Kennedy | Artist of the Year 1998




CONCERT REVIEWS • "He had hardly been on stage a minute and he was already playing Bach, in that against-the-grain style unique to Kennedy, at times almost a combination of square-dance and polka, Kennedy, pure and simple, in the full tradition he has made his own... Questions of interpretation seemed to be of secondary importance. What mattered was that the evening had beat, rhythm, impact and was enjoyed, Kennedy made sure of that in great style, and with an unbelievable sense of performance. The fact that he masters his instrument is something of which he is keenly aware, as well as being clearly audible to those listening." Die Presse 22 April 1998 [Concert in the Musikverein, Vienna - Kreisler] • "There can be few genre-hoppers able to begin a concert with a Bach solo sonata, that veritable Everest of the solo violin repertoire, and, what is more, perform it with such matchless precision. The closing Allegro Assai was a fantastic display of bewitching lightness. Then in a seamless transition, it was off into the rousing and foot-tapping Rumanian Folk Dances of Bela Bartok, followed by Dave Heath's emotive work On Fire, where he demonstrated great musical mastery, and a series of Kreisler lollipops, also with playing of the utmost perfection." Standard 22 April 1998 [Concert in the Musikverein, Vienna - Kreisler] • " The concert finished with a selection of Kreisler works for violin and piano which were played with tremendous taste and assurance... As informal as he might like to appear, when it comes to playing, absolute discipline reigns supreme." Wiener Zeitung 22 April 1998 [Concert in the Musikverein, Vienna - Kreisler] • "Kennedy has refined his approach to Elgar since his previous award-winning disc more than ten years ago" The Times [Elgar] • "Kennedy's return to major houses took one giant leap forward this week with a Festival Hall performance of the work which has driven his career since his landmark recording thirteen years ago" The Independent on Sunday [Elgar] • "An emotional and expansive performance" The Financial Times [Elgar] • "His performance was as gripping, moving and intelligent as any I can remember" • "Kennedy remains an outstanding violinist, technically brilliant and with a gift for making audiences listen hard" The Independent [Elgar] • "Kennedy's playing of the cadenza in the finale - the heart of the work - was marvellous" The Sunday Telegraph [Elgar] • "Here was a reminder that Kennedy is a violinist in a million" The Daily Telegraph [Elgar] • "Increasing mastery leads him to be more fiery and intense in the bravura passages and even more deeply reflective in the many moments of repose" The Guardian [Elgar] • "Kennedy, like Menuhin before him, has made this concerto his own and he now plays it with an inward intensity, a nobility and flamboyant virtuosity in the bravura passages that few can match" The Sunday Times [Elgar] • "The barricades of elitism that hinder the mass appreciation of classical music are being breached once more" The Times - Leader Article [Elgar] •"It's good to have him back whatever he plays. Kennedy remains one of those violinists, rather like Gidon Kremer and Isaac Stern from the generation before him, for whom the inspiration of the moment is a major part of the musical persona" Gramophone - editorial [Elgar] •"Is he playing as well as he ever did? Yes. Maybe even better" Gramophone [Elgar] •"Kennedy weaves his magic" Otago Daily Times, New Zealand [Elgar] •"Kennedy's back - with a vengeance" New Zealand Herald [Elgar] •"The cadenza to the first movement was the most soulful rendering I have ever heard. He is a free spirit. And he can, and may even be, the last great Romantic" Manchester Evening News [Beethoven] •"This was terrific fiddling, both spiritually rapt and intellectually sharp. Kennedy is first of all a communicative musician whose beautiful bowing technique is merely a means to an end" California Oakland Tribune [Beethoven] •"Kennedy is certainly the performer to arrest the ear. He wields the musicianship that renders eccentricities innocuous, if not irrelevant, and spices his cadenzas with microtones, doublestops and dissonances which are all dispatched with authority" San Francisco Examiner [Beethoven] •"It's not easy to get 2,800 people to hold their breath at one time. But, Kennedy did it when he opened San Francisco Symphony's 86th season with a startlingly beautiful rendition of Beethoven's violin concerto. As the magic sound of his violin soared to the heights of the Davies Hall, a hush settled over the audience the like of which I have not heard in 20 years. This was the purest, most faithful interpretation I have ever heard, and yet one that belonged to Kennedy, that was uniquely his" Marin Independent - San Francisco [Beethoven] •"...and played with eerily unwavering and often beautiful tone" New York Times [Beethoven] •"Only one British violinist in my lifetime has produced anything as bold and exhilirating as that. No other violinist on earth could manage the astonishing stylistic transition presented" The Times [Bartok - Hendrix - Bach] •"Nice to see him back, looking good, sounding marvellous and doing things no-one has done before" The Scotsman [Bartok - Hendrix - Bach] Biography Discography Most Recent International Releases Kennedy at the Virgin Megastore © 1998 EMI Classics. All rights reserved.

CONCERT REVIEWS