"Take that, Leopold Auer! He was the violinist for whom Peter Tchaikovsky wrote his lone violin concerto back around 1880. But, after giving it a run-through, Auer pronounced it unplayable. Well, Russian violinist Vadim Gluzman not only accepted that concerto's challenges at Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall Saturday night, but he nearly torched his 1690 Stradivarius with his passionate and ultimately jaw-droppingly fast interpretation. Oh, and ... he did it on Auer's violin. Gluzman's electrifying performance was part of what may be the strongest program that conductor Andrew Litton and the Minnesota Orchestra present at this year's Sommerfest. ...And then there was the finale, on which Gluzman displayed not only astounding digital dexterity, but musicality to match. Seldom has this ebullient country dance sounded so much like a breakneck tarantella. But what could have been a blur of notes was instead exceptionally clear. The almost capacity crowd responded with an immediate standing ovation, calling the violinist out for four bows. "
-St. Paul Pioneer Press
"Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman then took the stage to offer an unforgettable account of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. Playing on a Stradivari violin built in 1690, he produced an astoundingly full and resonant tone, rich and vibrant in the low register, clear and soaring in the upper range. Gluzman delivered the rapid passagework with faultless precision and apparent ease, but this isn’t to say his playing lacked heart. Indeed I found his playing to be extraordinarily passionate, communicative and sincere. He is a phenomenally expressive player, and his arching, poetic account of the slow Canzonetta movement surely touched everyone who listened. The opening Allegro moderato showcased Gluzman’s superb control and remarkable dynamic range. It is rare to come across someone who plays with such finesse, and for me the irrefutable proof came in the cadenza, which he delivered with the perfect balance of nuance and élan. Neale and the orchestra proved worthy collaborators; the strings played with brio and precision, various woodwind principals delivered artfully honed melodic solos, and the brass highlighted the heroic moments wonderfully. The audience’s standing ovation began instantly. As an encore, Gluzman gave another demonstration of his exquisitely subtle pianissimo playing in the ‘Dance of the Blessed Spirits’ (aka ‘Mélodie’) from Christoph Willibald Gluck’s ‘Orfeo ed Euridice.
-The Register Guard (OR)
"Born in 1973 in the Ukraine Vadim Gluzman moved to Israel in 1990. Back in Edinburgh he was given a great welcome from those who so well remembered his performance a year ago. He brought with him, held high above him as he came on stage, the Stradivarius violin made as long ago as 1690. The audience was spell bound as it watched and heard one of the most difficult but exciting works (Brahms Violin Concerto) in the repertoire for a solo violin and which lasted almost forty minutes. What a terrific performance." (Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Usher Hall, Scotland)
-Edinburghguide.com
“Soloist Vadim Gluzman blazed open the concert with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. Playing the 1690 ex-Leopold Auer Stradivarius, Gluzman brought forth sounds of glorious beauty from the rich lowest register to the highest harmonics. …Gluzman’s technically incredible playing combines with soul, needing no histrionics of flashing bow at the ends of virtuosic passages, but rather the solidly competent perfection of pitch, tone and phrasing a true artist demonstrates with playing, not showmanship effulgence not hype. The synchronism between Gluzman and Conductor George Hanson was another pleasure to behold and hear. Clearly, both love the piece, know it perfectly, have played it often and share its emotions and interpretation. The slightest glance or body language of either man was answered in kind. The spontaneous applause after the first movement, while atypical of concert goers’ tradition, was clearly an outpouring of respect and pleasure from an adoring audience. …The soloist treated the audience to an encore before the interval, ripping off Ysa˙e’s “Obsession” sonata unaccompanied, again demonstrating his unbelievable technique. The house was more than impressed.
