The Week in Reviews, Op. 3: Midori, Gil Shaham, and Sarah Chang in concert

October 8, 2013 at 5:27 PM

Midori

Midori performed the Brahms with the Louisville Orchestra
WFPL News: "Midori is a stunning, kinetic performer. She and the orchestra held the audience in rapt attention throughout the Brahms concerto."

Gil Shaham performed Bright Sheng's "Let Fly" with the Detroit Symphony
Detroit Free Press: "Shaham was a powerful advocate for the piece, leaping fearlessly into the music's technical challenges while always keeping a sharp ear for the poetic line and gesture."

Karen Gomyo performed the Saint-Saëns with the San Antonio Symphony
San Antonio Express-News: "Gomyo's mastery of her instrument allowed her to concentrate on a sophisticated interpretation."

Robert Chen performs the Hindemith with the Chicago Symphony
Chicago Classical Review: "Robert Chen delivered a superbly finished performance."

Gidon Kremer organized and performed a concert at Berlin’s Philharmonic Hall called "To Russia with Love"
New York Times: "Kremer, who grew up in Soviet-controlled Latvia, hoped the concert...would be followed in Russia and inspire those who are struggling there against the recent crackdown on human rights."

Monica Huggett performed Bach's concertos for violin and oboe with oboist Gonzalo Ruiz and the Portland Baroque Orchestra
The Oregonian: "Monica Huggett and oboist Gonzalo Ruiz…both thrilled and enchanted, Huggett cleanly negotiating virtuoso passages that were a match for anything in Vivaldi's famous 'Four Seasons.'"

Leila Josefowicz performed the Stravinsky Violin Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony
San Jose Mercury News: " a slashing performance of fierce rhythm and steely control." Later the reviewer adds, "…if Pete Townshend ever retires from the Who, there's this violinist who could step into the gap."

Joshua Bell performed Edgar Meyer's Double Concerto at the University of Miami Frost School of Music
South Florida Classical Review: "Bell's high-octane reading of the finale produced plenty of virtuosic heat, his technique still pristine and dynamic."

Sarah Chang performed the Bruch Violin Concerto with New West Symphony
Violinist.com: "Sarah Chang wowed a near-full house Sunday afternoon in Santa Monica, Calif., with her energetic performance of the Bruch Violin Concerto"

Vadim Gluzman performed Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Buffalo Philharmonic
Buffalo News: "There is something moving in the way he responds so tenderly to the music, and in the gentle way he handles Auer's old violin."

Benjamin Beilman performed the Dvorak with the Fort Worth Symphony
Dallas Morning News: "Benjamin Beilman…made an especially strong showing. He supplied a generous but unforced sound, technical ease and sure musicality…"

Stefan Jackiw performed the Mendelssohn with the Kansas City Symphony
Examiner.com: "Jackiw's performance highlighted the evening's selections. "

Conductor Osmo Vänskä performed three sold-out farewell concerts with the still-locked-out Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
Star Tribune: "Though the orchestra has seldom played together over the last year and had only three rehearsals with Vänskä before Friday's concert, the old cohesive magic and precision were on full display."

Vänskä introduced the last piece, "Valse Triste" ("Sad Waltz") by Sibelius: "This is something very emotional, it goes beyond words. A girl is dancing in a dream, then realizes as it goes faster and faster and she'd like to stop, it's not a dream. She is dancing with death." Here is that performance:

Did you attend a concert this week? Please tell us about it, in the comments.