The Week in Reviews, Op. 502: Charles Yang, Isabelle Faust, Leonidas Kavakos

May 28, 2025, 1:52 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.

Composer Kris Bowers and violinist Charles Yang.

Charles Yang performed Kris Bowers’ Violin Concerto "For a Younger Self" with the Utah Symphony.

Utah Arts Review: "Yang captured the essence of the work with his melodic approach that underscored the lyricism that flows through each of the three movements — from the warmly expressive passages that alternate with the more brightly rhythmic sections in the first movement, to emphasizing the gently flowing lines of the middle movement, which also infuse the cadenza in that movement, to the soaring lines with staccato accompaniment from the orchestra in the finale."

Isabelle Faust performed Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

San Francisco Classical Voice: "Faust... was all in on characterizing the musical material and sharing it, rather than seizing control and showing off. The piece is a portrait of Manon Gropius, who died at 18; she was the daughter of architect Walter Gropius and Alma Mahler Werfel (composer Gustav Mahler’s widow). In a performance as good as Friday night’s, the music captures the moods and manners of the girl so vividly that a listener can almost see her."

Leonidas Kavakos performed Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Ilan Volkov.

Texas Classic Review: "From his first notes, Kavakos’ supple tone was radiant yet unsentimental. His bow control was superb and his smooth playing appeared effortless. He cleanly executed the violin’s sinewy lines and challenging double-stops, displaying his timbral flexibility both with and without a mute."

Leila Josefowicz performed Stravinsky's Violin Concerto in D major with the London Symphony Orchestra and Susanna Mälkki.

Bach Track: "Leila Josefowicz seemed quite untroubled by any such technical hurdles in her highly accomplished reading....She was athletic in the neoclassical jog-trot of the opening movement, lyrical in both the central Aria movements, if insufficiently poignant in Aria 2, and dashing in the Presto coda of the finale."

Helen Hwaya Kim performed the world premiere of Michael Kurth’s "Origin Story" Violin Concerto with the Georgia Philharmonic and Tamara Dworetz.

EarRelevant: "Kurth described the work not as a traditional heroic narrative but rather the imagined backstory of a villain—one who 'is not born evil, but rather made evil by cruel circumstance'....Kim’s playing is anything but timid — unapologetically bold, extroverted, and, at times, steely in tone, recalling the style of Robert McDuffie. It doesn’t melt away into the background during expressive moments."

Gidon Kremer and cellist Giedre Dirvanauskaite performed Philip Glass's Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and Hossein Pishkar.

Bach Track: "Gidon Kremer and Giedre Dirvanauskaite have played it in many cities with different orchestras and here gave a stunning account with a sympathetic Belgrade Philharmonic. "

Lisa Batiashvili performed Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 35 with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Antonio Pappano.

Bach Track: "Violinist Lisa Batiashvili... gave a colourful reading of the Szymanowski, in perfect harmony with Pappano. It was unshowy playing – no ‘virtuosic’ moves – but clean, precise bowing with a glistening sound in the piano moments."
The Arts Desk: "Batiashvili, dressed presumably in support of Ukraine (she comes from another Russia-beleaguered country, Georgia), totally commanded the argument for a while. As encore, she played the Rachmaninov Vocalise with Antonio Pappano at the piano, one up on the wordless singer of the original version, who needs to take a breath where Batishvili never did."

Maxim Vengerov performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Telegraph: "The opening melody should sound like the despairing lament of a snow-bound god in some endless Finnish forest; here it sounded decorously sad and beautifully well-turned. The big melancholy melody of the second movement was perfectly sustained, the stamping polonaise of the finale perfectly articulated, but again Vengerov didn’t break a sweat or a single bow-hair – which is unusual in this concerto."

Roberts Balanas performed the world premiere of Ángela Luq's Electric Violin Concerto "Machina Humana" with the Ealing Symphony Orchestra and John Gibbons.

Arcana: "...the virtuosity or finesse of Roberts Balanas in realizing this innovative project was unarguable, with the Ealing SO audibly relishing its involvement."

Kristin Lee performed in recital with pianist Michael Stephen Brown at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

The Strad: "Performed with rhythmic vivacity and finesse, John Adams’s Road Movies provided a great contrast to the Bloch. The musicians revelled in the characterisation of the outer movements, with Lee’s soulful playing in the second truly the emotional heart of the programme. "

Anthony Marwood and accordionist James Crabb performed in recital at Wigmore Hall.

The Times: "... I felt energised simply through proximity to these two master musicians. The wit of their interplay, the magic of the timbres they conjured, their vitality, their astonishing dexterity, but also the remarkable breadth of moods they summoned, from eerie whispers to devilish fierceness — all this clearly enthralled the audience."

Itamar Zorman performed a program called "Women’s Voices from Eastern Europe" with pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute.

The Strad: "Three short works by Grazyna Bacewicz only reinforced the impression that she is finally getting her due. In Zorman’s hands, her Slavonic Dance evoked a Polish Paganini, with commensurate skittering virtuosity."

Elena Urioste and pianist Tom Poster performed in recital at Wigmore Hall.

The Strad: "The first movement of the Franck was flowing and nicely structured, and the following Allegro cracked on with powerful emotional intent, leavened by passages of quiet tonal beauty, with some splendid G-string passion."

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