-Green Valley News and Sun (AZ
“…[Vadim Gluzman] he played the heck out of Tchaikovsky’s technically defiant piece, nailing every nuance and rapid chord change in a way that confirmed his admiration and respect for the piece. And he played it on the very violin that should have been used to premier the work in the late 1870s —the 1690 ex-Leopold Auer Stradivari. Gluzman summoned all the greatness from that fiddle, putting its silky, sweet tones to the test in Tchaikovsky’s monumental concerto. He made the instrument sing in the swooning, soulful passages, then scream out when the tempo and temper became more urgent. His technical prowess was inspired; he rarely wavered even when the chord changes became lightening fast and passages were interrupted with abrupt stops and starts. After a prolonged standing ovation, Gluzman played the first movement of Eugene Ysaye’s Sonata No. 2 for Solo Violin dubbed ‘Obsession.’ It was only two minutes long, but Gluzman’s performance was breathtaking."
-Arizona Daily Star
“The Ukrainian-born Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman made his ISO debut, with guest conductor Andrew Litton on the podium. He played Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major -- one of those masterpieces whose mixed reception, even before its premiere, is the stuff of legend. Gluzman's clean, solid tone impressed from the start. His articulation and control of dynamics were first-rate. The opening movement was gloriously well-knit maybe too much so, as the bow seemed never to leave the strings or stop moving. As the second-movement Canzonetta showed, a little breathing room is always welcome. At any rate, his precise bow control never seemed indifferent to apt phrasing or to varying the emphasis. Thus, his performance always drew the listener in. Harmonics and double stops during the first movement cadenza had exquisite finish, and the delicacy of the long fadeaway trill before the orchestra returns was magical. When appropriate, Gluzman displayed a quasi-improvisatory rhythmic freedom that tested his partnership with Litton, who kept the ISO in sync with the soloist. In the finale, the inexorable momentum and well-regulated bounce of the solo line held everyone in thrall.”
-Indianapolis Star (MN)
“Then it was to a prime example of Bernstein's concert music, his for Violin, Strings, Harp and Loosely inspired by Plato's "Symposium," this violin concerto respect but name has the soloist pouring out floods of bittersweet melody one moment, chugging through a breathless perpetual motion the next, finally trading wicked jazz riffs with the ensemble. The superb Israeli violinist Gluzman, member of Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts, scored a big success in his CSO debut. He wove the work's many moods -- playful, jazzy, skittish, dramatic -- into a seamless statement buoyed by spirited interplay with the orchestra. What's more, his powerful bow arm drew a wealth of silken yet intense sound from his instrument, the 1690 "ex- Leopold Auer" Stradivarius, on loan from the Stradivari Society of Chicago.”
-Chicago Tribune
“Friday’s one-off deserved a week’s subscription run. A heart-stopping account of ‘Nimrod’ from Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ Variations opened the evening as a memorial tribute to the longest-serving (54 years) and one of the most loved members of the orchestra, cellist Philip Blum, who died last month at 77. Leonard Bernstein’s 1954 ‘Serenade, after Plato’s ‘Symposium’’ is played so rarely that President Obama’s senior advisor David Axelrod took a ‘music leave’ from the White House to come home to hear it. Israeli violin soloist Vadim Gluzman’s insightful performance, both lyrical and virtuosic, made the trip worthwhile.”
-Chicago Sun-Times
“The program was meaty, with a highly colored performance of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra and violinist Vadim Gluzman making an impressive CSO subscription debut as soloist in Bernstein’s virtuosic Serenade. Born in Ukraine and a long-time resident of Israel, Gluzman has made his home on Chicago’s North Shore in recent years. Composed in 1954, Bernstein’s Serenade for solo violin and orchestra was inspired by Plato’s Symposium, and the intense, sometimes playful exchanges between Gluzman and the CSO echoed the shape of Plato’s dialogues, the sweet, penetrating tone of his 1690 Stradivari violin sailing easily over the orchestra. Shifting between serene, long-lined lyricism and more astringent, darkly edgy passages, Gluzman and the orchestra were equal partners in a heady musical conversation.”
-Chicago Classical Review