The Week in Reviews, Op. 468: Benjamin Beilman; Sarah Chang; Paul Huang

September 24, 2024, 8:53 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 Benjamin Beilman.

Benjamin Beilman performed Barber’s Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (replacing Hilary Hahn).

Chicago Classical Review: "From the Allegro’s opening measures, Beilman was sensitively attuned to Barber’s searching lyricism. The violinist sustained the movement’s seemingly endless lines, and the more agitated moments always felt within the context of its inward aesthetic."
Hyde Park Herald: "Beilman displayed a sweet lyricism in the opening movement, delicately unwinding the long lines. "
Chicago Sun-Times: "Proving to be a more-than-worthy substitute was Benjamin Beilman, who won first prize at the 2010 Montreal International Musical Competition and made his subscription debut with the CSO in December 2023. He brought emotional complexity and depth, not to mention a fetching, full-bodied sound, to his playing, capturing the sense of longing and wonder in this music and nailing all its technical demands, especially in the lightning-fast third movement."

Sarah Chang and pianist Sonya Ovrutsky Fensome performed works by Brahms and Prokofiev in a recital at Emory University’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts.

EarRelevant: "The balance between lyricism and vitality in Chang’s soaring violin and Fensome’s punctuated piano parts was a hallmark of the performance, with both performers embracing Prokofiev’s shifts between playfulness and magnificence."

Paul Huang performed with cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia and pianist Gilles Vonsattel for Camerata Pacifica's season-opening concerts.

Violinist.com: "(Ravel's Piano Trio in A minor) opened with the violin and cello tracing a melody in perfect octaves, and with Huang and Cañón-Valencia, "perfect" was certainly the correct word. One tends to notice intonation only when it is off, but these two were conspicuously and infallibly on, all evening."

Vilde Frang performed the Elgar Violin Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Antonio Pappano.

Arts Hub: "Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang gave a superb account from the anguished opening bars of the first movement to the dramatic and moving climax of the third. Playing a precious 1743 ‘Rode’ Guarneri violin, loaned by a European benefactor, Frang was a delight to watch, absolutely in the moment on every bar and showing deep emotional intelligence as she worked with the Orchestra."

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