The Week in Reviews, Op. 27: Julian Rachlin, Augustin Hadelich, Arabella Steinbacher in concert

Written by Robert Niles
Published: April 15, 2014 at 10:46 PM [UTC]

In an effort to promote the coverage of classical music, each week Violinist.com brings you links to reviews of notable violin performances from around the world. We'd love to hear about any recent concerts and recitals you've attended, too. Or just tell us what you think about these reviews!

Julian Rachlin performed the Stravinsky on the same program as the London Philharmonic premiered Górecki’s Symphony No. 4

• The Financial Times: "Anybody hoping for a repeat of the Third Symphony’s numinous halo of sound is in for a rude awakening."
• The Guardian "Those who know and love Górecki's Third Symphony, the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, may find the posthumous Fourth a tougher nut to crack." and "Charged by the soloist with tension and energy, (Stravinsky's Violin Concerto) provided the evening's most memorable music-making."

Augustin Hadelich performed the Mendelssohn with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

• Cincinnati Enquirer: "In a field of many rising stars, Hadelich stands out, not only for his stunning technique, but also for his refreshing individuality."

Gil Shaham performed the Korngold with the National Symphony Orchestra

• Washington Post: "Shaham has a way of making everything sound delightful; I have a weakness for his meltingly sweet tone, which sounds like a throwback to the 1930s."
• Communities Digital News: "Sunny violin soloist Gil Shaham gave the concerto a light and lively reading, although he seemed slightly troubled on occasion by something going on with his instrument Thursday evening, particularly in the opening movement."

David Russell performed works by Brandenburg at the Faculty & Friends Concert at the University of North Carolina Charlotte

• CVNC: "…we achieved lift-off when violinist David Russell strode onto the stage as DeMio's partner in the B minor Sonata for violin and harpsichord."

Vadim Repin Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Novosibirsk Academic Symphony Orchestra, and without a conductor, as Valery Gergiev was stuck in New York

• Siberian Times: "'If our Novosibirsk Academic Symphony Orchestra was not the highest possible artistic level, I would have never have taken that risk.' Repin hailed the concert as a 'musical feat'."

Arabella Steinbacher performed the Dvorak with the Philharmonia Orchestra

• The Guardian: "...the most substantial piece of this enjoyably idiomatic evening was Dvorák's deceptively imposing but essentially affable and liltingly rhapsodic violin concerto, which Arabella Steinbacher delivered with sweeping, if occasionally steely, charm and some irresistibly incisive phrasing, especially in the coruscating swirl of the finale."

Jin Suk Yu performed the Sibelius with the New World Symphony

• South Florida Classical Review: "Soloist Jin Suk Yu showed himself a considerable virtuoso. From the icy, lonely opening through the burly fast passages on the violin’s lowest string, it was clear he had a real feel for Sibelius’ strange Nordic world, as well as the technique to express it."

Bella Hristova performed the Beethoven with the Des Moines Symphony

• Des Moines Register: "Bella Hristova…conjured a clear sound and thoughtful phrasing from her 359-year-old instrument."

Kristin Lee performed the Fung with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra

• The Pioneer Press: "It's a wild ride of a piece, and Lee was astounding throughout, coaxing all sorts of unexpected sounds from her violin as the music careened from high and haunting to rapid and raucous to shimmering to angry."

Michael Ludwig performed the Korngold with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

• The Buffalo News: "He didn’t merely play this concerto – he just about danced it."

Christian Tetzlaff performed the Dvorak with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

• Chicago Tribune: "But a soloist who believes wholeheartedly in its merits can bring it off convincingly, and that's what the brilliant German virtuoso did on Thursday."

Renaud Capuçon performed the Schumann with the London Philharmonic

• The Guardian: "…it is tempting to hear the concerto as an embodiment of Schumann's mental decline when he wrote the piece in 1853. Capuçon's way of playing it – clipped and precise yet seemingly locked within his own world – enhanced this view, but (conductor) Saraste's unwillingness to grip the orchestral structure made for a more diffuse rendering than this problematic piece deserves."

James Ehnes performed Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Philadelphia Orchestra

• Philadelphia Inquirer: "Ehnes, sometimes a reserved player, gave the third movement a little less passion than it deserves. But he has the gift of subtlety. And charisma. In the first movement, his lovely lower register achieved great presence even without volume."

Calin Ovidiu Lupanu performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra

• Charlotte Observer: "Soloist Calin Ovidiu Lupanu, the CSO’s concertmaster, set the tone in the concerto from the start: tenderness and beauty, no matter how aggressive the music became."

Isabelle Faust performed the Berg with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in a tribute to the late conductor Claudio Abbado

• The Guardian: "Never flamboyant, keenly uncompromising, she was a favourite performer of Abbado's, and little wonder."

Simone Porter performed the Barber with the Albany Symphony

• Albany Times-Union: "The piece gave Porter a chance to showcase her technique – from long soaring lines to double stops, to frenetic fast passages in the last movement."

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