All just my personal opinion
Concert matinée at the Tonhalle Zurich, featuring Bach (excerpts from “The Art of the Fugue”, BWV 1080) and his re-discoverer, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (String Quintet No.1 in A major, op.18), with members of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Review of a concert at the Tonhalle Zurich, 2015-09-04, offered by the Orpheum Foundation for the Support of Young Musicians, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary: Philippe Jordan, Nikolaj Znaider, Kyoungmin Park, and the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra playing • Webern, Variations for Orchestra op.30 • Mozart, Sinfonia concertante for Violin and Viola in E♭ major, K.364 • Beethoven, Symphony No.7 in A major, op.92
With the entrance of the solo violin, though, the attention turned towards Sophia Jaffé, who presented herself as an experienced, expressive violinist, with a sonorous, full tone, delivering a solid, convincing interpretation.
… it was fascinating to observe how the violin remained audible, kept a clear presence even through minimal, light movements of the bow (…)
In the subsequent Larghetto, the soloist enchanted the audience with the most intimate, whispering tones, played almost sul ponticello, with minute, discreet movements of the bow, merely a hint, but always present, down to the softest ppp and below — one could almost sense the audience holding breath, totally captured by this playing.
The first part of this evening was devoted to Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor, op.30 — a well-respected benchmark among pianists of the top league. Lise de la Salle played this concerto eloquently, with compassion — she visibly lived with the music, also in the orchestral parts: her playing is fluent, competent, aimed at a full, rounded sound…
Some media are proclaiming Maurice Steger the “world champion of the recorder”. I think this is a rather odd statement, as musical interpretation can’t be measured, remains subjective, both on the side of the artist, as well as in the listener’s perception and receptivity; however, it is certainly legitimate to state that Maurice Steger’s recorder playing is in the world’s very top league…