The Week in Reviews, Op. 435: Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas; Alexi Kenney; Randall Goosby

February 7, 2024, 12:15 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.

Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas.

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony performed Mahler's Fifth Symphony in the conductor's final subscription concert with the orchestra.

Financial Times: "It was a beautiful performance, surely if deliberately shaped, led and superbly played, in the terrific acoustics of Davies Symphony Hall. But that was not the extra-musical import. In 2021 Tilson Thomas was diagnosed with an aggressive, incurable brain tumour, and it is very much in doubt, month to month, how long he can still perform."
San Francisco Classical Voice: "On Friday, the lines, precisely balanced and colored, moved seamlessly around the orchestra, which sounded — as it so rarely does — like one instrument."
San Francisco Chronicle: "Michael Tilson Thomas and S.F. Symphony have been a partnership for the ages..."

Alexi Kenney performed Sibelius's Violin Concerto with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

EarRelevant: "Violinist Alexi Kenney was within a minute of finishing a glorious, definitive, and memorable performance of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto when the fire alarm went off. Strobing lights and a stentorian recorded voice ordered us to vacate the hall.....Kenney’s performance, reinforced by Runnicles’ sensitive collaboration, was simply magnificent. In a world overfilled with precocious and technically amazing young instrumentalists (on all instruments), Kenney rises above them because of his superb musicianship and interpretive abilities."

Randall Goosby performed Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Boston Musical Intelligencer: "...no one could have played it much better than Randall Goosby, a charismatic violinist in his late 20s for whom I predict a great future. The first thing one notices is Gossby’s refined, focused tone which reminds one of early Perlman, one of his main teachers. "

Concertmaster Madeline Adkins performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Utah Symphony.

Utah Arts Review: "Adkins gave an acerbic edge to the long, lyrical lines of the outer movements. Her natural rapport with her colleagues in the orchestra, combined with Abravanel Hall regular Jun Märkl’s elastic tempos and dynamics, resulted in a pleasing sense of give-and-take."

Chee Yun performed the "Four Seasons" of Vivaldi and Piazolla with the Fairfax Symphony.

Washington Classical Review: "Antonio Vivaldi’s Op. 8, known to all as The Four Seasons, contain astonishingly inventive, vivid music whose impact has dulled with incessant exposure. How can you make it sound fresh? On Saturday night, violinist Chee-Yun, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and music director Christopher Zimmerman did just that."

William Shaub performed a recital focusing on Jascha Heifetz for his Knoxville Symphony Concertmaster Series.

ArtsKnoxville: "Shaub filled the first half of the concert with awe-inducing solos and duets, in this case, arranged by, or somehow connected to, Heifetz as a performer. "

Kristin Lee and pianist Gloria Chien performed Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's "Four African Dances" as part of a recital by members of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Wolf Trap.

Washington Classical Review: "Kristin Lee’s expressive violin found much to bring out in the different characters of the pieces, moderating her broad tone in the opening Allegro to a more intimate, distant sound in the following Andantino, and a light playfulness in the Allegro con brio. Robust playing from pianist Gloria Chien enlivened the finale in a rousing display from Lee, including a riveting double-stopped passage."

The Pacifica Quartet performed their final concert as this year's Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Chicago.

Chicago Classical Review: "(They offered) the kind of elevated ensemble playing one has come to expect from their long tenure in Hyde Park."

Jaewon Wee performed Mozart's Concerto No. 4 with the Dallas Chamber Symphony.

BNN: "Wee demonstrated exceptional training and natural authority in Mozart's D major Violin Concerto (K. 218), delivering a technically flawless performance and her own fitting cadenzas."

Kerson Leong performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 with Orchestre symphonique de Québec.

: "Violinist Kerson Leong thrilled the audience with his extraor- dinary performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3."

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. 435: Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas; Alexi Kenney; Randall Goosby

Replies

Subscribe

Laurie's Books