The Week in Reviews, Op. 351: Vilde Frang; Philippe Quint; Alexander Kerr & Meredith Kufchak

May 3, 2022, 3:43 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 Vilde Frang. Photo by Marco Borggreve.

Vilde Frang performed Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony.

San Francisco Classical Voice: "This was as gentle, warm, and lyrical a rendition as could be asked for of a work that already tends in that direction....Frang’s silky and long-breathed playing was quiet, even shy, yet always audible."
San Francisco Chronicle Datebook: "Frang emerged as a soulful but rather recessive performer, bringing grace and eloquence to exposed passages (most notably the concerto’s shimmery opening and the unaccompanied solo cadenza) but often blending in with the orchestra almost to the point of invisibility."

Philippe Quint performed "Charlie Chaplin’s Smile" at New York's
Bohemian National Hall.

Concertonet.com: "Mr. Quint, throughout his presentation, offered us an impeccable command of violin, dead-on intonation, a style of playing perfectly suited to that particular repertory and the gorgeous sound of his violin, which happens to be a Strad...He is an elegant player, who absorbed the old-fashioned manner of playing but does it with the authority of his own."

Alexander Kerr and violist Meredith Kufchak performed Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, with Leonidas Kavakos conducting.

Texas Classical Review: "Entering gracefully on a jointly sustained high note, DSO concertmaster Alexander Kerr and principal violist Meredith Kufchak spun a sonorous thread of banter—with one another and with the orchestra—executing with deft precision and a united gleaming, silvery lilt."

Blaise Déjardin performed Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

The Boston Musical Intelligencer: "Rather than an overly showy display of technical supremacy, Déjardin treated listeners to a lyrical display of the French style, voicing the work as a conversation among colleagues."

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Paul Deck

May 5, 2022 at 03:28 AM · I don't think I would characterize Vilde Frang as a "recessive" performer. She doesn't have either attached earlobes or blue eyes.

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 351: Vilde Frang; Philippe Quint; Alexander Kerr & Meredith Kufchak

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