Week in Reviews, Op. 568: premieres and standouts from Kutik, Hahn, Ma and others

# Overview This week's reviews collect responses to live performances across concert halls and museums. Highlights include a world premiere violin concerto, major interpretations of standard concerto repertoire, and intimate recital work that foregrounds tone and musical conversation.

# What reviewers emphasized Reviewers focused on performing choices and the quality of musical interaction. For the new concerto by Eric Nathan, critics pointed to a dialog between soloist and orchestra — phrasing that alternates between meandering lines and fractured, staccato utterances. In standard repertoire, attention centered on tone control, restraint, and how soloists shape phrases within orchestral contexts.

# Notable performances

• Yevgeny Kutik gave the world premiere of Eric Nathan's Violin Concerto "The Mountains We Climb" with the Rhode Island Philharmonic under Ruth Reinhardt. Classical Voice America described Kutik's playing as unfolding "virtuosic lines with almost casual aplomb, listening and responding," and noted the concerto's interplay and alteration between soloist and orchestra.

• Hilary Hahn performed Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conductor Petr Popelka. Reviews praised her restraint and tonal focus: Chicago Classical Review commented on her "withdrawn delicacy" and inward cadenza, while Third Coast Review highlighted her ability to dominate the piece without bluster, delivering complex passagework with clarity. Splash described her playing as convincing and unsentimental.

• Yo-Yo Ma performed Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons. Boston Musical Intelligencer emphasized Ma's communicative stage presence, noting how his facial expression and interaction with Nelsons and the orchestra shaped the performance.

• Rachel Barton Pine presented an all-Brahms recital with pianist Matthew Hagle at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The Arts Fuse described the performance as a convergence of artistry and historical memory, with a communal feel and the Guarneri instrument at the center of the occasion.

• Zlatomir Fung performed Elgar's Cello Concerto with the Utah Symphony and conductor Delyana Lazarova. Utah Arts Review reported on Fung's simplicity of style in the first movement and his lightness of touch supporting a brisk second movement.

• Thomas Mathias performed Vaughan Williams's "The Lark Ascending" with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Tianyi Lu. Bach Track praised Mathias's delicately controlled projection of the lark's sweeping birdcalls and nature's fragile beauty.

• Gautier Capuçon performed Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko. Bach Track described Capuçon's reading as breezy and commended his rich, sumptuous tone.

# Practical takeaway for concertgoers If you follow contemporary premieres, note the attention to musical dialogue in Eric Nathan's concerto and Kutik's responsive solo playing. For standard repertoire, these reviews reward listening for restraint and tonal focus rather than overt showmanship. Recitals in intimate venues continue to highlight instruments and chamber collaboration as central to the experience.

# Final note