The Week in Reviews, Op. 315: Gil Shaham; Chloe Kim; Leonidas Kavakos and more

August 3, 2021, 4:08 PM · 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.

Violinist Gil Shaham. Photo by Chris Lee.

Gil Shaham performed the Barber Violin Concerto with the Aspen Festival Orchestra with Robert Spano conducting.

The Aspen Times: "(Shaham) also inspired music director Robert Spano’s best conducting this summer. Spano picked up Shaham’s no-dawdling tempo choices in the lyrical song of the first movement, and kept things moving without rushing, which allowed the melodies to soar."

Chloe Kim performed works by Locatelli and Corelli at Early Music Vancouver's Bach Festival.

Vancouver Sun: "While the depth of her musical scholarship is unassailable, it’s the exceptional passion and intensity of her playing that excites. Locatelli treats his soloist as an ersatz opera diva: Kim’s violin raged, sobbed, and carried on like any distraught heroine."

Leonidas Kavakos, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax performed Beethoven’s Piano Trio No 3 in C minor at The Shed.

The Berkshire Eagle: "Surrounded by empty benches — no flutes, no oboes, no drums, no trombones — a violinist, a cellist and a pianist took their places at center stage. And produced an evening of music that made the audience cheer and laugh, the three major talents obviously enjoying it all themselves."

Vadim Gluzman performed Mozart's Concerto No. 3 with Sun Valley Festival Chamber Orchestra.

Idaho Mountain Express: "After enduring more than a year of empty concert halls and virtual performances—and watching audience members do the same—Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman served as a harbinger of classical music in Sun Valley this week."

Jesse Mills performed Morton Feldman's "For John Cage" with pianist Rieko Aizawa at Bargemusic.

New York Classical Review: "The pair had a superb blended sound and played the music together with a precision and musicality that, along with the circumstances of the concert, produced a many-layered experience. This was as beautiful as Feldman’s music can be played."

Pinchas Zukerman performed Mozart and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia.

Chicago Classical Review: "Zukerman and the orchestra were not always simpatico. They buried him when they failed to get as soft as he did in some quiet passages. And in ardent moments, Zukerman pushed the tempo forward, leaving the orchestra lagging behind him. Ensemble cohesion wasn’t a problem once Zukerman set down his violin and took his place on the podium."

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