The Week in Reviews, Op. 514: Janine Jansen, Robert McDuffie, Aubree Oliverson

August 26, 2025, 6:40 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 Janine Jansen. Photo by Marco Borggreve.

Janine Jansen performed Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Klaus Mäkelä.

The Arts Desk: "Jansen made even more of the work than usual sound like fairy music by Mendelssohn - 'Mendelssohnism' was a negative tag at the time of the concerto's first performance in 1920s Paris, but it could hardly seem so here..."
Bach Track: "...it was easy to forget that nearly 6,000 people were watching in rapt attention. From her very first lines, she played as if directly handing her sound to the woodwinds, passing it across the stage with the same delicacy one might afford a priceless glass antique."

Robert McDuffie performed Mike Mills' Concerto for Violin, Rock Band, and Strings and other music at the Aspen Music Festival.

Aspen Times: "In another plus, Mills on piano and McDuffie on violin rendered 'Nightswimming,' a mid-1990s R.E.M. recording, as an intimate duet."

Aubree Oliverson performed a recital at the Aspen Music Festival.

Aspen Times: "A program ranged from Handel and Bach to Stravinsky and Messiaen demonstrated how she has developed into a musician to be reckoned with. Still in her 20s, she displayed silvery tone, technical savvy, and a musical wisdom that sets her apart from her peers"

Leonidas Kavakos performed concertos by Bach with his ApollOn Ensemble at the Edinburgh International Festival.

Seen and Heard International: "There was no doubt that he was the star, however: not only does Bach give him the best, most elaborate lines, but he created plenty of tasteful ornamentations and threw in a touch of vibrato on the longer notes to colour his part."

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