The Week in Reviews, Op. 232: Robert McDuffie; Gil Shaham; Augustin Hadelich

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.Robert McDuffie performed Philip Glass's Violin Concerto No. 1 at the Aspen Music Festival.

• Aspen Times: "The climax was a muscular, hard-driving, thrilling traversal of Philip Glass's Violin Concerto No. 1. Norman Huynh (who spent the summer of 2016 as a conducting fellow in the Aspen program) drew a fully committed performance from the ad hoc all-student orchestra, with all the meter shifts, turnabouts in dynamics and pulsing rhythms coming through ecstatically. McDuffie rode above all that with dazzling playing and a thorough understanding of just how mind-blowing Glass' music can be."

Gil Shaham performed Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

• Berkshire Eagle: "As Shaham as shown many a time before, he has the technique and strength of tone to fly through the contortions Prokofiev sets for the soloist; as he did everything short of playing his instrument upside down, the fast ("vivacissimo") middle movement sounded like a dance with the devil."

Augustin Hadelich performed the Sibelius Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.

• Violinist.com: "With Hadelich, everything is placed just so, and a thicket of notes becomes something clear, with the musical idea emerging in an obvious, seemingly inevitable way."
• Los Angeles Times: "...the concerto was given an eloquent dark beauty by Hadelich, his tone thickly dusky, his virtuosity so secure that it could be beside the songful point. "

Jasmine Lin performed David Ludwig's "Paganiniana" at the Kingston Chamber Music Festival.

• Providence Journal: "Lin’s strengths made the work come to life. Possessed of formidable bowing technique, she made the treacherous passages seem lively and flowing, the lyrical passages deeply felt."

Lindsey Stirling performed with Evanescence and a local orchestra in Charlotte, N.C. as part of a 31-date tour.

• Volume Magazine: "Stirling’s stage featured every color on the spectrum, decked out with scenery that changed every time she pranced off stage to switch her own outfit. For 'Moon Trance' her and her backup dancers performed amongst gravestones that read the names of everyone that’s every doubted her, including Piers Morgan, who once said her music sounded like 'rats being strangled.' She danced around the props, paying no mind to the obstacles in her path."

IN OTHER NEWS: Emily Sun was named 2018 ABC Young Performer of the Year in Sydney.

• ABC Classic FM: Sun will receive $80,000 in scholarship funds to assist with study and musical activity, as well as other performance and recording opportunities.