| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 9-Jul-2012 Merchant Taylors' Hall | Rising stars Hakhnazaryan and Kozhukhin at the City of London Festival |
 For me, the chamber music concerts at the various City Livery Halls have always been the highlight of the City of London Festival. This year, I chose to visit Merchant Taylors’ Hall in Threadneedle Street (just behind the Bank of England Building) for a joint recital by two recent winners of prestigious international competitions: Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, winner of the 2011 Tchaikovsky International Competition, and Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin, winner of the 2010 Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels.Read full review... | |
| 14-Nov-2011 Carnegie Hall: Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage | Joshua Bell and Sam Haywood: Carnegie Hall at its best |
 The moment the first chord rang out in the Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall Monday night, the audience caught their breath. Opening with Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Sonata in F Major, violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Sam Haywood set the tone for the rest of the evening.
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| 20-Sep-2011 Lennoxlove House: Great Hall | Bach and Beyond |
 Janette Beckman.jpg) You might think that a programme containing Bach and 20th/21st century composers would suggest an evening of unconnected extremes. Nothing could be further from the truth in the case of Jennifer Koh's Bach and Beyond recital, given in Lennoxlove House, Haddington as part of the Lammermuir Festival. Positioned in front of the yawning fireplace in the Great Hall of this 700-year old stately home, she opened with Bach's Partita in E major, BWV 1006. This was the beginning of her programme's stated return journey from light to darkness.Read full review... | |
| 10-Jan-2011 Wigmore Hall | Lomeiko-Zhislin Russian violin duo perform a challenging Romantic programme |
 In this programme packed with Romantic intensity, the Russian Lomeiko-Zhislin duo demonstrated their versatility and ingenuity in crafting a programme of varied instrumental combinations.
First they were joined by pianist Katia Skanavi for three pieces by Bruch, whose skill as a miniaturist was reminiscent of Grieg and Dvorak in its persuasive lyricism. This was an ideal appetiser, opening with a beautifully phrased piano introduction and dark viola sonorities contrasting with the fleeting, almost weightless central piece in the trio. The brooding intensity reached a climax in the third piece, with repeated piano chords and a strident unison from violin and viola.
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