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The Week in Reviews, Op. 370: Anne Akiko Meyers; Colin Jacobson; Nemanja Radulovic
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 Anne Akiko Meyers. Photo by David Zentz.
Anne Akiko Meyers performed Arturo Márquez’s "Fandango" violin concerto with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra.
- NJArts.net: "Meyers’ virtuosity and discipline was on full display. From a technical standpoint, Márquez’s work is like Beethoven’s challenging, physically demanding Violin Concerto. It’s loaded with diverse rhythms and repetitions and its Mariachi-adjacent phrases and Spanish themes are a prestissimo marathon of speed and endurance."
- Town Topics: "The first movement 'Folia Tropical' had an exotic feel from the outset, with solo violin emerging over shimmering orchestral strings. Depicting an ancient dance from Spain and Portugal, the movement was played with Spanish lilt and percussive offbeat rhythms. Meyers’ solo line remained in mid-range, later soaring into the upper registers with fierce intensity."
- PrincetonInfo.com: "Then came guest violin soloist Anne Akiko Meyers to display her musical wizardry with Arturo Marquez’ “Fandango,” composed in 2020-2021 expressly for Meyers....The first movement, titled 'Folia Tropical,' suggested ancient Iberian dances. However, the composer notes that, in French, the word 'folie' means madness, and there was much controlled madness in Meyers’ swift, skilled playing."
Colin Jacobsen performed his own arrangement of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9 "Kreutzer" with The Knights.
- Washington Classical Review: "Jacobsen took the solo part with flair, accompanied with occasional stridency by the chamber ensemble."
Nemanja Radulovic performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Utah Symphony.
- Utah Arts Review: "...the Serbian-French Radulovic turned in an interpretation that was idiosyncratic and at times indulgent yet made musical sense....The violinist’s dazzling technique and precise articulation were on full display during the fiery third movement."
Nicola Benedetti performed Wynton Marsalis's Violin Concerto with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
- Evening Standard: "(Marsalis) could not have asked for a more persuasive advocate than Benedetti, and the RNSO players lacked nothing in swing in what amounted to an anthology of classical, jazz, blues and Scottish folk."
Pekka Kuusisto performed Thomas Adès’s violin concerto "Concentric Paths" with the Berliner Philharmoniker.
- Financial Times: "Kuusisto has musicality in every pore, all of it leavened by his own brand of eccentricity. His account of Thomas Adès’s violin concerto “Concentric Paths” is a tour-de-force, a stomping, swirling, passionate commitment to a score that without Kuusisto would have little appeal."
Karen Gomyo performed Samy Moussa's Violin Concerto "Adrano," and Ernest Chausson’s Poème with the Calgary Philharmonic.
- Calgary Herald: "...her gentle stage presence and sumptuous playing were captivating...Gomyo has a particularly attractive violin tone, and even when the music is slow (and much of it is in (the Moussa concerto), one is drawn to the tone of the instrument, even as one might savour a superbly cooked French sauce."
The film Chevalier, a biopic about violin virtuoso Joseph Bolonge Chevalier de Saint George, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
- Deadline: " The way Williams’ camera maneuvers around Joseph while playing the violin is exquisite. Even the hair and makeup are tight. There are no loose strands, nothing is out of place....Robinson’s script is sometimes on the nose, but she doesn’t make him a sympathetic character, which is refreshing."
- Screen Rant": "As the titular character, (Kelvin) Harrison gets to flex his acting muscles in new and exciting ways, and the payoff, in a film that is a standout, is thrilling."
Please support music in your community by attending a concert or recital whenever you can!
You might also like:
- Interview with Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers: Premiering Arturo Márquez's 'Fandango' Violin Concerto
- The Week in Reviews, Op. 369: Vadim Gluzman; Randall Goosby; Anne-Sophie Mutter
- The Week in Reviews, Op. 368: Lisa Batiashvili; Gil Shaham; Daniel Lozakovich
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