Empathetic truth from the odd couple

By Chris Garlick, 19 January 2019

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“the tone produced by Kavakos was ideal, full and generous”

Reviewed at Royal Festival Hall, London on 18 January 2019

Mozart, Violin Sonata in B flat major, "Strinasacchi", K454

Prokofiev, Violin Sonata no. 1 in F minor, Op.80

Bartók, Rhapsody no. 1 for Violin and Piano, Op.86

Strauss R., Sonata for violin and piano in E flat major, Op.18

Brahms, Violin Sonata no. 3 in D minor, Op.108 (Intermezzo)

Szymanowski, 3 Mythes, Op.30: La Fontaine d'Aréthuse

Leonidas Kavakos, Violin

Yuja Wang, Piano

Shock, spectacle and endurance: Yuja Wang and Thomas Adès at full tilt

Laurence Vittes, 8th February

If Prokofiev’s original intention in his Second Piano Concerto was shock and awe, Yuja Wang gives exactly the right performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

***11

Thomas Adès and Yuja Wang offer contemporary works at the NY Phil

Sam Jacobson, 23rd January

Yuja Wang returns to the New York Philharmonic with Rautavaara’s dazzling First Piano Concerto in a probing program curated and conducted by Thomas Adès.

****1

Yuja Wang serves an iridescent musical feast in Cleveland

Sam Jacobson, 28th November

Yuja Wang does double duty in demanding piano concertos by Ravel and Ligeti, while conductor Petr Popelka shows his chemistry with the orchestra in Pictures at an Exhibition.

****1

Contemporary works populate Philadelphia Orchestra's opening night

Cameron Kelsall, 25th September

Audiences drawn in by Yuja Wang's performance of the Ravel Piano Concerto are also treated to Julia Wolfe and Arturo Márquez.

****1

Stormy weather: a wild ride with Berlioz and Yuja Wang at Tanglewood

Kevin Wells, 20th July

Yuja Wang’s verve and panache, combined with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra’s fearless, youthful energy, forge an incandescent, explosive performance.

****1

White Nights and historic firsts: Gražinytė-Tyla and the Vienna Phil

Chanda VanderHart, 6th May

For the first time in its 165-year subscription series, a female conductor leads a Vienna Philharmonic subscription concert.

****1

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Chris Garlick

Chris Garlick is the co-founder of Signal Gallery in Hoxton. His first degree was in music, training as a classical composer. Chris has written about art frequently in Art of England magazine, Artist and Illustrator for online blogs.

Empathetic truth from the odd couple: Leonidas Kavakos and Yuja Wang at the Southbank