The Week in Reviews, Op. 89: Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony; Pinchas Zukerman; Leonidas Kavakos
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.
Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony performed works by Bach, including the Bach Double, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
- Daily Telegraph: Shaham...comes across as an unselfish soloist, completely engaged with the musicians around him. He also exploits the honeyed richness of his 1699 Stradivarius to the full with clean and secure fingering and a smooth bow technique. Equally adept in technique and with a tonal beauty to match is the playing of his wife, Adelaide-born Anthony, who started the second half with fanfare-like opening of the E minor work...But there could only be one way to close this program — the much-loved D minor double concerto, where the two Strads intertwined seamlessly.
- The Sydney Morning Herald: Shaham has a way of taking a whole musical sentence, paragraph or section in one breath, yet matching each note, motive and phrase to it with a musical gait that is rhythmically unperturbed yet infinitely flexible. Adele Anthony approached Bach's Violin Concerto in E, BWV 1042 with quick speeds and alertly energised attention to detail.
Pinchas Zukerman performed the Beethoven with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
- Vail Daily: "Zukerman had the audience rapt with a poignant rendition of the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Inopportune applause after the first movement did not deter Zukerman from an expansive interpretation of the work."
Photo courtesy the artist
Leonidas Kavakos performed the Sibelius with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
- Jerusalem Post: "The soloist, Leonidas Kavakos, turned out to be a veritable master of dynamics. Starting with an almost inaudible, delicate pianissimo, he very gradually proceeded to a forcefully songful sound, concluding with an enchantingly subtle, caressing tone. Sensitively conveying the lyrical mood of the slow movement, he then made the final one sparkle with all the energy and brilliant virtuosity it requires."
Alexandru Tomescu performed the Glazunov with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
- Liverpool Echo: "...it was the Violin Concerto by the aforementioned Glazunov which provided the evening’s greatest revelation, played by Romanian Alexandru Tomescu on his country’s state-owned Stradivarius, which not only provided the tone but set the benchmark for such a performance."
Andrés Cárdenes performed the Bruch with the Sunflower Music Festival.
- Theater Jones: "Even after hearing countless performance of this piece, Cárdenes’ performance was revelatory. Every phrase and nuance was just right. He guided us through the piece, pointing out its many glories, some new to these ears, along the way. It is a welcome and rare occurrence to hear an overly familiar piece in a new light."
Katherine Stonham performed the Bruch with the Trowbridge Symphony Orchestra.
- Wiltshire Times: "The audience was ecstatic and the prolonged applause showed its appreciation of such amazing young talent. Katherine should go far in the musical world."
In other news:
A Prelude to Menuhin's Centenary: As part of the lead-up to the Menuhin Competition London 2016, Menuhin Competition prizewinners Joji Hattori (1st Prize 1989) and Ludvig Gudim (Junior prizewinner 2014) will perform a gala concert with the Orpheus Sinfonia and Roger Sayer at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at Temple Church on the banks of the River Thames, as part of the Totally Thames festival. For more information, click here.
Please support music in your community by attending a concert or recital whenever you can!
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Dimitri Musafia, Master Maker of Violin and Viola Cases
July 9, 2015 at 10:19 PM · Oh, how I'd love to see Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony perform together! I find husband/wife musical couples to be so charming (if surely occasionally problematic on the domestic front).