Press praise ‘thrilling’ concerts with Gil Shaham

Press have praised the NJSO’s concerts featuring violinist Gil Shaham performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto last week in Newark, Red Bank and New Brunswick.

Broadway World writes:

The beloved Mendelssohn Violin concerto completed the first half of the program, as Violinist Gil Shaham, performing on and his 1699 "Comtesse de Polignac" Stradivarius violin, brought vim and vigor to what must be the most-performed violin concerto of them all ... Mr. Shaham found delightful nuance in virtually every passage - he even appeared to be fingering the parts of the other string players when he was not playing ... [To] his immense credit, nearly thirty years [after Shaham released a recording of the Mendelssohn concerto], he still manages to bring a freshness and vitality to his performance of the work.

As delightful as the Mendelssohn Concerto was, the second half of the concert was unquestionably the highlight, as Maestro Lacomb marshalled the considerable forces of his orchestra in a powerful and passionate reading of Franck's much-loved, and under-performed Symphony in D Minor ...

Impressively, Maestro Lacombe conducted the piece entirely from memory and seemed to be in a state of ecstasy from start to finish. He brilliantly captured the epic, almost Wagnerian breadth and sweep of the first movement, but did so without ever surrendering to bombast. Throughout the second movement and the joyful finale, the orchestra was on fire, providing their leader with marvelously vivid and colorful playing ... The NJ Symphony's performance of the piece this weekend provided a very powerful argument for the work's reinstatement to the highest ranks of the standard repertoire. Bravo!

Read the full review.

Superconductor writes:

[T]his Garden State ensemble is playing at a very high level indeed. That observation was confirmed by Thursday’s first matinee concert of the season at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Prudential Hall, that opulent venue that has served as home base since 1998 …
The orchestra was then joined by Mr. Shaham, whose violin managed to be both sweet and dry in this ever-popular concerto. This was among the earliest concertos to make the violin’s role one of continuous dialogue with the orchestra. Mr. Shaham and Mr. Lacombe played in easy conversation, with the orchestra supporting expertly and the violinist breaking into solo flight in the long cadenza that ends the first movement … As he went up for the last thrilling trills, he held the audience rapt, the woodwinds chirping underneath in a chorus of approval. Mr. Lacombe brought the work home in a rapid coda
…
The first movement alternates between a slow initial idea and a powerful, thrusting second theme. Under Mr. Lacombe, this music was thrilling, with clean-sounding, taut woodwinds and noble horns leading the way [in Franck’s Symphony in D Minor]. The English horn solo in the second movement recalled the haunted shepherd’s pipe from Act III of Tristan. The finale was big-shouldered and brash, led by an upbeat reworking of the main opening theme, itself alternating with one last Wagnerian idea. This performance was an excellent argument for this powerful work, which deserves to resume its place in the symphonic repertory.

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The Star-Ledger writes:

For its first post-gala outing of the season, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra offered a characteristically cohesive program that melded well-known standards with a more personal selection ... the works chosen played off each other in intriguing and sometimes unexpected ways.

...

Shaham gave an impeccable performance [of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto], maintaining pinpoint precision even as the theme spun out into elaborate, vigorous flights.

While showing his virtuoso status once again, the interpretation was somewhat unexpected. Instead of the emotive, Romantic aspect of the mid-19th century work, he seemed to lead off the discipline of the opening for a more stoic, noble take, one that brought out the architecture. There were moments that captured fierce drive and dug into choice, impassioned phrases, yet the overall tone was understated. His cadenza seemed woven with as much care as an intricate tapestry, not a fiery explosion from the regular framework of the piece.

Read the full review.