The Critics Applaud Joan Kwuon
“…Ms.
Kwuon’s fiery, intensely musical and impassioned playing…offered
vibrant contrasts between moods and styles.”
“In the Brahms, which began the program, Ms. Kwuon highlighted
the gentle, songful qualities of the sonata (which quotes melodies
from the composer’s lieder) with a warm, lilting tone and
introspective poise. She aptly conveyed the wit and playfulness
of the opening of the Prokofiev sonata, originally written for flute
and piano but later arranged by the composer for the violinist David
Oistrakh. Ms. Kwuon sounded colorfully spiky in the Scherzo and
fiery in the concluding Allegro”
“Beethoven’s
final sonata for piano and violin, which concluded the evening,
is distinguished by its lyrical serenity. Here again, Ms. Kwuon
demonstrated her winning musicality, particularly lovely in the
heart-stopping Adagio espressivo.”
- Vivien Schwietzer, The New York Times
"Kwuon
is a musician of impeccable taste and poise who plays the fiddle
with utmost elegance. She claims a bow arm that many would envy,
and her program Sunday proved that she easily navigates a range
of styles."
"The two Mozart pieces with which they began established Kwuon's
artistic credentials. In the Adagio in E Major, K. 261, and Rondo
in C Major, K. 373, her intonation was pure and her sound silvery
(like the glittering gown she wore), and she phrased with natural
grace. The former work was marked by nuanced tenderness, the latter
by lilting animation of materials."
"Kwuon altered her timbre and phrasing to suit the music's expressive
needs, beautifully negotiating the disembodied harmonics in the
slow movement and wild cascades in the finale." " Previn's Tango,
Song and Dance proved a tender and jazzy enchantment in the hands
of Kwuon and Robie…"
-Donald Rosenberg, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"A
big, fiery player with a commanding technique, dead-on double stops,
and an uncommonly rapid and even trill."
- Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe
"Violinist
Joan Kwuon took the composer's Sonata for Violin and Piano No.3
in D Minor, turned it inside out and delivered a finely articulated
and tempestuous interpretation that was almost a call to arms.
Watching
her perform was a little like watching a ballet dancer: She was
perfectly poised and controlled, yet the music had a frantic current
of power.
Kwuon brought a modern sensibility and old-fashioned technique to
bear on the piece, turning out a vibrant, rollicking sound that
rocked the house."
-Jennifer Roolf Laster, San Antonio Express-News
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