The Week in Reviews, Op. 379: cellist Gautier Capucon; Colin Jacobsen; Noah Bendix-Balgley

November 29, 2022, 4:28 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.

Cellist Gautier Capucon. Photo by J. Bort.

Cellist Gautier Capucon performed Lera Auerbach's "Diary of a Madman, Concerto for Cello and Orchestra" with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

WTTW News: "Capucon’s performance of this riveting score, fiendishly difficult work for all involved, was absolutely astonishing. So was the long, stunningly effective dead silence at the end."

Colin Jacobsen performed in recital with pianist Vicky Chow at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in San Diego.

San Diego Union Tribune: "Chow and Jacobsen have a gift for musical communication, which they brought to the last, and biggest, piece on the program, Debussy’s 1917 'Sonata for Violin and Piano.'"

Noah Bendix-Balgley performed his own "Fidl-Fantazye: A Klezmer Concerto," with the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "His playing remains captivating and lively, a treat to witness."

James Ehnes performed the Barber Violin Concerto with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

In Daily: "...to have a musician playing (the Barber concerto) so directly and honestly was a revelation. Ehnes drew an outstandingly full, clear resonance from his instrument (reputedly a Strad) to convey the work’s simple but powerful eloquence."

Maxim Vengerov performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Romanian National Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Courier: "Prokofiev’s violin concerto calls for a never-ending sequence of brilliance, whether it be double-stopping, glissandi, helter-skelter semiquavers or high register heroics. These were delivered in magnificent style and were a prime example of a virtuoso at the peak of his powers as Vengerov delivered a pulsating performance par excellence."

Kristine Balanas performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

Daily Maverick: "Her sound was pure and flowing, like a light lyric soprano, and a bit small at times; sometimes, when the orchestra played, it seemed difficult to hear her at all. She also played with an incredibly free rubato, some of the freest tempi I’ve ever heard from a soloist."

Daniel Kowalik and violist Thomas Chawner performed Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E Flat with the Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra.

Limelight: "Both gave intelligent, technically skillful readings of their respective parts with virtuosic and finely crafted interplay, first one instrument leading and then the other taking over with a measured and consistent regularity."

Amalia Hall performed Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy with the Nelson Symphony Orchestra.

Stuff: "...the glorious tones of 'Baron Knoop,' Hall’s violin drifted effortlessly through the first gloomy lament of the opening notes of Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy. This was a performance of seemingly effortless playing and sensitive interpretation which paralysed the audience, lifting them out of their normal concert going demeanour and into a dazzling world where the relationship between violin and orchestra is fully explored."

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 379: cellist Gautier Capucon; Colin Jacobsen; Noah Bendix-Balgley

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