The Week in Reviews, Op. 433: Brendon Elliott, Gil Shaham, Simone Lamsma

January 23, 2024, 4:57 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 Brendon Elliott in Bill Barclay’s concert-play 'The Chevalier.' Photo by Mike Fitelson, United Palace of Cultural Arts.

Brendon Elliott performed Joseph Bologne’s music with the Harlem Chamber Players in Bill Barclay’s concert-play The Chevalier.

New York Classical Review: "The Chevalier’s concertos boil over with batteries and bariolages, brilliantly executed on Sunday by violinist Brendon Elliott, who split the role of Bologne with actor RJ Foster. Elliott’s sweet, mournful rendering of the Adagio from Bologne’s Concerto in D major, Op. 3, no. 1, set the scene admirably for Mozart’s grief at the loss of his mother when both were visiting Paris in 1778."
New York Times: "Elliott lends his silvery tone, superb phrasing and a commanding technique to the Chevalier’s solos. I look forward to seeing him perform in more traditional concert settings."

Gil Shaham performed Dvorák’s Violin Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Washington Classical Review: "Shaham commanded attention from the start with his dark tone colors and virtuoso swagger. Yet he also brought out the sweetness in Dvorák’s melodies—crucial in a work that, even more than most by this composer, depends on charm for its appeal."

Simone Lamsma performed Szymanowsky’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 35 with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

My Scena: "From the very first notes of Szymanowsky’s violin concerto, Dutch soloist Simone Lamsma asserted her commanding and absorbing stage presence. Her expressive playing captured the stylistically complex writing of the Polish master."

Kevin Zhu performed Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 99 with Singapore's Orchestra of the Music Makers.

The Straits Times: "The searing intensity of his violin tone and pinpoint intonation made this an enthralling journey, one that also scaled the heights of parody, dripping with acid wit and sarcasm."

Anthony Marwood played Korngold’s Violin Concerto with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

In Daily: "Anthony Marwood, the British violinist who approaches everything with rare intelligence, had the courage of his artistry to play it like the concerto Korngold intended it to be....It was like hearing the work for the first time."

Ilya Gringolts performed Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 in D with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

In Daily: "The Violin Concerto No.1 in D, Op. 19, proved absolutely scintillating in his hands: by turns mercurial, flighty and sublime. Brought to whole new dimensions of artistry, and with a technical accomplishment that is staggering, this work seems to have found its biggest champion in the 41-year-old musician."

The New York Philharmonic String Quartet and clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein performed music of Mozart and Dvorák in Coral Gables, Fla.

South Florida Classical Review: "The group’s corporate string sonority was warm and well-integrated with Fiterstein. "

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 433: Brendon Elliott, Gil Shaham, Simone Lamsma

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