The Week in Reviews, Op. 260: Renaud Capuçon; Leila Josefowicz; Christian Tetzlaff

February 27, 2019, 10:11 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.

Renaud Capuçon. Photo by Marc Ribes.

Renaud Capuçon performed in recital at the Library of Congress with pianist Guillaume Bellom.

Washington Classical Review: "Few musicians can give such vivid life to (the Ravel) sonata’s second movement, 'Blues,' which often comes off as a slightly bland mimicking of jazz sounds Ravel heard in the 1920s. At a genial, ambling tempo Capuçon delighted in the many scoops, smears, and blue notes in his part, while Bellom gave a rough honky-tonk finish in the piano....(The full recital was) a performance that makes the early short list for the year’s best concerts."

Leila Josefowicz performed the violin concerto "Concentric Paths" by Thomas Adès with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Cincinnati Business Courier: "Josefowicz made a brilliant case for the 20-minute, three-movement concerto....Josefowicz performed with technical panache, control and power throughout its treacherous challenges."

Christian Tetzlaff performed Ligeti's Violin Concerto with the New World Symphony.

South Florida Classical Review: "Tetzlaff gave a fiercely committed performance, in a work that stretches from wispy single notes to fortissimo chords that show the small instrument’s surprising ability to fill a hall with sound."

Renaud Capuçon performed Matthias Pintscher’s "mar’eh" for violin and orchestra with the New York Philharmonic.

New York Classical Review: "Pintscher is terrific at writing intensity into a string part, and Renaud Capuçon was able to find virtuosic spirit in the jagged, barren sounds of the violin solo, especially in a rhapsodic quasi-cadenza."

Augustin Hadelich performed Dvorak’s Violin Concerto with the San Diego Symphony.

San Diego Reader: "The Dvorak was played by the peerless Augustin Hadelich. I admit that I listen for a solo violinist to fudge on their intonation. It never happens with Hadelich, at least not in my experience. His performance drew him back to the stage several times before he provided a benediction via the Andante from Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 2."

Chee-Yun performed Piazzolla's "The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires" with the Dallas Chamber Symphony.

Theater Jones: "(The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires) came across Tuesday night as a gorgeous showpiece for guest soloist Chee-Yun...as well as for the orchestra, here collaborating in top form."

Carolin Widmann performed the Stravinsky Violin Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

The Scotsman: "Strongly projected and with impeccably chiselled articulation, Widmann managed to balance an apt sense of ironic detachment with rich, impassioned playing, slithering through the second movement and finding a moving rawness to the slow movement. Despite the odd passage where conductor and soloist didn’t quite agree on the tempo, it was a thrillingly fresh, thought-provoking reading."
The Herald Scotland: "Carolin Widmann played with sparkling clarity and brought some big Romantic muscle to the solo part where required in the slow third movement."

William Hagen performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.

The Republican: "Hagen delivered the Brahms with a natural ease, as if he was improvising - unfolding the composer's masterful architecture with organic sensibility. He was master of the moment as well as of the big picture."

Jasper Wood performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra

Prince George Citizen: "He is an athletic performer, with an impeccable emotional vocabulary. His approach to the Mendelssohn...was both playful and humourous, yet consistently elegant and refined, which is the perfect fit for Mendelssohn."

Francesca Dego performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

The Scotsman: "Francesca Dego’s solo performance in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 was a masterclass in classical interpretation, crystalline precision and effortless musicianship. Her Ysaye encore was a knock-out.

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