The Week in Reviews, Op. 42: Daniel Hope premieres Gabriel Prokofiev's Violin Concerto

Written by Robert Niles
Published: August 5, 2014 at 6:40 PM [UTC]

In an effort to promote the coverage of live music, each week Violinist.com brings you links to reviews of notable violin performances from around the world.

Daniel Hope premiered Gabriel Prokofiev's Violin Concerto at the BBC Proms

• The Guardian: "With its gunshots and explosions, the work may feel programmatic but it tugs at bigger ideas, especially with Hope as the eloquent soloist, making his 1742 Guarneri del Gesù sing out. This violinist, now among the best in the world as well as the most thoughtful, is as brilliant at Bach as Birtwistle and even Einaudi."
• The Independent: "Daniel Hope, the instigator of this work, played its stratospherically high solo part with flawless accuracy; the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic under Sascha Goetzel handled their percussion-heavy part to suitably sinister effect."
• The Telegraph: "Standing aloof in all this heat like a Northern fog-bank was Gabriel Prokofiev’s concerto. Subtitled 1914, this was an imaginary traversal through the year 1914 in four movements, though the narrative was not a simple one from jingoistic bravado to disillusion. The disillusion was there from the start, and the scraps of march always seemed hollow."
• The Arts Desk: "...it’s only the moments which count – and there are some ravishing ones for Hope (pictured above), whose instrument is treated with proper singing, violinistic respect – while the overall trajectory is static and numbing in the wrong sense."
• Listen to the concert: Part 1, Part 2

Lisa Batiashvili performed the Bach at the Bristol Proms

• Music OMH: "An arrangement of the ‘Spring’ movement from Astor Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires once again saw Batiashvilli’s personality and skill bounce forward in a gutsy performance that made the hour-long concert seem all too short."
• Classical FM: "this was a show dedicated to taking Bach to a new audience..." (link includes video of the performance)

Augustin Hadelich performed Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra

• Berkshire Eagle: "His deft, imaginative playing highlighted each tune and turn, sometimes seeming more about him than Mozart."

Christian Tetzlaff performed Lalo's "Symphonie espagnole" at the Grant Park Music Festival

• Chicago Classical Review: "The German violinist’s light dance-like touch offered a lean and focused take on Lalo’s Spanish rhythms, which provided a fine foil for the fervent accompaniment of the orchestra under Kalmar."

Did you attend a concert in the past week? If so, please tell us about it in the comments. Please support live music in your community by attending a concert or recital whenever you can!

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