The Week in Reviews, Op. 526: Nicola Benedetti, Robert Chen, James Ehnes

November 18, 2025, 1:00 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. Click on the highlighted links to read the entire reviews.

Violinist Nicola Benedetti with the New York Philharmonic and David Robertson. Photo by Chris Lee.

Nicola Benedetti performed Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto with the New York Philharmonic.

Sequenza 21: "It’s a tour de force for both soloist and orchestra, a display of virtuosity for the entire 45 minutes of the four movement work. Benedetti was completely at home with the artistry, varied techniques and technical demands that the score called for."
Bach Track: "Wynton Marsalis’ 45-minute Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra, written in 2015 for Nicola Benedetti and receiving its Philharmonic premiere, was a sprawling, picaresque smorgasbord of a piece, with very little in the way of repetition or development to hang onto. That the piece succeeds – and it does – was due entirely to Benedetti’s ferocious commitment and personality. "

Robert Chen performed Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Chicago Classical Review: "Everyone thinks they know Vivaldi’s evergreen quartet of concertos, though as one was reminded with Chen’s radiant rendition, the ubiquitous excerpts are really just two or three ritornellos from the E Major 'Spring' Concerto. Vivaldi’s ingenious naturalistic sound painting, which is seldom heard in elevators and would make for an odd ringtone, reliably registers afresh, particularly in the context of such assumed familiarity."

James Ehnes performed James Newton Howard's Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Edinburgh Music Review: "James Ehnes was an ideal exponent of this excellent new work, thrilling in his virtuoso playing but also able to spin beautiful melodies and deeply expressive legato eloquence."
Edinburgh Guide: "It was a priviledge (sic) to have the celebrated violinist James Ehnes play the second Violin Concerto written with him in mind by one of great film score composers, James Newton Howard"

Alina Ibragimova performed Beethoven's Violin Concerto with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

Bach Track: "Her own cadenza was a highlight. It unfolded as a dialogue with the timpani, opening an unexpected sense of spatial depth and improvising tension, subtly echoing the opening gestures of the first movement. The Larghetto followed with luminous simplicity, almost pastoral in imagery, its sweetness offset by crisp articulation."

Midori performed Dvorak's Violin Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

The Tech: "The orchestra’s solid opening established the concerto’s vigor, but it wasn’t until Midori joined when the atmosphere truly shifted; her tone was crisp and stunning. Every slide felt intentional, and her variations in vibrato speed and width enhanced her melodic lines."
The Harvard Crimson: "Midori’s playing was both lyrical and boldly electrifying: Sudden ascending lines, shimmering high arpeggios, and bold rhythmic clarity sharpened the concerto’s folk spirit. Her interpretive approach balanced precision with vulnerability."

The Danish String Quartet performed works by Schnittke, Shostakovich and Beethoven, as well as their own folk variations, for Chamber Music Albuquerque.

The Strad: "The quartet’s new folk variations were especially winning, and a testament to the belief that serious modern music can be hopeful, uplifting and a swinging antidote to anxious modern life, rather than always a despairing reflection of it. "

Cellist Alban Gerhardt performed Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto with the New World Symphony.

South Florida Classical Review: "Gerhardt displayed remarkable technical mastery and his musky cello tone suited the autumnal mood of the concerto with Shostakovich’s signature moments of humor."

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 526: Nicola Benedetti, Robert Chen, James Ehnes

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