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The Week in Reviews, Op. 412: Vadim Gluzman; Hilary Hahn; Joshua Bell; David Kim

August 8, 2023, 4:13 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.

Vadim Gluzman performed Korngold's Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at BBC Prom 20.

• Bachtrack: "...the Violin Concerto proved the highlight of the evening. (Gluzman's) 1690 'ex-Leopold Auer' Stradivarius has a wonderfully rich tone, warmed here with throbbing vibrato and sweet, seductive top notes and an impeccable trill that completely suited Korngold’s lush writing."
• Seen and Heard International: "Vadim Gluzman made the listening experience thoroughly enjoyable by never being overly indulgent. What he had was a beautiful and rich sound that projected through the orchestra like a beam of light, and that alone was mesmerising enough. He took us on a journey by giving a clear direction of where the long lines of melody were headed towards. Nor did he neglect the entertainer/showman quality in the performer that the finale of the concerto demands; his playing was quirky and fun-loving while remaining perfectly balanced and flawless."
• Musical America: "Gluzman… demonstrated his mastery from the start, dominating the platform with his golden tone and command of the long lyrical line. His rich, warm, and generous sound (not a million miles from the work’s original soloist) soared above the orchestra… and he entered into the music’s rough and tumble with virtuoso abandon. Vintage stuff."
• Financial Times: "Soloist Vadim Gluzman shaped the melodies with an unfussy sweep and showed nimble agility in the finale."

Hilary Hahn performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap.

• Washington Classical Review: "Measures that are mere passagework in others’ hands shone in Hahn’s—at one point she played a fast run in which you could hear every individual note, giving a thrill akin to seeing a line of dominos fall precisely into place."

Joshua Bell performed Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood.

• Sequenza 21: "Bell is one of the most acclaimed soloists active today, erudite and thoughtful as well as bestowed with superlative technical gifts. Bell composed his own cadenzas for the concerto, which were idiomatic, exploratory, and incredibly challenging. "

Concertmaster David Kim performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

• The Daily Gazette: "It was a fabulous performance from a violinist who gave the concerto an individual interpretation that involved much thought, skill and sensitivity. The crowd loved it and gave a roar of approval, whistles, cheers and a standing ovation."

James Ehnes performed Walton’s Violin Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic at BBC Prom 26.

• The Guardian: "The concerto soloist was James Ehnes, totally in command of Walton’s solo writing, conceived for the fearsome virtuosity of the great Jascha Heifetz. "

Gil Shaham performed the Korngold Violin Concerto at the Aspen Music Festival.

• The Aspen Times: "Sunday’s Korngold concerto didn’t pretend to be anything other than flashy entertainment, but in Shaham’s hands it became an eloquent showcase for his ability to fashion expressive Romantic melodies and dazzlingly articulation in intricate fast passages."

Inmo Yang performed in recital with pianist Yun Janice Lu for the Korean Cultural Society of Boston.

• Boston Musical Intelligencer: "From the very first notes (of Debussy’s Sonata for Violin and Piano), Yang’s impeccable technical command and a profound engagement won over our hearts. The opening movement, Allegro vivo featured delightful interplay between the violin and piano, as they exchanged motifs and engaged in a musical dialogue. "

Rachel Barton Pine performed Billy Child's Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.

• San Francisco Classical Voice: "Pine... sailed through the multiple stops and stretches of perpetual motion unimpeded and with much intensity....t was a bold choice for a Bowl debut, and Pine delivered more of the same in her encore, a swatch of lyrical feeling and virtuoso pyrotechnics from John Corigliano’s score for the film The Red Violin."

Eileen Ivers and her Celtic band performed at Music Haven in Schenectady, N.Y.

• Nippertown: "Soulful music mourned immigrant sadness in forced departures, surveyed how cultures enrich each other on arrival in a new land and celebrated the joy of acceptance when this happens. The much-honored violinist made this happen with a strong, tight ensemble, united in vision and honed on the road. Sheer skillful excellence can be a message in itself, and at first, that’s what Ivers gave, medleying melodic dance tunes as almost every Celtic-inspired band does."

Benjamin Beilman performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

• Limelight: "Benjamin Beilman is an extraordinary young violinist, musically and technically gifted and with a fulsome tone and a genuinely individual voice. His take on Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Op. 35 was, on this occasion, a masterclass in reconciling grand rhetorical gestures and electrifyingly fast passages with intimate whispers and spacious phrasing."

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

You might also like:

• The Week in Reviews, Op. 411: Rachel Barton Pine; Benjamin Beilman; Pinchas Zukerman
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 410: Elena Urioste; Augustin Hadelich; Esther Yoo, Curtis Stewart
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 409: Miriam Fried, Pekka Kuusisto, Eldbjørg Hemsing, Ray Chen

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