The Week in Reviews, Op. 437: Thomas Lee Cooper, Joshua Bell, Beo String Quartet

February 21, 2024, 4:03 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 by Thomas Lee Cooper. Photo by Robert Torres.

Thomas Lee Cooper performed Joseph Bologne's Violin Concerto in A major, Op. 5, No. 2 with the Du Bois Orchestra.

The Arts Fuse: "He painted his lines with bold colors; his tone tastefully wavered between silvery delicacy and dark, grainy power. When he explored the silkier textures of the second movement, he generated solace through a graceful approach that softened the edges of the composer’s angular melodies."

Joshua Bell performed works by Chausson and Vieuxtemps with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Bach Track: "In Chausson’s ruminative Poème, Bell finessed luxurious, seemingly endless lines that floated above the orchestra, even though he never pushed for an excess of volume. In a work where atmospherics and style count for much, his lush, old-school approach seemed perfectly suited."

The Beo String Quartet performed in recital for the San Jose Chamber Music Society.

San Francisco Classical Voice: "The sound was bright, shiny, crisp, and chatty throughout. In interpretation, this was the light, cheerful, witty, and ingratiating Haydn whose Opus 33 quartets so impressed Mozart."

The Avalon Quartet performed Stacy Garrop’s "For Such a Time as This" with mezzo-soprano Julia Bentley.

The Berkshire Edge: "A rapt audience was clearly pleased with Garrop’s multi-movement work, themed on the Book of Esther, with libretto by Jerre Dye, and presented by Close Encounters with Music."

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

New York Times: "the audience’s response was as if she were a player of Paganini-like sensationalism...a touching though strange reaction to her graceful style: her organically breathing melodies of the “Phaedrus” section; her lovely, lyrical double stops in “Aristophanes”; her generous, chamber-scale partnering with Frank Huang, the Philharmonic’s concertmaster, and Carter Brey, its principal cellist, in prominent duets."

Antje Weithaas performed in recital with pianist Enrico Pace in Berlin (in December).

The Strad: "Weithaas’s heart-stopping phrasing in the slow movement (of Robert Schumann's A minor Sonata, Op. 105) contrasted most effectively with the finale’s insistent spiccato."

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 437: Thomas Lee Cooper, Joshua Bell, Beo String Quartet

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