The Week in Reviews, Op. 463: Clara-Jumi Kang + Timothy Ridout; Gil Shaham; Joshua Bell

August 21, 2024, 1:49 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 Clara-Jumi Kang and violist Timothy Ridout.

Clara-Jumi Kang and violist Timothy Ridout performed Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with Ensemble Resonanz at BBC Prom 41.

The Guardian: "The best, most engaging moments in the concert came from the two soloists in the Sinfonia Concertante, with Clara-Jumi Kang’s neat, silvery violin playing complemented and contrasted with Timothy Ridout’s effortlessly eloquent viola."
Bach Track: "Clara-Jumi Kang and Timothy Ridout’s tones were beautifully matched throughout, a real sign of a duo that perform together frequently....Here, communication was constant, with much eye contact, and their ensemble on the runs, particularly in the cadenzas, was effortlessly tight."

Joshua Bell performed "The Elements" - by Kevin Puts, Edgar Meyer, Jake Heggie, Jennifer Higdon, and Jessie Montgomery - with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.

Violinist.com: "A short recitative toward the end of ("Earth") highlighted Bell's remarkable presence and ability to hold a moment...each (movement) stood complete by itself. They flowed surprisingly well together, considering they were all written by separate composers."
San Francisco Classical Voice: "The good news is that the project works. It’s a roughly 40-minute concerto in which composers of compatible temperaments from different generations have achieved a sense of unity, with frequent passages of beauty and atmosphere. Naturally, the work gives Bell many opportunities to show off the speed of his bow and fingers, as well as allowing his instrument to sing out."

Gil Shaham performed Mason Bates' "Nomad Concerto for Violin and Orchestra" with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The Daily Gazette: "Bates has said that Shaham can “do anything” and he did not prove him wrong. Beyond virtuosic technical runs, Shaham also plucked, scrapped, did double stops and harmonics as melody, and bowed close to the instrument's bridge, which produced a harsh sound....The results were beautiful."

James Ehnes performed the Brahms Violin Concerto (filling in for Leonidas Kavakos) at the Sun Valley Music Festival.

San Francisco Classical Voice: "From the cascading first notes, Ehnes’s performance embodied elegance. His was a Brahms of reverence and sincerity, with a thoughtfully structured narrative and emotional arc; he maintained a focused, centered sound throughout, avoiding overplaying until the very end, when his command of pacing paid off in a declamatory finish."

Philippe Quint performed Errollyn Wallen’s Violin Concerto at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

San Francisco Classical Voice: "Quint leapt about the strings acrobatically, maintaining his glowing tone all the while. This is a star vehicle, but the orchestra is marshalled cleverly and assertively, too."

Augustin Hadelich performed works by David Lang, Biber, Bach and Bologne with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Limelight: "The joyful final movement (of Bologne's Violin Concerto in A major, Op. 5 No. 2) with its busy solo lines brought the house down and after several curtain calls Hadelich returned for an encore....Superlatives fail me."

Roman Simovic performed Ginastera’s Violin Concerto with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (filling in for Hilary Hahn).

Market Research Telecast: "Simovic’s performance was both taxing and assured, delivering nuanced dynamics that required the utmost quiet from individual musicians and coordinated ensembles."
The Guardian: "Its opening movement is a hugely demanding cadenza that presents material developed later, full of double-stopping and across the entire range of the instrument. Just as taxing, and executed with equal assurance, were the dynamics of the work, often requiring the quietest possible playing from individuals as well as discrete ensembles within the orchestra."

Mari Samuelsen performed Max Richter's 'Recomposed: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons' with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

Bach Track: "Samuelsen was stunning in the famous virtuoso cadenzas and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra played to match. But delicate and subtle this was not. What happened to the lilting dance in Winter 2, and what's with the jagged rhythms in Autumn 1? Not the real Vivaldi... but the audience loved it."

Leila Josefowicz performed Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto with the Boston Symphony and Dalia Stasevska at Tanglewood.

Bach Track: "With a look that seemed to say, 'Here we go!,' Josefowicz burst out of the starting gate and raced through the Capriccio like a thoroughbred....All in all, the sheer joy of music-making here was palpable and irresistible."

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