Music director Paavo Järvi was back in town for the program that included the stunning debut of violinist Sayaka Shoji in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major.
The 24-year-old Tokyo native is tiny in stature, but the sound she produced on her "Joachim" Stradivarius was startling for its big, glossy quality. She didn't draw attention to her ability to perform fireworks, which she easily tossed off in the finale. What stood out was the sheer perfection of her playing.
The violinist took a relaxed tempo in the first movement, emphasizing its lyricism. The slow movement, with its haunting, Russian-flavored theme, was moving for Shoji's beautiful phrasing as well as for the throaty sound she drew on her instrument. She tore into the finale, in a triumph of dazzling technique, warmth and spontaneity.
Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati.com, 10 March 2008
(Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto / Paavo Järvi / Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
"The concert - which drew a remarkably large audience considering the snow piling up outside and a blizzard warning in effect until Saturday afternoon - also featured the CSO debut of Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji and the first performance since 1934 of Sibelius' Third Symphony. Shoji, 24, was the youngest person (age 16) and the first Japanese to win the Paganini Violin Competition. She has been making global strides since then, and her performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto showed that she not only has a voice of her own, but something to say.
(...) By the time she reached the cadenza, however, the spark was lit and her technique shone brightly. The movement’s most captivating moment came after that as she climbed into the violin’s highest register and let it sing serenely but softly, spinning out an exquisite elaboration of the theme.
The Canzonetta slow movement, where she engaged in some tender dialogues with flutist Jasmine Choi and clarinetist Jonathan Gunn, was meltingly beautiful. Everything came together in the finale, where she demonstrated faultless spiccato bowing, a gutsy tone on the big gypsy theme and a tender one in softer, more lyrical passages."
Mary Ellyn Hutton, music_in_cincinnati.com (concert review), 8 March 2008
(Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto / Paavo Järvi / Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
"Prokofiev, the purveyor of dreams, and Shostakovich, the grim realist, rubbed shoulders for this LSO concert under the suave Yuri Temirkanov. Attending to the dreams was the Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji, whose performance of Prokofiev's First Violin Concerto established that her fragile appearance was no indicator of her sound.
At first I wondered i the melody that emerges "sognando" (dreamily) through a dusting of trills in the orchestral strings was remote enough - Shoji's delivery of it was a little too " present" t e truly magical. But then it occurred to me that the storyteller's voice must be assured, and as this first movement left behind its "once upon a time" beginnings, Shoji boldly set forth Prokofiev's narrative.
The unpredictable accenting was assertive in the central section, with its mad balalaika-like climax, and come the return of the opening them in flutes - a glorious moment - Shoji' tracery of embellishments envisages a galaxy far, far, away. But still there was no guarantee here o a happy ending, and perhaps the most remarkable part of Shoji's performance the central scherzo, where her devilish dancing made capital of Prokofiev's dirtiest sonic tricks.
An emergent star, no question."
Edward Seckerson, The Independent, 27 February 2008
(Prokofiev Violin concerto No.1 / Yuri Temirkanov & London Symphony Orchestra / Barbican Center, London)
"Sayaka Shoji, technically secure and thrillingly passionate, was the soloist."
Tim Ashley, The Guardian, 27 February 2008
(Prokofiev Violin concerto No.1 / Yuri Temirkanov & London Symphony Orchestra / Barbican Center, London)
Young Japanese virtuoso plays Paganini violin concerto.
Twenty-four-years-old Sayaka Shoji was the star of yet another successful concert presented by the National Orchestra, conducted by Michael Laus, at the Mediterranean Conference Centre last Friday week; a concert put up in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture to celebrate the third anniversary of Maltas accession to the European Union.
Sayaka Shoji was the youngest musician ever to win the prestigious Paganini Competition and it seems that this composers works feature high up in the repertoire of the young Japanese violinist. Her choice for her first appearance in Malta was the composers Concerto No.1 in D major, Op.6.
