Sala: Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh, Utrecht

Asko|Schönberg are respected pioneers of the new music scene, but this concert in Utrecht found them in less well-travelled territory: music by Debussy and Ravel. This proved a disappointing mismatch of repertoire.

The energetic Holland Baroque Society presented a lively program juxtaposing works of Johann Joseph Fux and Johann Sebastian Bach this week. Evident from the start was the group’s overarching enthusiasm and passion for this particular repertoire. The atmosphere reflected the musicians onstage, full of youth and infused with a breath of new life.

A pseudo-cinematic turn of events forced the world renowned Brodsky Quartet to pull out all the stops for their concert in Utrecht last Thursday evening. Continually in demand as interpreters of the standard string quartet repertoire as well as proponents of new music commissioned by living composers, the quartet has accumulated a wealth of original manuscripts for their personal catalogue.

An impassioned evening of Beethoven was drawn from the fingertips of the fascinating young pianist Shuann Chai last Wednesday in Utrecht’s Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh. Presenting three of Ludwig van Beethoven’s most well-known sonatas for piano, the Pathétique, Moonlight, and Appassionata, Ms. Chai wove an intriguing and constantly changing musical soundscape.