James Ehnes, a violinist of remarkable elegance, was outstanding in Prokofiev's First Concerto infusing richness to the long, introspective melodic lines.
An arcane Armenian orthodox chapel, two glittering Greek Orthodox churches, a waterfront palazzo and a sumptuous Austrian villa were fascinating venues for a delightful day of mini-concerts at the Istanbul Festival.
A three hour Bach "meditation", with Bach mixed with Kurtág, various other modern pieces and free jazz improvisation all sounded a bit radical. But the results were extraordinary.
The young German-American violinist Augustin Hadelich plays the Tchaikovsky concerto and Vasily Petrenko with the LPO give a heroic rendering of the same composer's “Manfred” Symphony.
This a was breathtaking but not breathless concert by Alina Ibragimova, a brilliantly accomplished individual interpretation of three of Bach's solo partitas and sonatas for violin.
It’s a busy month for superstar violinist Gil Shaham, who started February with Erich Korngold’s Violin Concerto and will end it with a new CD release. In between, he is resuming his exploration of Bach’s sonatas and partitas for solo violin with recitals in the United States and Italy.
I’ve never before dreamt of being a fly on the wall during early discussions of festival programming, but this concert really set me thinking. Two minor-key works? One instrument? Ten o’clock on a Saturday night? The element which reframes everything is the Lammermuir Festival’s binary belief in beauty of music and place.