Sayaka Shoji brought passionate, free, almost improvisatory virtuosity of the highest order to the work, and uncovered music of real substance, shot through with powerful emotion, where it could just have been empty display.
In the slow movement, as well as in the more lyrical sections of the first movement, her wonderful playing had a poetical sensitiveness to the nuances of the music with an enormous tonal and dynamic range.
Throughout, her playing was unforced, without any showman-ship or theatricality; she was one with her instrument, a rich-toned Joachim Stradivarius of 1715.
Cecilia Xuereb, The Sunday Times, May 6, 2007
(Paganini Violin concerto No.1/ M. Laus & National Symphony of Malta/ Valetta)
Violin Magic -EU Celebration Concert
As violin concertos go, Paganini's are not exactly everybody's standard fare.
However, the man did know how to weave a web of captivating magic which makes one forget about structure and depth, or lack of it.
The seduction is complete when one has a formidable and amazingly talented young lady. Sayaka Shoji; a charming little wisp of a girl, blessed with an instrument (the "Joachim Stradivarius, 1715"), which did her bidding unconditionally.
(...) The violinist's technical wizardry was there, the sheer showing-off of the abundant bravura sections breathtaking, but there was also a lot of sweetness, especially in the adagio espressivo.
The limpid and crystalline tone irresistibly lovely contrasted so well with the more robust passages of the outer movements. This was simply a great experience.
Albert G. Storace, Times-Malta, May 5, 2007
(Paganini Violin concerto No.1 / M. Laus & National Symphony of Malta/Valetta)
"Le Concerto pour violon n°1 de Prokofiev n'est musicalement pas aussi évident que le n°2 au matériel thématique plus facile à mémoriser. La réussite de la jeune et frêle Sayaka Shoji n'en est que plus remarquable. Aussi bien par sa maîtrise technique sans faille que par la qualité et l'intensité du son produit par son Stradivarius "Joachim" de 1715. Musicalement très vivante et dynamique, son interprétation, à l'unisson de l'accompagnement orchestral, était en permanence expressive et toujours captivante justifiant les applaudissements enthousiastes du public".
Patrick Georges Montaigu, Res Musica, February 22, 2007(Prokofiev Violin concerto n°1 / Yuri Temirkanov & St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra / Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris)
"The almost detached calm with which the demure Sayaka Shoji realised the piece's dreamy fantasy suggested at first that she might not deliver Prokofiev's angry dissonances and manic energy convincingly. But Shoji quickly proved herself to be a powerhouse, and gutsy with it. Thanks to an easy understanding with Termirkanov, this was both a dynamic and revealing performance".
Rian Evans, The Guardian, Friday March 2, 2007(Prokofiev Violin concerto n°1 / Yuri Temirkanov & St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra / Symphony Hall, Birmingham)
"However, better much better was to come with the relatively unknown 23-year-old Sayaka Shoji's account of Prokofiev's First Violin Concerto (relatively unknown she may still be but she has already played with the Berlin (Jansons), Israel (Mehta) and New York Philharmonics (Maazel), as well as touring Japan with the Bamberg Symphony and Jonathan Nott). Perhaps the most salient point in her biography is her connection with her teacher, the famous Zakhar Bron. This was a spellbinding account from first note to last, not always the most beautiful sound but despite Shoji's diminutive size playing of quite remarkable presence and assurance. When so many violinists settle for bland uniformity, how wonderful to hear playing of such evident charisma and passionate commitment.
Prokofiev's concerto may only last about 20 minutes or so but the soloistis seldom silent. Just when one hurdle has been surmounted the composer throws something even more demanding at the violinist, much of the writing lying stratospherically high. Temirkanov and a mesmerised orchestra provided the most solicitous of accompaniments. Watch out for Sayaka Shoji. The title of the film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" might equally well describe her playing! There was a substantial and unusual encore in the form of Max Reger's Prelude and Fugue in G minor, magisterially despatched."
