The Week in Reviews, Op. 400: Benjamin Beilman, Regina Carter, Anne Akiko Meyers
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 Benjamin Beilman.
Benjamin Beilman performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major with the Spokane Symphony.
- The Spokesman-Review: "Beilman and (conductor James) Lowe....were able to offer us not a succession of pleasurable moments, but an organism – an artwork that lives in time as we do, encountering uncertainty, doubt, hope, and, ultimately joy. For someone who has lived many decades in search of the Brahms Concerto, it was a thrill to encounter it at last."
Regina Carter performed David Schiff's "Four Sisters: Concerto for Jazz violin and Orchestra" with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
- Buffalo Rising: "Detroit-born jazz-blues-country-classical-you-name-it-she-can-play-it violinist Regina Carter...now sports snowy white hair and may walk across the stage with a more measured step, but once she tucks that fiddle under her chin, her playing is ageless."
Anne Akiko Meyers performed Arturo Márquez’s violin concerto "Fandango" with Symphony San José.
- San Francisco Classical Voice: "Meyers played with great smoothness and ease for such a precision-oriented display work. Her tone was full-bodied and stayed consistent as her bow switched direction."
Adé Williams performed Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.
- Hartford Courant: "Williams has memorized all the nuances of this challenging work, whose emotional impact ranges from euphoria to despair."
Leonidas Kavako directed and performed J.S. Bach's Concerto in D minor with the Minnesota Orchestra.
- Star-Tribune: "Kavakos led a fast, fluid first movement full of exuberantly expressive phrases. But even more impressive was a slow movement that he played as if it were one long, uninterrupted line. His tone was bright and clear, but a soft grief emerged in this absorbing Adagio, which faded to a whisper near its conclusion."
Geneva Lewis and pianist Evren Ozel performed in recital for Ashmont Hill Chamber Music at Peabody Hall at All Saints Church in Boston.
- The Boston Musical Intelligencer: "Enticing as a balmy Spring day may be, Ashmont Hill Chamber Music came in with an even better offer on Sunday afternoon, an irresistible recital by violinist Geneva Lewis and pianist Evren Ozel perfectly balancing old and new, familiar and unfamiliar, soothing and challenging."
The Portland String Quartet performed a recital at the Portland Conservatory of Music.
- Portland Press Herald: "(Their performance of Béla Bartók’s String Quartet No. 1, Op.7) was a breathtaking and attention-grabbing performance of a work that demands much of listeners and, of course, the players. "
Augustin Hadelich performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Houston Symphony.
- Slipped Disc: "His tempered use of vibrato and exquisite bow control drew the listener into a sanctified world. When the music required more passion and volume, his tone quality never faltered."
Please support music in your community by attending a concert or recital whenever you can!
You might also like:
- The Week in Reviews, Op. 399: Leonidas Kavakos; Augustin Hadelich; Bella Hristova
- The Week in Reviews, Op. 398: Joshua Bell; Christian Tetzlaff; Julian Rachlin
- The Week in Reviews, Op. 397: Rachel Barton Pine and Jessie Montgomery; Paul Huang; Anne Sophie Mutter
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Replies
He probably has that Reverse-Benjamin-Button Disease.
One sentence has me puzzled: what is the reviewer saying?
"For someone who has lived many decades in search of the Brahms Concerto, it was a thrill to encounter it at last."
I wasn’t aware had written a solo concerto in D minor I’ll have to give that a listen.
Raymond - that had also intrigued me!
Ahah! BWV1052R - known to me as a harpsichord concerto.
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May 17, 2023 at 02:59 PM · Just a quick observation that Bielman looks less boyish than he did 10 years ago, when I won his Prokofiev CD in a drawing on this site!!