The Week in Reviews, Op. 475: Stefan Jackiw; Maxim Vengerov; Francesca Dego

November 12, 2024, 10:11 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 Stefan Jackiw.

Stefan Jackiw, cellist Jay Campbell and pianist Conrad Tao performed as the Junction Trio in a concert at 92NY. Jackiw recovered remarkably when his E string broke during Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 2.

Blog Critics: "Aggressive playing emphasized the Finale’s dynamic excursion through a slant-wise take on Jewish folk music. ...The furor was such that Jackiw encountered a sudden technical problem that forced him to dash offstage to make a repair....A restatement of the solemn chord progression from the 'Largo' established continuity. The whole performance sounded more than assured – it felt heroic."

Maxim Vengerov performed Mozart Violin Concertos 1, 3 and 4 with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall

Bach Track: "With firm support from the Orpheus players, Vengerov offered an outstanding account of the popular K219 – bold and expressive in the opening movement, sweet and tenderly poetic in the almost meditative Adagio, and sparkling in the contrasting sections of the stately Rondo finale"
New York Classical Review: "Vengerov’s playing was shapely and fluent, mostly avoiding the kind of rushing in fast passages that can flummox conductors and the conductorless alike. His silvery tone was consistent throughout–maybe a little too consistent."

Francesca Dego performed Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Bach Track: "She is a storyteller of exceptional gifts and her playing showered the audience with the delights of perfectly-judged phrasing, gloriously warm tones and a cantabile to die-for. Her collaboration with Rustioni was a joy to watch, as were her little tête-à-têtes with the orchestra."

Leila Josefowicz performed Luca Francesconi’s violin concerto "Duende: The Dark Notes" with the New York Philharmonic and conductor Susanna Mälkki.

New York Times: "Francesconi makes superhuman demands on the violin: stratospheric arpeggios, bow-bursting weight against the strings, overtones and ornaments that make the instrument seem supernaturally larger. Josefowicz, stunningly, made it all look so doable, even when the music suggests anything but. There hasn’t been a better contemporary music outing at the Philharmonic so far this season."

Vadim Gluzman performed the Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 with the Sarasota Orchestra.

Observer: "The program continued with a thrilling Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 featuring the commanding virtuosity of Vadim Gluzman. A lovely partnership of violinist, conductor and orchestra in the mesmerizing first movement, topped by Gluzman’s compelling artistry, provoked another spontaneous standing ovation."

Andrej Power performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Klaus Mäkelä.

Back Track: "It was a reading that was intensely musical and sweet-toned, spinning a sugary cantabile line in the central Andante assai redolent of Romeo serenading at Juliet’s balcony, but one that was reticent, Power not quite imposing his personality on the score."
iNews: "As for Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, a work that can glisten with fairytale magic, its highlight was the rich sound quality of the soloist Andrej Power, who in his day job is one of the LSO’s concertmasters."

The Dover Quartet performed works by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate for the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth.

Texas Classical Review: "'Woodland Songs' is engaging in its sonic variety, even if the connections between the instrumental sounds and the animal names of the titles were not always apparent (Tate encourages listeners to 'create their own emotional stor[ies] of each animal'). Throughout all the movements, the Dover Quartet members displayed a rhythmic precision and suppleness that maintained the forward momentum of the entire piece."

Lawrence Power performed the U.K. premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Viola Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Bach Track: "Power is a fabulous viola player who extracts a whole variety of wonderful sounds from his instrument as well as being rock solid through the fastest, most challenging passage work"

James Ehnes performed Beethoven's Violin Concerto with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Bach Track: "Any 45 minutes in the company of Canadian violinist James Ehnes is time well spent, for his view comes as close to the perfect conception of the lengthiest violin concerto in the standard repertoire."

The Jerusalem Quartet performed a recital at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall.

San Francisco Classical Voice: "...when things clicked — as in the violins’ canon at the end of the (the minuet from Haydn’s Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 50, No. 1), a fierce competition for both softness and strength — it was thrilling."

Chaowen Luo won the IsangYun Violin Competition in Tongyeong, South Korea, performing the Brahms Violin Concerto.

The Strad: "Chaowen Luo began playing the violin at the age of seven, and went on to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing with Wang Hong, Zhang Jia and Tong Weidong."

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

You might also like:

* * *

Enjoying Violinist.com? Click here to sign up for our free, bi-weekly email newsletter. And if you've already signed up, please invite your friends! Thank you.

Replies

This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

The Week in Reviews, Op. 475: Stefan Jackiw; Maxim Vengerov; Francesca Dego

Replies

Subscribe

Laurie's Books