The Week in Reviews, Op. 417: Anne Akiko Meyers, Aubree Oliverson, Vilde Frang

September 19, 2023, 4:50 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 Anne Akiko Meyers. Photo by Farah Sosa.

Anne Akiko Meyers performed Philip Glass's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Violinist.com: "The third movement was a whirlwind, full of compelling and dance-like rhythms, everyone hitting their stride....Meyers was in constant motion, her bow rapidly oscillating over all four strings and fingers flying."
Los Angeles Times: "...to say that 1987 premiere of the concerto...got a cool reception from the audience at Carnegie Hall — and a belittling one from the press — is an understatement...A chief complaint back then focused on the coldness of the score, emphasized by an exacting violinist, Paul Zukofsky, ...a brilliant virtuoso who loathed the sentimental use of vibrato and portamenti, the sliding along a violin string of one note to another....Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, however, had very different ideas about the concerto on Tuesday."
San Francisco Classical Voice: "The finale managed the contradictory feat of pressing relentlessly forward while running in place, yet it worked."

Aubree Oliverson performed Barber’s Violin Concerto with the Utah Symphony.

Utah Arts Review: "Oliverson had a clear idea of how each phrase fit into the overall architecture of the piece, and how to bring her vision to life with her careful phrasing, articulation, and dynamics. Remarkably, she was also fully present and 'in the moment,' spontaneously picking up and reacting to nuances in the orchestra."

Vilde Frang performed Berg’s Violin Concerto with the Bavarian State Orchestra.

The Guardian: "In the slow waltz of the first movement the soloist Vilde Frang painted a picture of a poised girl treading carefully as she danced....Frang, thoughtful and magnetic, had to fight through the orchestra at times but was never quite subsumed by it."

William Shaub performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra.

Arts Knoxville: "Sunday’s performance by Shaub was masterful in both technical agility and sheer entertainment value. His handling of the Adagio was a beautiful example of recognizing the composer’s “complex simplicity,” that disguises its difficulty and sophistication with innocence."

Tricia Park performed a program called 'From Bach to BTS' at New Music Chicago’s fourth Impromptu Fest.

Chicago Classical Review: "The adventurous violinist Tricia Park took a genial approach with her eclectic program titled 'From Bach to BTS,' which she described as an amuse-bouche of the western repertoire for solo violin, but with a decidedly charismatic and personal flavor."

Paul Huang, violist Timothy Ridout and others performed in Camerata Pacifica's season opener.

Violinist.com: "Playing with great attention to one another, these three fine musicians produced a warm and unified sound, finding the humor in the first movement (of Beethoven's Trio Op. 9 No. 2) and passing the melody around in the second."

Joshua Bell directed and performed Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Washington Classical Review: "The Finale was all about speed, and Bell took many risks with the pacing of the work. The NSO musicians mostly stayed with him, even though for much of this daunting third movement, Bell’s hands were mostly occupied with his violin."

Jennifer Koh performed Sibelius’s Violin Concerto with NYO2 at Carnegie Hall.(in July).

The Strad: "Jennifer Koh, the fearless soloist in Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, carried over that energy but seemed ultimately overwhelmed by the work’s demands. "

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 417: Anne Akiko Meyers, Aubree Oliverson, Vilde Frang

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