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The Week in Reviews, Op. 282: Ning Feng; Stefan Jackiw; Vilde Frang; Isabelle Faust

July 30, 2019, 2:17 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.

Violinist Ning Feng.

Ning Feng performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap.

The Washington Post: "...a wonderful player he is, with a creamy, easy tone and an emotional honesty. He is not an ingénue but in his late 30s, based in Berlin, and well-established on the international concert circuit — for good reason, clearly."

Stefan Jackiw performed four Ives Violin Sonatas with pianist Jeremy Denk in Boston.

Boston Musical Intelligencer: "They make an excellent pair, capturing the flow and complexity of Ives’s counterpoint, yet also the delicate whisper of passages that come on like the flow of memory, since so much of Ives seems to be a recalling of former days."

Vilde Frang performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra.

The New York Times: "As themes wound through the elusive, complex development section of the first movement, Ms. Frang seemed to be pondering each phrase in the moment. In assertive episodes, though, she played with gleaming sound and boldness. She conveyed the dancing playfulness of the finale, backed at every moment by Mr. Manze, who drew buoyant, clear playing from the orchestra."

Isabelle Faust performed Peter Eötvös’s "Alhambra" with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at BBC Prom 8.

The Guardian: "A mandolin (far more audible on the broadcast than it was in the hall) shadows and supports the solo violin, whose discursive line seems constantly to trigger the iridescent orchestral activity, so that it becomes a showpiece for the orchestra as well as the soloist; the BBCSO certainly didn’t pale alongside Faust’s brilliance."
theartsdesk.com: "The orchestration was varied, and Faust matched her tone to what was going on around her: one moment blending a warm sound with the strings, next a brassy sound to play with the horn, then a metallic edge to a dialogue with the percussion."

Nicola Benedetti performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the National Youth Orchestra at BBC Prom 12.

The Guardian: "For herself, Benedetti shaped a secure and expansive performance, giving a real kick to the dance sections of the finale. Her encore, from the Fiddle Dance Suite written for her by Wynton Marsalis, kept on swinging as she walked slowly offstage."

Adrian Nicolas Ong performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the ABS CBN Philharmonic (in Manila).

Catanduanes Tribune: "There is palpable musical instinct and intelligence working side by side and you wonder why you are getting them from a young interpreter. The sound he defined was crystal clear and it was even more dazzling in the cadenzas. Throughout the three movements, he was in control without losing his inspired moments."

Members of the American Bach Soloists performed concerti by Telemann and Vivaldi at their annual Festival and Academy.

Datebook: "With artistic director Jeffrey Thomas leading an ensemble of period instruments, animal sounds and Baroque harmonies kept pleasing company together at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music."

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