Partita, was sublime. Bursting with joy, irresistibly playful, and peppered with sparkling ornamentation in the refrain, this was some of the best Bach playing you’ll ever hear...

Jinjoo Cho performed the Tchaikovsky with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

• NUVO: "She displayed chops that I didn't quite hear in her competition performances, raising my estimate of her abilities."

James Ehnes performed Bartok's Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Madison Symphony Orchestra.

• Madison Magazine: "...on this occasion..., Ehnes took a warhorse and shined it up like it belongs in the Violin Concerto Hall of Fame."

Christian Tetzlaff performed Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the San Francisco Symphony.

• The San Francisco Chronicle: "These days, Tetzlaff sports a Mephistophelean goatee and a wild mop of curls, he moves with easy freedom, and his artistry is more expansive and joyful than it’s ever been. In the Shostakovich, that meant bringing mournful splendor to the long melodic phrases of the opening Nocturne, ferocious wit to the superfast scherzo that follows, and practically titanic power and immediacy to the huge cadenza that sits at the heart of the concerto. The result was breathtaking."
• San Jose Mercury News: "Tetzlaff, however, delivered a flawless performance, easing into the opening Nocturne with deep, inward concentration."
• Examiner.com: "Tetzlaff clearly appreciated that there was more to his part than satisfying the many technical challenges set forth by the score. Reflecting the complementary role of the orchestra, his readings were always as much rhetorical as they were precise in execution."

Philippe Quint performed the Korngold with the Richmond Symphony.

• Richmond Times-Dispatch: "The violinist opted ... to expose finer strands of tone and color, most effectively in the concerto’s slow movement. His relatively lean tone also paid off in an exceptionally nimble reading of the work’s playful finale."

Vadim Gluzman performed Gubaidulina's "Offertorium" with the Oregon Symphony:

• The Oregonian: "Guzman was unsurpassed in his conviction, embracing both the technical challenges and solemnity of "Offertorium" in fulfillment of Gubaidulina's characterization of the piece as sacrifice, including the player's sacrifice to the tone. Even in slow sections that challenged listeners with their ambiguities and spiritual desolation, he kept the audience's attention and rewarded it with the glorious redemption of the closing chorale."

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You might also like:

• Interview with Gil Shaham: Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin
• Interview with Jinjoo Cho, 2014 Indianapolis Gold Medal Laureate