The Week in Reviews, Op. 132: Thomas Zehetmair, Bella Hristova, Julian Rachlin

By Laurie Niles: 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. Thomas Zehetmair performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

• The Pioneer Press: "While Zehetmair and the SPCO were unimpeachably simpatico collaborators, the Mozart concerto’s finest moments came when the orchestra fell away and let the soloist spin some spectacular cadenzas. During the fast movements, he was full of flash and flair, furiously flying about the fingerboard. But the slow movement was more like a love duet, double stops chiming in like breathy assents."

Bella Hristova performed Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires with the Columbus Symphony.

• The Columbus Dispatch: "In violin soloist Bell Hristova's hands, Winter in Buenos Aires bristled with the icy intensity of tango and sang with lyrical warmth..."

Julian Rachlin performed the Mendelssohn, as well as Britten’s "Lachrymae" for viola, with the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

• Evening Chronicle: "(Mendelssohn) had a knack for writing intricate music that’s also easy on the ear and this 1844 concerto is no exception, being light, cheerful and engaging for the most part. But it was the way Rachlin worked as a soloist within an orchestral setting that impressed the most. Of course, there were moments when he had the stage to himself to show off his talents but he never stepped outside the collective endeavour. The upshot was one of the highlights of the classical season."

Alina Ibragimova performed Bartok's Violin Concerto No. 2 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

• The Arts Desk: "She is capable of a viola-like richness in the lower register, elegant, round and with plenty of projection. Just as valuable is the woody, guttural tone she can apply higher up, evoking the folk fiddle yet without ever sacrificing sophistication."
• The Guardian: "In Bartók’s turbulent Violin Concerto No 2, Alina Ibragimova gave a solo performance of powerful and unflagging intensity."

Anne Akiko Meyers performed works by Saint-Saens and Ravel with the Monterey Symphony.

• Peninsula Reviews: "Even as her playing was dazzling and effortless in the most demanding passages, she also showed us she could melt our hearts in expressive soaring melodies."

Simone Porter performed the Tchaikovsky with the Des Moines Symphony.

• The Des Moines Register: "The promising young American violinist Porter made her local debut, wielding her decisive bowing arm like a strong but sensitive fencer. Yet her approach to the music was loving and clear, even the middle movement’s veiled, melancholy tune. She executed the tricky double-stops perfectly, and the stratospheric harmonics were perfectly in tune, and she earned her standing ovation."

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