The Week in Reviews, Op. 11: Pinchas Zukerman, Ilya Gringolts, Barnabás Kelemen in concert

Written by Robert Niles
Published: December 3, 2013 at 9:28 PM [UTC]

Each week, Violinist.com brings you links to reviews of professional violin performances from around the world. Please share your thoughts about this week's concerts (and reviews), in the comments.

Martin Chalifour performed the Bach Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Los Angeles Phiharmonic

• Los Angeles Times: "…(Chalifour) is obviously at home in the cool, eloquent and unshowy style Stravinsky liked. Chalifour's Bach was, thus, ideally clear, to the point, phrased with a love for detail."

Pinchas Zukerman performed and conducted Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 with the National Arts Centre Orchestra

• The Globe and Mail: "(Zukerman's) Mozart captures perfectly what we guess to be the essence of the spirit of the famed youngster from Salzburg (just 19 when he wrote this piece) – melodious when needed, playful when needed, with breathtaking dynamic contrasts, under perfect control always."

Barnabás Kelemen performed Penderecki's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the London Philharmonic

• The Guardian: "The violinist Barnabás Kelemen, who is proving himself again and again to be one of the most exciting and genuine talents of his generation, was exceptionally communicative in the solo part, well abreast of the terrifying technical demands of the various cadenzas and of the theatrical nature of many of its gestures."
• The Telegraph: "Barnabás Kelemen was an ideal soloist here, playing with cultivated tone and mixing restraint with virtuosity"

Joshua Bell performed the Sibelius with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "…a masterful and crowd-pleasing reading of a powerful work, one of the greatest concertos in the canon. Not surprisingly, there was spontaneous applause at the end of the first movement, given a performance which almost demanded it, with cries of “Bravo” and multiple curtain calls at the concerto’s conclusion."

Yoonshin Song peformed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

• Detroit Free Press: "To open the concert, DSO concertmaster Yoonshin Song gave a beautifully proportioned account of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 2 that on another night might have been sufficed as the main attraction…"

Ilya Gringolts performed the Ligeti with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

• The Guardian: "The second half was given to Ligeti's violin concerto, with Ilya Gringolts making light work of the solo part and the (reduced) orchestra keeping step admirably with the strange stylistic and twists and turns, which at times resemble a kind of smoothed-over collage of gently colliding soundworlds."
• The Telegraph: "...there were some beautifully immaculate moments, such as the flute-and-violin entanglement at the end of the slow movement."

Alina Pogostkina performed the Brahms with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra

• The Scotsman: "Alina Pogostkina’s delicate approach to this warhorse was in many ways refreshing."
• EdinburghGuide.com: "Pogostkina is an extremely accomplished violinist and last night she gave a breath-taking performance. Her playing of the cadenza in the first movement was dazzling, and her interpretation was superb, particularly in the Finale, as she skilfully juxtaposed strident passages with exquisite tenderness."

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