Acclaim - page 2
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Berick returned to Windsor after a five-year absence, and it is hoped that his next visit is sooner. The towering violinist displayed total mastery of the Brahms, a work of immense challenge and requiring a large measure of expression. Technically, Berick had no trouble, especially in the tricky first movement cadenza and the rhythmic, Hungarian dance passages of the third movement. As is often the case, the audience instinctively clapped at the end of the first movement. It’s almost a knee-jerk response of relief after the music. But Berick’s playing was so articulated and impassioned, there was polite applause at the second movement, as well. After the final notes were performed, most of the 1,200 in attendance rose to their feet for a sustained standing ovation. Berick’s sound is far from overpowering - he aims for the quieter, more subtle approach in his playing. That makes him a marvelous performer of the pianissimi in the first and second movement. There is not the slightest hint of treacle in his playing, although he clearly seems captivated by the work’s gorgeous tonality. Berick’s notes are rapturous, well-rounded and focused. - The Windsor Star |
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For the most part, the first concert of the season was one of those fortunate ones when mechanics and technique are forgotten and the total musical experience takes over. Berick’s warm, passionate and gypsy-like tone quality suited the Brahms, as it moved through sections rhapsodic, wistful and plaintive, searching and unpredictable.
- El Paso Times |
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The Israeli-born violinist is a young man to watch; he plays with poise, intensity and control. Berick created a well-paced allegro, attacking the score with warmth and energy. In the adagio, Berick’s gracious tempo emphasized his sweet, round tone and the lyrical side of his artistry. Berick lit into the passionate themes of the dance-like finale with gusto, tossing off technical fireworks with flare. - Cincinnati Enquirer |
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(The Shculhoff Solo Sonata,) composed in four movements, which, under the fingers of an ordinary violinist would become a simple exercise in virtuosity, was turned by Mr. Berick into a major work. What perfect control of the instrument, what clean and powerful sonority, even at the most perilous heights, and what musicality.
- La Presse |
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Truly exciting was Saint Saëns Sonata No. 1 in D Minor, Opus 75, for violin and piano. Violinist Yehonatan Berick and (pianist Max) Levinson played the rapid-fire finale with panache, but what was truly moving was the lyricism and the emotion with which they imbued the remainder of this romantic virtuoso sonata. Berick, an excellent violinist, plied the lines with a silky expressive sound that felt like it came from the heart. This was a performance of passions, power and beauty.
- Rutland Herald |
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Berick boasted a silken tone in the Rondo, and considerable flair in the Ravel. His warm vibrato was shown off to high effect on the G-string during Ravel’s opening solo.
- Cincinnati Post |
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The Kreutzer Sonata is considered one of the highlights of Beethoven's heroic expression. Here it was a played verbatim by the violinist Yehonatan Berick and pianist Ohad Ben-Ari, and there were many wonderful moments in this performance. Throughout it their polished technique sparkled and gave pleasure in itself: the precision of phrases, clear ascents of Berick to impossibly high notes, the piano sounding like waterfalls under Ben Ari's hands, clearer than ever - all of these accumulated into an impressive performance.
- Ha'aretz |