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The Week in Reviews, Op. 444: Orion Quartet Farewell Concert; David Coucheron; Christian Tetzlaff

April 9, 2024, 10:54 AM · 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.

Orion Quartet performed its farewell concert at Alice Tully Hall, presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

• New York Classical Review: "From the opening bars of (Schubert’s G major, Op. 161, D. 887), bold and mysterious by turns, the group found that sweet spot of quartet performance, four distinctive voices joined in a common purpose, the texture always shifting but never homogenized, with Timothy Eddy’s robust cello anchoring all. Fast tremolo passages in unison were impeccably coordinated and tuned."

David Coucheron and violist Zhenwei Shi performed Mozart's "Sinfonia Concertante" with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

• EarRelevant: "Coucheron and Shi were perfectly blended throughout the performance. Their communication and awareness were telepathic, and they provided a bright and joyous performance of a masterpiece. The pair’s commanding yet gentle presence on stage perfectly aligned with the musical ongoings of the piece, and they deservingly received all four of their standing ovations."

Christian Tetzlaff performed in recital with pianist Kirill Gerstein at Jordan Hall.

• Boston Classical Review: "...what also came to the fore in this reading (of Brahms' Violin Sonata No. 3) were the sonata’s stark plays of contrast: austerity and sumptuousness, grit and tenderness, comfort and unpredictability. At least in these artists’ hands, those particular elements seemed as central to Brahms’s expressive DNA as his melodic designs and harmonic progressions."

Leila Josefowicz performed Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Paavo Järvi.

• The Arts Desk: "Josefowicz’s timbres and textures balanced the abrasive and emollient sides of Stravinsky’s score, while Järvi’s drive and poise made the orchestra’s disparate conversations with the violin cohere. The soloist brought bags of bravura, dramatic charm to the Capriccio – even though this is charm that never sheds its edge of danger, even of panic."

Guillermo Figueroa performed  Miguel del Aguila’s “El viaje de una vida” violin concerto with the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra.

• The Arts Fuse: "Figueroa casts the protagonist as a dark — even mysterious musical presence — and with his amber violin tone he channeled the bittersweet emotions of a person who becomes lost in honeyed memories of times gone by."

Moné Hattori performed Sibelius's Violin Concerto with Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in Thailand.

• Bangkok Post: "Performing on a priceless, sweet-sounding 1743 Pietro Guarneri violin, her approach to the Sibelius was certainly one of the most energised that this interviewer has ever encountered."

Cellist Sol Gabetta performed Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1. with the Chicago Symphony and Klaus Mäkelä, in the first concert since Mäkelä was announced as the future music director of the orchestra.

• Chicago Classical Review: "Gabetta’s pleasing tone and light-footed agility galumphed amiably through the dogged first movement, though so compelling was Mäkelä’s boldly projected accompaniment that at times it threatened to take the spotlight away from the soloist."

JACK Quartet performed in recital at Sydney Opera House.

• Limelight: "The GRAMMY-nominated foursome – violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman, violist John Pickford Richards and cellist Jay Campbell – lived up to their promise of “rewriting history, re-tuning our instruments, and playfully thumbing our noses at that great quartet tradition” in a programme of five works..."

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma performed in recital with pianist Kathryn Stott at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.

• San Francisco Classical Voice: "Ma’s mastery is so far past the point of nitpicking that to do so is truly to miss the woods for the trees. As a musician, I have never experienced a more moving, more skilled communicator. And that is why I voice my dissent with the obstinate haters, for the experience of Ma’s music-making still is truly unique, no matter the repertoire."

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason performed Weinberg’s Cello Concerto in C minor with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

• Bach Track: "From his first entry to the last pages, Kanneh-Mason played with searing passion and focus in his sound, and even at the concerto’s quietest moments – most memorably the exquisitely gently floated top B in the first movement – there seemed to be colossal energy in the music."

Mark Fewer performed in a concert called "Violinissimo II" with the Esprit Orchestra and Alex Pauk.

• Ludwig van Toronto: "Somehow the motley elements (of György Ligeti's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra) cohere, with the soloist as a binding agent. Whether pumping out the semiquavers of the opening movement or flying high at the beginning of the Passacaglia, Fewer was equal to the technical demands of the music and true to its adventuresome spirit. He also supplied his own cadenza."

Alexis Panda (aka PFuzz) performed in downtown Salt Lake City’s International Artist Lounge (in August 2023).

• The Utah Review: "An alternative violinist in the finest sense of the term, PFuzz stands out for her ease to move among and blend in numerous genres. She also teaches violin, with students ranging in age from eight to their sixties."

Nigel Kennedy and cellist Beata Urbanek-Kalinowska performed his show "Heart and Soul" at Istanbul's Ataturk Cultural Center.

• Türkiye: "Kennedy played violin, electric violin and piano, and performed his compositions as well as pieces from classical composers such as Handel Halvorsen, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Ryuichi Sakamoto."

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

You might also like:

• The Orion String Quartet To Retire After 2023-24 Season
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 443: William Hagen, Ray Chen, A Far Cry
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 442: Joshua Bell; Philippe Quint; Nicola Benedetti

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