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The Week in Reviews, Op. 451: Njioma Grevious; Anne Akiko Meyers; Colin Jacobsen

May 29, 2024, 11:50 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.

Njioma Grevious performed Carlos Simon's "Between Worlds" with Chiarina Chamber Players.

• Washington Classical Review: "Inspired by the artist Bill Traylor who was born into slavery and lived until 1949, Between Worlds was created in tandem with a 2018 show at the Smithsonian American Museum of Art....Grevious made thrilling work of this piece, portraying the distinct shifts of character in each micro-section and dispatching the virtuoso runs and high double-stopped passages with exuberant clarity."

Anne Akiko Meyers performed Arturo Márquez’s "Fandango" with Giancarlo Guerrero and the Utah Symphony.

• Utah Arts Review: "In the opening movement, the music alternates between tender melodicism and sporadic bursts of percussive energy. Meyers brought out the smooth lyricism in the lyrical sections with her fluid playing, while in the more robust passages she played with exuberant passion."
• Phaedra's Adventures: "She performed it so brilliantly that the audience gave her a standing ovation after the first movement...I especially loved the back and forth between the solo violin and the solo clarinet during an interlude in the first movement, the sensual themes in the second movement, and the sheer virtuosity of Meyers' performance in the third movement."

Colin Jacobsen performed Jessie Montgomery's Rhapsody No. 2 (arranged for violin and orchestra by Michi Wiancko) with The Knights.

• Sequenza 21: "The violinist Colin Jacobsen was the soloist, in complete command of the fiddle techniques that this colorful work required. With Copelandesque chords and jazzy rhythms, the work’s style was unequivocally 'American.'"

Pavel Šporcl was performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Mlada Boleslav Chamber Orchestra and conductor Marko Ivanovic, who accidentally knocked Šporcl's violin (a blue instrument by Czech violin maker Jan Spidlen) out of his hand. (review has video of the incident)

• Classic FM: "Star Czech violinist Pavel Šporcl was playing at a 60th-anniversary concert for the Mlada Boleslav Chamber Orchestra, when conductor Marko Ivanovic extended his baton to his left to cue the end of the first movement. To the horror of everyone present, Marko’s baton can be seen clipping the violin, sending it tumbling out of the soloist’s hands and hurtling towards the floor."

The Quatour Ébène joined the Belcea Quartet to perform octets by Mendelssohn and Enescu at Wigmore Hall.

• Bachtrack: "These eight players led by the charismatic Corina Belcea seemed less interested in fairyland Mendelssohn than in uncovering darker Romantic undertones."

Amaury Coeytaux performed Kryštof Maratka's "Sanctuaries – In the Depths of Cave Paintings" with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.

• Bachtrack: "Coeytaux was equally animated, alternating between jagged, fiery attacks and exquisitely fine lines that floated above the mayhem. Among the many sounds one does not usually hear on the concert stage, his 1715 Stradivarius screeching like a primitive animal was unique."

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

You might also like:

• The Week in Reviews, Op. 450: Andrew Sords, Madeline Adkins, Joshua Bell
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 449: Lisa Batiashvili, Nikita Boriso-Glebsky, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 448: Jessie Montgomery, Daniel Hope, Leonidas Kavakos

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