The Week in Reviews, Op. 513: Stephen Tavani, James Ehnes, Bozzini Quartet

August 19, 2025, 4:45 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 Stephen Tavani. Image courtesy of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Stephen Tavani performed Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Cleveland Orchestra and Daniel Reith at Blossom Music Center.

Cleveland.com: "Assistant Concertmaster Stephen Tavani stepped forward as soloist in Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 2, a work the ensemble had not performed since Jascha Heifetz played it here in 1923. Tavani embraced the concerto’s operatic breadth, floating his phrases in the unusual Adagio first movement with the ease of a light tenor."

James Ehnes performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Elim Chan at the Hollywood Bowl.

Violinist.com: "Ehnes began the third movement with chords that were tidy and clean - and with a sense of the movement's humor. He performed with great energy in various forms - rhythmic propulsion, intent, and a pacing of his own that worked so very well."

The Bozzini Quartet performed new music by Canadian composers Taylor Brook, Zosha Di Castri and Cassandra Miller at Time:Spans in New York.

New York Classical Review: " They have a fine warm, almost old-school sound that is a pleasure to hear applied to cutting edge musical ideas. Friday’s music, though new, was right in the mainstream of contemporary classical composition. It explored conceptual art and non-standard ideas of form, with only a few hints of extended and avant-garde techniques."

Vilde Frang performed the Korngold Violin Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Antonio Pappano at the Edinburgh International Festival.

Bach Track: "Making her first visit to the festival, Vilde Frang gave a spirited performance, golden notes pouring out in the filmic first movement, Pappano responding with velvet string sounds from his thinned down forces. "

Kate Suthers performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Nuno Coelho.

In Daily: "Suthers was well up to this concerto’s athletics demands, swiping at its off-beat rhythms with almost casual ease. Her double-stopping was spotless. Violinists can go overboard with the finale’s grungy rusticity, but it was reassuring to see Suthers refraining from that. She’s a clean player and understands the classicist in Prokofiev."

Jacqueline Rodenbeck performed in recital with pianist Kathyrn Lieppman for the St Andrew’s Bach Society in Tucson, Ariz..

Arizona Daily Star: "Jacqueline met every technical challenge the Mendelssohn threw at her with confidence and clarity, summoning the composer's wonderfully lush and lyrical nuances while balancing the work's drama and passion."

Simone Porter performed a solo recital at the Crypt of the Church of the Intercession for Death of Classical in New York, in May.

The Strad: "Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Lachen Verlernt had some exquisite vibrato on the high opening notes, immediately followed by the gripping depth of the G string; all told, this powerful, work was virtuosically performed by Porter."

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 513: Stephen Tavani, James Ehnes, Bozzini Quartet

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