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The Week in Reviews, Op. 436: Vadim Gluzman, Esther Yoo, Hilary Hahn

February 13, 2024, 5:21 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.

Vadim Gluzman performed Peteris Vasks' Violin Concerto No 1, "Distant Light" (1997) with the Bournemouth Symphony.

• The Guardian: "BSO was joined by star violinist Vadim Gluzman for the Violin Concerto No 1, “Distant Light” (1997) by the Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. Ranging from hymn-like elegy to dissonance to optimism, it propels the soloist to sonic extremes but always reins it back to eloquent…"
• Bachtrack: "Vadim Gluzman gave an angst-ridden account, its lyrical outpouring more passionate than rhapsodic and the ‘distant light’ held in check before reaching a mood of wintry optimism. Combining a formidable technique with an ample tone, he could be elegiac, but left one in no doubt of his big-boned sound that carried convincingly across three cadenzas of increasing complexity… After playing for most of the concerto’s 30-minute duration, Gluzman returned from his bravura performance to offer the gentle Serenade by Ukrainian composer Valentyn Silvestrov."
• The Daily Echo: "“The performance by soloist Vadim Gluzman was mesmerising. He had a full house utterly transfixed.”"

Esther Yoo performed Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium) with the New York Philharmonic.

• New York Classical Review: "...the uninhibited Geffen Hall audience applauded after every movement of the Bernstein, and hooted loudly at the blazing fiddling of Yoo’s solo encore, Henri Vieuxtemps’ Souvenir d’Amerique, a set of virtuoso variations on 'Yankee Doodle.'"
• Bachtrack: "Yoo is an engaging performer, fun to watch as well as to listen to. She wove her way through the mixed meters and varied moods of the five movements with a secure dexterity, honoring the music's quirkiness and momentum in the up-tempo movements and bringing a lovely lyricism to the slow ones"

Hilary Hahn performed Korngold’s Violin Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra.

• Washington Classical Review: "The American violinist excelled in the cadenza and the other fast-moving parts, with brilliant double-stops and flawless detaché passages. Her greatest strength, a ribbon of delicate tone spun out high on the E string, served her well in the slow movement..."

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

• Harvard Crimson: "Goosby savored the phrasing and introduction in the opening movement’s first solo with incredible bow control and sheer skill in the clarity of his double-stops."

Cellist Alisa Weilerstein performed Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

• Boston Musical Intelligencer: "Her Moderato was crisp and exuberant, and robust in the lower-register chords, as if peasants had joined the gentry at the party."

Sayaka Shoji performed Toshio Hosokawa’s "Prayer" with the Hallé.

• The Guardian: "Hosokawa describes the soloist as a shaman and the orchestra as the “cosmos”, and there’s the sense throughout the concerto of the violin summoning the orchestra to join it, as the violin line begins floating in the stratosphere, and gradually acquires swooping, skittering motion as the orchestral textures accumulate beneath."

The Pavel Haas Quartet performed all-Czech program at Wigmore Hall.

• Bachtrack: "The Pavel Haas Quartet performed throughout with such ease of command, never overstated yet full of life and commitment, making for a joyous celebration of these three fine works."

Vadim Gluzman performed Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Philharmonia Orchestra.

• Seen and Heard International: "The Shostakovich concerto is a big ask from the soloist. Composed for David Oistrakh for his 60th birthday, the composition demands physical as well as emotional stamina, virtuoso technique and, last but not least, an understanding of Shostakovich’s musical and factual world. Oistrakh had all these attributes as has Vadim Gluzman …the concerto was in the best possible hands at this concert."

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

You might also like:

• The Week in Reviews, Op. 435: Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas; Alexi Kenney; Randall Goosby
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 434: Gil Shaham; Anne-Sophie Mutter; Christian Tetzlaff
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 433: Brendon Elliott, Gil Shaham, Simone Lamsma

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