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The Week in Reviews, Op. 394: Jennifer Koh, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham

April 4, 2023, 1:26 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.

Jennifer Koh performed Missy Mazzoli’s Violin Concerto "Procession" with the Kansas City Symphony.

• KC Studio: "Cast as 'chief healer,' Koh presented a stoic, centered presence, someone to look to and trust through the challenging moments....Koh had a complex leadership role, the music more mood than melody. At times, Koh seemed possessed, exorcizing bad humors in a frenzy. At others, she was serene, deliberate. The work concluded with a big gasp in the orchestra, Koh with the few last notes and a gruff double stop, breaking the spell. "

Joshua Bell performed in recital with pianist Daniil Trifonov at Chicago's Orchestra Hall.

• WTTW News: "...as performed by Bell and Trifonov, (Beethoven's Sonata No. 1 in D. Major) had the feel of an animated and wonderfully fluid conversation — from its opening Allegro con brio movement, to the lyrical beginning of its second movement, which bursts open with a stormy intensity but ends in a lyrical mode."

Gil Shaham performed Korngold's Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 with the Sarasota Orchestra.

• Sarasota Herald-Tribune: "Shaham wove his way through the tender romance, passionate outbursts and thrilling chase of the final movement. His supple silky tone sang beautifully even in the highest range with stunning technical acrobatics. Yet, it was in the heart-tugging, lyric moments with the full orchestra ready to well up into that 'onscreen kiss' moment when most of us fell in love."

Randall Goosby performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

• Violinist.com: "Goosby, 27, navigated (the concerto) with the kind of composure and ease that makes the music seem inevitable and its many tricks seem assuringly well-in-hand. Goosby has exceptional facility on the instrument, and he seemed to be greatly enjoying playing on the 1708 "Strauss" Stradivarius, which he received just a few months ago on loan from the Samsung Foundation of Culture in Korea."

Anne Akiko Meyers performed Arturo Márquez’s "Fandango" violin concerto with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

• Colins Column: "There was no doubting Meyers’s flawless virtuosity and shapely tenderness, or her unstinting devotion to the score, and that the DSO and its conductor supported her gamely."

Daniel Hope performed and directed the Zurich Chamber Orchestra in a program that included Vaughn Williams' "The Lark Ascending" and Mendelssohn's rarely-heard Violin Concerto in D minor.

• The Millbrook Independent: "With eleven violins backing Hope, this was that astonishing, elevating, concert experience that one aspires to hear!"

Blake Pouliot performed Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3 with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and conductor Alex Amsel.

• Chicago Classical Review: "From the passionate opening declamation, the Canadian violinist was fully in sync with Saint-Saëns’ lyricism and Romantic flair. He surmounted the score’s acrobatic demands with ease, and his youthful showmanship never subsumed the larger musical narrative."

Nemanja Radulovic performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Swedish Philharmonia at Fairfield Halls.

• Inside Croydon: "It has a reputation for being a dauntingly challenging piece to play, although you would never have known this as virtuoso Nemanja Radulovic made it look so effortless."

Please support music in your community by attending a concert or recital whenever you can!

You might also like:

• The Week in Reviews, Op. 393: Simone Lamsma, Kerson Leong, Borromeo String Quartet
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 392: Hilary Hahn, Simone Lamsma, Rachel Barton Pine
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 391: Vilde Frang, violist Tabea Zimmermann, Danbi Um and Paul Huang

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