Ray Chen's Sibelius Showdown

[Sue U]

Okay, is this too nerd-geeky? Because I really love how superstar Ray Chen breaks down 4 other violinists' performances of the Sibelius Violin Concerto (well, the first movement, anyway), looking at the differences in their technique and approach to the music. (Featuring Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Hilary Hahn and Maxim Vengerov.) Is this something that interests most people, or even many people, or is it just me and the weirdos in the comments?



And for comparison (if you actually ARE interested), here is Ray's performance, which I think is great but he turns it up to 11 nearly the whole freakin' time. I mean, I get it, the piece *is* wildly over-the-top in a lot of ways, and he just runs with it.



I also really like this no-stick conductor, Kent Nagano. He's super-clear and has a nice touch.

ETA:

Oh, Kent Nagano is a really interesting guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_Nagano

[Big RR]

This is interesting; I will have to watch the whole thing when I have the time. Actually, I love Sarah Chang's playing style--I saw her a while back and was entranced (her CDs are good as well).

[Sue U]

Actually, I love Sarah Chang's playing style--I saw her a while back and was entranced (her CDs are good as well).

Sarah Chang is great, and she's definitely in my personal Top 10 Violinists, but for whatever reason she doesn't make my heart stop like Hilary Hahn does. Her fans are rabid, though, and legion.

A young violinist to keep your eye on (if you do that kind of thing) is Aubree Oliverson, who I recently saw in a video clip doing the Tchaikovsky concerto with the Columbus Symphony. Super charismatic and clearly having a great time. I can't get her YouTube videos to embed, but here's a link to a compilation of performance clips:

https://youtu.be/lci1C6mt_qQ?list=RDlci1C6mt_qQ

Oh hey, there's Gil Shaham right in the middle of this thing (around 12:45) playing the Bach Double with her and then some other thing I don't know.

What impresses me most is that at 22 (she's now like 26, I think) she did this performance of the Bach Chaconne. Not only is it beautifully executed, her interpretation is so very nuanced and personal it is obvious that she has given it an awful lot of very deep thought.

ETA:

Oh hey, she's coming to Princeton in October (Dvorak VC) and she's playing with the Ridgefield Symphony in December (Saint Saens Rondo Capriccioso and a new work by Salvatore Di Vittorio, a composer and conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of NY). I think I'll go to the Princeton show.

[Big RR]

That sounds interesting; when in October?

[Sue U]

October 25 and 26.

https://princetonsymphony.org/calendar

[Big RR]

Wow--pretty full already; I have to check and get tickets soon.

[Sue U]

I got mine for the Saturday night performance; it looks like the Sunday matinee is already all but sold out. Tickets only went on sale last week, so I guess this is a pretty hot show for those in the know. I've been to Princeton for various concerts (although not the Princeton Symphony), but they've always been at the McCarter Theater; the Richardson Auditorium seats fewer than 900, so it's about 20% smaller than the McCarter. With that small a room nearly every seat is gonna feel like a front-row seat.

[Sue U]

Report on Aubree Oliverson and the Princeton Symphony:

Oliverson played the Dvorak concerto beautifully, but did not blow me away with her rendition. Don't get me wrong, it was really very good, very polished and well-executed, and she was obviously having a very good time with it. But there are a lot of very good, very polished young violinists doing well-executed performances these days.

That said. And however.

Her encore was frickin' AMAZING!

She did a solo violin arrangement of the old pop standard Autumn Leaves, which she had commissioned from fellow Colburn alum Olivia Marckx, that was quite extraordinary. Ranging in styles from baroque-y to jazz-y with some thrilling technical challenges, the piece allowed Oliverson to really show off her skills and musical talent. And it's a great arrangement of the song, if you can think "fun" in the same thought as "Autumn Leaves," which I never previously considered a light-hearted ditty.

I'd pay to see her again.

ETA:

The Princeton Symphony itself is quite a good orchestra (they are pros) and they have a lovely but small hall they use on the college campus. We sat perhaps a bit too close to the stage (I didn't realize just how small the auditorium was when I bought tix). My seat put me right in line with the last desk of cellos, and throughout the concert those two women would periodically just look at each other and giggle. I really wanted to know what the joke was.

[Burning Petard]

All you guys above, thank you. This all is something I could never understand or comprehend on my own. It is really nice to sit at the feet of those who know music much more than I do or even can. I like Hillary Hahn, but now I like her stuff even more because I understand more about what she is doing.

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