Anthony’s Sibelius.
I am on a “Sibelius Kick” these days. I told you recently about a nice DVD which I’ve been listening to, with the Sibelius concerto performed by Valeriy Sokolov.
I wanted a CD, so I could load it on my iPod, so I listened to the Sibelius violin concerto, as performed by Adele Anthony. And I have to tell you how delighted I was by her performance.
I really did not know what to expect. After the orchestral introduction the violin’s solo begins, and I could hear Ms. Anthony’s wonderful sound, which I determined later comes from her 1728 Stradivari.
I was impressed by the quality of her playing; I have rarely heard this work played before with such accuracy and beauty. Often I find myself excusing the soloist, because I am aware how technically difficult this work is.
Ms. Anthony’s performance on this CD is strong, yet sensitive. The challenging passages are worked out really well, so they are played in a seemingly easy way, even though I know how tough they are. There are many spots where the soloist must play difficult double stops (two different notes, sounded together on two violin strings), and Ms. Anthony does these perfectly.
My only disappointment was that on occasion the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra is simply too loud; it is always very easy for Tympani or Horns to cover a violin’s sound.
And by the way: Adele Anthony’s excellent playing has nothing to do with the fact that she’s married to another violinist. His name is Gil Shaham.
Let me illustrate Ms. Anthony’s performance with a recording:
Here is an audio of the Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47: Second movement, Adagio di molto:
And here she is again in the final movement from the same concerto:
Terrific playing! Don’t you agree?
Tags: Adele Anthony, violinist, Violin concerto, Jean Sibelius
