The Week in Reviews, Op. 503: Hilary Hahn, Gidon Kremer, Chee-Yun
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.
Hilary Hahn takes a bow with San Francisco Symphony Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. Photo by Kristen Loken, courtesy San Francisco Symphony.
Hilary Hahn performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
- San Francisco Classical Voice: "Hahn’s superpowers were on display from the first ascending octaves through the final chords. The bravura passages, in which she exerted extraordinary control over the dropping of her left-hand fingers, were brilliant and clear. The slow movement’s variations were lacy fine, the wispy high notes resounding like tiny, perfect bells....Some three decades into her career and with a full house rooting for her, Hahn appeared to revel anew in this old music."
Gidon Kremer, cellist Gautier Capuçon and violist Maxim Rysanov performed Shostakovich's sonatas for violin, cello and viola with pianist Evgeny Kissin in Carnegie Hall.
- New York Classical Review: "...an all-star concert, and typical of that kind of event, an uneven one. But it did have a solid start, deep moments, and a powerful conclusion."
Chee-Yun and Cristian "Kit" Zimmerman performed Jonathan Leshnoff’s Concertante for Two Violins with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and Christopher Zimmerman.
- Washington Classical Review: "With two solo violinists representing multiple lives of the Figueroa Stradivarius, built in 1686, the piece begins somberly, with a soloist playing an introspective melody in the instrument’s lower register, sounding much like a viola."
Nemanja Radulovic performed Khachaturian's Violin Concerto in D minor with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Giancarlo Guerrero.
- Bach Track: "Following a heavy-handed introduction, the violin entered, never to have a moment without high-wire virtuosity. Radulovic offered a raspy, guttural tone, stylistically fitting for the thematic material’s origins in Armenian folk music. In the passages that soared high into his instrument’s range, Radulovic’s tone was rich with vibrato and the wide-ranging cadenza was of coruscating virtuosity."
Nicola Benedetti performed in Camden’s Jazz Café in London.
- A Youngish Perspective: "The set list was incredibly thoughtful and meandering in a beautiful way. Starting with Estrellita, a heartbreakingly tender piece about loss, it felt like we were in a basement bar during WW2, pining for something that was never meant to be....Benedetti plays so beautifully that she makes the abstract relatable. "
Randall Goosby performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Thomas Søndergård.
- Bach Track: "...(Goosby is) an admirably modest collaborator, refusing to draw the limelight but instead immersing himself in whatever he plays in a way that almost shuns the attention. The very opening, for example, was poetic and lyrical rather than strident, and his cadenza was remarkably focused instead of being demonstrative. "
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason performed in recital for the San Francisco Symphony's Great Performers Series.
- San Francisco Classical Voice: "...the real revelation among the evening’s repertoire was a two-movement character piece written expressly for the Kanneh-Masons by 41-year-old British composer Natalie Klouda....Over Isata’s murmuring lines, Sheku’s glissandos roiled. His icy harmonics sliced up and down the fingerboard; her harmonies hung in strange clouds. With luck, the Kanneh-Masons will lend Tor Mordôn to other performers. But have no doubt about it, this is their piece."
Bomsori Kim performed Bruch's Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor with the Bamberg Symphony and Jakub Hruša.
- Bach Track: "This collaboration garnered particular interest because the violinist recently recorded it with Hruša and the Bambergers for a DG release, which has drawn considerable acclaim....Especially in the Adagio, she wove an elegant, almost prismatic cantilena, capitalising on her instrument’s capacity to articulate colour shadings with singular warmth."
Nigel Kennedy performed Vivaldi’s "The Four Seasons" and more with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra.
- The Times: "He doesn’t know when too much is too much, when the chatter and jamming have gone on too long, when his speeds are too reckless, or when Vivaldi is best left interrupted. On the other hand, Kennedy connects with wide audiences and makes all kinds of music their friend. I don’t see him ever behaving."
Katarina Chatzinicolau was prevented from traveling to the U.S. for the Northwest BachFest for unspecified visa problems.
- The Spokesman: "Most fortunately for us, (organizer Zuill) Bailey has arranged a date next season for the brilliant Greek violinist Chatzinicolau to play....Bailey wasted no time in turning that sour incident into something we could all enjoy by dipping into his vast database of close friends and colleagues. Those who responded proved not only to be able to fill the gap, but to provide us with an example of a special order of musicianship that stood apart from what is commonly heard at even the finest of chamber music performances."
Please support music in your community by attending a concert or recital whenever you can!
You might also like:
- The Week in Reviews, Op. 502: Charles Yang, Isabelle Faust, Leonidas Kavakos
- The Week in Reviews, Op. 501: Anne Akiko Meyers; cellist Johannes Moser; Francisco Fullana
- The Week in Reviews, Op. 500: Giuseppe Gibboni; Gil Shaham; Anne-Sophie Mutter
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Replies
Would we ever want Nigel Kennedy to "behave"? I think not!
He's the first player I ever heard use ponticello in Bach. The effect was incredible. You can do that kind of thing if your execution is spot on.
Thank you for sharing! I was waiting for Hilary Hahn’s review since May 9th, when the Frankfurt radio symphony did a livestream of her performance! Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/0GP46ikJVhc?si=XV2hHXlda2D5vj21
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June 3, 2025 at 05:59 PM · "I don’t see him ever behaving." Priceless.