The Week in Reviews, Op. 389: Julia Fischer, Simone Lamsma, Blake Pouliot

February 28, 2023, 6:10 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 Julia Fischer.

Julia Fischer performed Schumann’s Violin Concerto in D Minor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

WTTW News: "(Conductor Riccardo Muti and Fischer shared an ideal sense of how to interpret this immensely challenging concerto with its vivid mood changes and technical demands that Fischer finessed with seeming ease."
Chicago Classical Review: "Fischer stepped up to claim the audience’s full attention—this despite Schumann not providing the soloist with a motto for a memorable first entrance. Fischer nevertheless played with a gorgeous singing tone in lyrical passages, enhanced by the yearning, dark quality of her instrument’s lowest register. Double stops on perfect intervals pealed with precise intonation. Drama infused the hushed moments."

Simone Lamsma performed Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Violinist.com: "Lamsma...commanded an arresting attention from the audience within seconds of drawing that first long, rich "G" from the 1718 "Mlynarski" Stradivarius violin she was playing. "

Blake Pouliot performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (subbing at the last minute for Philippe Quint).

Arts Knoxville: "Pouliot approached this popular, oft-played concerto with an intelligent plan: start with simple, unadorned beauty of tone, adding in vocal-like accents of phrasing that define the melodic narrative, then end with an exciting tempo born of energy."

Gil Shaham performed Brahms' Violin Concerto with Philadelphia Orchestra at Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center.

Orlando Weekly: "...his elfin exuberance while dexterously executing the notoriously difficult cadenza (sans seat or sheet music) earned the evening's first of several standing ovations."

Calin Ovidiu Lupanu performed Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Charlotte Symphony.

Broadway World Charlotte: "His command was certainly impressive throughout the opening Allegro moderato, with a transition to the slow middle movement that was amorously smooth."

Aylen Pritchin performed with members of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall.

theartsdesk.com: "Pritchin gave a calm sensitivity to Brahms’s Violin Sonata No. 2, with a tender, singing tone and remarkably sophisticated double stopping."

Aylen Pritchin performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

The Herald: "...this was an entirely different sound world, the soloist and ensemble using gut strings, and the warmth of their rich tone teamed with a poise and precision in their phrasing....(Pritchin's) first movement cadenza was full of emotional and dynamic range, and he settled into a relaxed conversation with the winds in the Adagio before the expressive gypsy dance of the finale, in which the instruction “ma non troppo vivace” was meticulously obeyed."

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 389: Julia Fischer, Simone Lamsma, Blake Pouliot

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