Thomas May, of Memeteria attended the US premiere of Aaron Kernis’ new Violin Concerto. He wrote, “In last night’s Seattle Symphony concert led by Ludovic Morlot, James Ehnes introduced a brand-new violin concerto written for him by one of today’s finest composers, Aaron Jay Kernis…
Talk about making a great first
impression! Despite — or even because of — its terrorizing challenges for the soloist, this is a concerto built to last: it’s so good and makes such an obviously satisfying contribution…
Kernis has really thought through the concerto idea and created something substantial and fresh…[He] amalgamates [traditional] idioms into a rich, compelling harmonic language and flow of idealism [and]…animates all of these conventional elements with a marvelously contemporary spirit…for all the thrills and escapades, [this concerto is] a rich, many-colored, joyful composition that has something compelling to say, and that resonates afterward.”
To read the complete review, click here.