The Week in Reviews, Op. 477: Lisa Batiashvili, Stefan Jackiw, Martin Chalifour

November 26, 2024, 7:15 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 Lisa Batiashvili and conductor Klaus Mäkelä. Photo by Chris Lee.

Lisa Batiashvili performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with Klaus Mäkelä and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.

Washington Classical Review: "The Georgian-born violinist played with a demure tone, excellent intonation, and virtuosic athleticism in the first movement....Her 1739 Guarneri del Gesù instrument glowed in its high range and sang darkly on the lowest string in the opening measures."

Stefan Jackiw performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra.

Bach Track: "Jackiw entered with a tenderly lyrical tone and faultless virtuosity. The orchestra provided a sympathetic accompaniment, if not always quite in lockstep or in balance with the soloist. Pointed interludes for orchestra alone fared better, and the cadenza displayed Jackiw’s hearty technique."

Martin Chalifour performed a chamber recital with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Violinist.com: "The (Beethoven) septet highlighted the talents of the leaders within this great orchestra - musicians like Chalifour who bring not only their ability each to play well, but a whole world of history, connection and artistry, along with the impulse to help make music thrive in our community."

Vilde Frang performed Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto with Hannu Lintu and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Chicago Classical Review: "It is difficult to imagine a finer rendition of this work than Frang offered Thursday. Her rich tone moved fluently in and out of the orchestral textures in the motoric opening 'Toccata.' She was acrobatic in the angular passages of the searching “Aria I” and probed the desolate melancholy of “Aria II,” with its echoes of Bach’s solo violin works."

Francesca Dego performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Texas Classical Review: "The soloist captured this mood perfectly, multiple stops that took in the thematic character of the movement overall as well as providing a connection to the spirited cadenza. Dego responded to the audience’s enthusiastic applause with the dazzling and fiery Capriccio No. 16 by Nicolo Paganini for an encore."

Tim Fain performed his own violin concerto, "Edge of a Dream" with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Buffalo Rising: "...his violin concerto titled “Edge of a Dream” did, to my ear, have elements of movie music....Movie composers have the gift of establishing an emotion in the most economical manner, and that’s what I heard in Tim Fain’s concerto."

Leonidas Kavakos performed Mozart's Fourth Violin Concerto with members of the Philharmonia.

The Arts Desk: "Kavakos goes a little inward while he's playing, but everything was in its proper place: along with the equally undemanding encore, the fourth movement (Menuets 1 and 2) of Bach’s Third Partita, a perfect appetiser for Mahler's colossal drama after the interval."
Bach Track: "After taking a while to find his stride, Kavakos found his sweet spot for the Andante cantabile and the closing Rondeau was suitably graceful. "

Stephen Waarts performed Rautavaara’s "Deux Sérénades" and Thomas Adès’ "Air – Homage to Sibelius" with the Hallé.

Bach Track: "Neither of the pieces for violin and orchestra was showy in the manner of a traditional concerto but Waarts was a fine advocate for two understated but beautiful pieces. "

Clara-Jumi Kang performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

Limelight: "Kang herself, performing on a Thunis Stradivarius from 1702, brought the symphonic nature of the Violin Concerto to the fore with her warm, penetrating and variegated tone, expressive phrasing and scrupulously tuned double and multiple stopping."

Yoonshin Song performed Bach's Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor with the Houston Symphony.

EarRelevant: "The interpretation was not a historical performance practice approach but a centrist, moderate use of vibrato style more akin to Hilary Hahn’s Bach. The melodic lines and sequences informed the flexible use of dynamics."

Lun Li performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra.

Bangor Daily News: "Li brought it to life with intense passion and fine precision."

Sergei Krylov performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with Filharmonica della Scala.

EarRelevant: "The version Mr. Krylov gave us this evening was very extroverted, literally bursting with energy. The orchestra followed with incredible precision, shading every single tiny rubato."

Calvin D. Alexander, Jr. performed Beethoven's Violin Concerto with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra.

The Harvard Crimson: "From the first entrance of the violin, it was clear that Alexander had a profound understanding of not just the music, but Beethoven himself."

Vilde Frang performed Korngold’s Violin Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, filling in for Hilary Hahn.

New York Times: "The violinist Vilde Frang, a late replacement for an injured Hilary Hahn, played with sweet but lithe, direct tone. While she didn’t stint the second movement’s emotion, she stayed restrained, in keeping with Petrenko’s approach, never tipping into schmaltz."

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 477: Lisa Batiashvili, Stefan Jackiw, Martin Chalifour

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