The Week in Reviews, Op. 277: Augustin Hadelich; Vadim Gluzman; James Ehnes
June 25, 2019, 1:35 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.
Augustin Hadelich.Augustin Hadelich performed the Beethoven Violin Concerto with at the San Diego Mainly Mozart Festival.
- San Diego Reader: " It was not a stellar performance. It was a revelation. Hadelich, Francis, and the festival orchestra did not perform Beethoven’s music. They released it from its terrestrial confines. I was expecting transcendent and my expectation was exceeded."
Augustin Hadelich performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the Grant Park Orchestra.
- Chicago Classical Review: "Hadelich plays this warhorse as though he’s always finding new things to say, sometimes literally. As has become his standard, he performed his own cadenza, a glittering soliloquy stringing together a number of themes from the first movement."
Vadim Gluzman performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.
- Limelight: "Gluzman’s entry came almost as an interjection, as though he’d just been passing and thought he’d join in the conversation before dominating it entirely – but in a good way. This was the art that concealed art, the tone, the phrasing, the expressive gestures – especially in the first-movement cadenza, so caressingly rhetorical and not without humour – utterly at the service of the music. "
James Ehnes performed the Korngold Violin Concerto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
- Ludwig van Toronto: "Ehnes was flawless as usual, with his trademark singing tone, ethereal when called for, not to mention a bravura technique that knocks your socks off."
Philippe Graffin performed Ysaÿe's newly-discovered Sonata No. 7 in a recital at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival.
- Boston Classical Review: "Graffin’s expressive tone brought a human warmth to the Canzona, and the violinist tossed off the leaps and driving figures with fine control and technical polish. Each phrase built to a sure resolution in the dance-like finale. With a mix of technical fireworks and tender pages, Graffin’s reconstruction makes a worthy addition to Ysaÿe’s sonatas, works that lie at the heart of the violin repertoire."
Lyu Siqing performed the "Butterfly Lovers" Concerto with the China Broadcasting Performing Arts Troupe.
- Xinhua: "About 2,000 San Franciscans had a fascinating night Sunday here as some 80 musicians from the China Broadcasting Performing Arts Troupe (CBPAT) gave a performance of several pieces of classical Chinese folk music."
Delirium Musicum performed at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills
- San Francisco Classical Voice: "French violinist and leader Etienne Gara proved an energetic presence in front of the small orchestra, bantering with the audience between pieces. His violin playing was particularly on display during works by Brahms, Vivaldi, and the world premiere of a Concerto for Two Violins by composer Gianluca Bersanetti, the ensemble’s composer in residence."
Orchestra of St. Luke's performed Bach's "Goldberg" Variations arranged for chamber orchestra at Zankel Hall in New York.
- New York Times: "Conductor Bernard Labadie (led) the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in an elegant and lively account of his arrangement, written in 1997 for the ensemble Les Violons du Roy, which recorded it."
Yo-Yo Ma performed Bach's Cello Suites in Chicago as part of his Bach Project.
- Third Coast Review: "All in all, the Bach Project allowed Yo-Yo Ma to put on a dazzling series of events that went well beyond something one might expect from a simple concert appearance. He showed that he cares, not just about the music he’s playing, but also about the communities who come to hear it."
Please support music in your community by attending a concert or recital whenever you can!
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June 28, 2019 at 08:50 PM · Thanks for posting Laurie!
I attended Philippe Graffin's performance in Rockport, as I've been a longtime fan of his. It was utterly fantastic. I was on the edge of my seat, hand over my heart, during his Enescu. Marisa Gupta, the pianist, was superb. And the Chausson concert for violin, piano and string quartet was one of the most engaging ensemble performances I've seen in a really long time (if ever).
It was a great evening.