The Week in Reviews, Op. 111: Hilary Hahn, In Mo Yang, Maxim Vengerov

December 17, 2015, 10:52 AM · 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.

Hilary Hahn performed Vieuxtemps' Fourth Violin Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Violinist.com: "...she played it with fearless precision..."
Los Angeles Times: "Her technique is flawless, but she has always been more successful at finding musical depth than providing cheap tricks. She certainly does nothing cheap with Vieuxtemps. On exhibit, instead, were exquisite phrasing and her strong, intense sound..."
The Orange County Register: "Her rendition of the work – composed mid-century and by turns nobly solemn, tuneful and pyrotechnically showy – was a patrician one, secure in technique, serenely dispatched and rather cool."

In Mo Yang.

In Mo Yang performed Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra.

The Boston Musical Intelligencer: "Yang appeared to seize control of the entire orchestra. He galvanized them, raising the performance level to unforeseen heights. The ensemble sounded with new spirit and unity of purpose, rising to the challenge issued by their preternaturally gifted colleague."

Maxim Vengerov performed works by Bach and Beethoven in recital with pianist Roustem Saitkoulov.

The Sydney Morning Herald: "What roused most enthusiasm...was violin-centric: Ernst's Etude on The Last Rose of Summer and Paganini's I Palpiti Variations. In both, Vengerov gave a sterling exhibition of technique with fierce double and triple-stop passages, penetrating and accurate harmonics, the most telling left-hand pizzicato in the business, lightning-swift scales and arpeggios the complete violinist's armoury, sending us home gobsmacked and thankful."
Violinist.com: "The English language fails me in this instance, as I struggle to adequately articulate how joyous I felt leaving this concert..."

Frank Peter Zimmermann premiered Lindberg's Second Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Guardian: "...one wished Lindberg had made more of the glowing sonorities of the very beginning and the very end, and that the brilliant but impassive Zimmermann had offered a bit more old-school showmanship."
The Telegraph: "The soloist, German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, proved once again why he’s the favoured violinist for many composers. He can perform the trickiest, most virtuoso manoeuvres on the instrument while producing a seraphically sweet tone."
Evening Standard: "Throughout, the soloist’s part had a restless energy; even the few moments of repose felt agitated."

Gil Shaham performed Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin.

Los Alamos Daily Post: "The program began with the introspective B Minor Sonata in which Shaham set the tenor for what we would be enjoying the rest of the evening: the flawless technique, admirable bow control, luminous clarity of sound, superb dynamics and pianissimo passages soft as an angel’s whisper."

Simone Porter performed the Mendelssohn with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.