The Week in Reviews, Op. 250: Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Gil Shaham, James Ehnes

December 12, 2018, 10:22 PM · 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.

Patricia Kopatchinskaja performed works by Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann and Robert Schumann in a farewell concert with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Pioneer Press: "Kopatchinskaja is quite directly addressing the whole concept of 'goodbye' at these concerts. And, unsurprisingly for her, she takes the musical conversation in imaginative directions."
MinnPost: "Yes, she’s leaving sooner than we hoped or expected. But what an exit."

Patricia Kopatchinskaja.

Patricia Kopatchinskaja performed in recital with pianist Polina Leschenko in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Los Angeles Times: "We commonly speak about the most intense musicians playing something as though it were life and death. We don’t really mean it. But when it comes to Kopatchinskaja, I’m not so sure."

Gil Shaham performed the Dvorak Violin Concerto with the Naples Philharmonic.

Naples Daily News: "Shaham has sparkling tone and hummingbird fingers that can launch scales played int triplets or navigate Dvorak's second-movement thicket of trills....Technical perfection alone won't sell evocative themes and deeply felt Czech motifs, however. The violinist's sense of Dvorak's story has to be strong, and Shaham plays as one immersed in it."

James Ehnes performed the Britten Violin Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

The Scotsman: "With the unshakeable James Ehnes as soloist, this performance combined pinpoint accuracy with searing musicality, from the solo timpani’s dark opening gambit (so like Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in concept) to the perkiness of the scherzo and the intellectual thrill of the closing passacaglia with its folksy infusions.

Mateusz Wolski performed Vivali's "Winter" from the Four Seasons with members of the Spokane Symphony

The Spokesman Review: "Mateusz Wolski...threaded his way fearlessly through Vivaldi’s difficult writing for the violin, extracting every ounce of vitality, color and pathos the composer intended. The speed at which Wolski attacked the solo part in the last movement seemed scarcely believable until, in the final measures, the entire orchestra joined him at the same terrific pace. The effect brought down the house."

Chloé Trevor performed Vivaldi and PPiazzolla’s "The Four Seasons" with the Boulder Chamber Orchestra.

CU Independent: "The buzz about Trevor is justified. Trevor is an animated, expressive player, at ease in the spotlight and able to draw a multitude of contrasting colors from her 18th-century violin."

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