(Prokofiev Violin Concerto No.1 / Y.Temirkanov & St.Petersburg Philharmonic/ Cadogan Hall, London)
Die japanische Geigerin Sayaka Shoji brilliert im WDR-Konzert in der Kölner Philharmonie
"Hier lebt und erlebt jemand Musik mit allen Fasern, auch in den gefϋlssatten, breiten Kantilenen und ein energischen Attacken in der Freude am technisch Schierigen und Kapriziösen ...
Sayaka Shoji kann das natϋlich alles: unwerfend virtuos, berϋhrend emotional, ihrer prachtvollen Stradivari einen dunkel fluoreszierenden Ton entlockend.
...und man kommt nicht umhin, den Auftritt von Sayaka Shoji ein Ereignis su nennen..."
(Glazunov Vn.Concerto /S.Bychkov & WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne /Cologne Philharmonie)
"Sayaka Shoji... energisch, sensibel und sympathisch; eine tolle Musikerin, die eindrucksvoll zeigt."
Olaf Weiden,Kölner Rundschau 29 April 2006(Glazunov Vn.Concerto /S.Bychkov & WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne /Cologne Philharmonie)
"Dabei kammen die Zuhörer in den Genuss einer Stradivarius-Geige aus dem Jahr 1715, auf der die Japanerin Sayaka Shoji wahre Wunderdinge vollbrachte. Welch edler, silbriger Glanz, mit dem die Solisten das Andante assai überzog, welche Spannung, diesie allein mit dem Auftakt zum dreitten Satz erzuete!
Sayaka Shoji vereint technische Brillanz mit mit einem höchst seelenvollen Spiel. Bisweilen glitzerte die Musik wie im "Rosenkavalier", dann wiederum verlich die Solistin der Musik mit ihrem springenden Bogen geradezu akrobatische Züge.
Gemeinsam mit den Bamberger Symphoniker unter der Leitung von Jonathan Nott gelang eine Interpretation von außerordentlichen Rang. Eine Sternstunde."
(Prokofiev Vn.Concerto/J.Nott & Bamberg SO / Bayreuth)
"....die japanische Geigerin Sayaka Shoji technisch souverän, spannungsvoll und lebendig.... spannte melodische Bögen und bot feinsterklangliche Abstufungen, was auch in der Zugabe, dem Satz einer Solosonate von Max Reger deutlich wurde.
...Dazu bestach Sayaka Shoji mit einer breiten Farbpalette und mit rhytmischer Prägnanz, aber gerade auch im zweiten Satz mit zarten und melodische Bögen."
(Prokofiev Vn.Concerto/J.Nott & Bamberg SO /Bayreuth)
"Sayaka Shoji gave a commanding performance of Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, offering burnished tone, sweetly lyrical phrasing and pizzicato effects delivered with whip-crack precision."
Tom Huizenga, Washington Post 12th March 2006(Prokofiev Vn.Concerto/ J.Judd & Baltimore SO/ Baltimore)
"The piece was flawless. Shoji brought life and depth to Prokofiev's modern masterpiece
from the first movement's opening melody, soaring with its dark Russian theme to the third movement's fierce, dissonant chords.
Shoji's performances are full of life and spirit. She plays with a freedom rarely seen on stage.
The depth of her emotion is seen in dynamic movements, which will surely become her trademark.
She throws her bow with the flourish of a stage artist, her face a picture of heartfelt joy and love for her trade. In Prokofiev, her technical perfection is overshadowed by the life she brings to every note. I am certain Prokofiev would approve of her forceful interpretation.
Shoji brings spirit to one of the greatest concertos in violin repertoire."
(Prokofiev Vn.Concerto /J.Judd & Baltimore SO/ Baltimore)
"Sayaka Shoji played the Violin Concerto No.2 (Prokofiev) with remarkable security, incisive phrasing and a ripe, golden tone. Her performance, infused with poetry."
Tim Smith, The Baltimore Sun 11th March 2006(Prokofiev Vn.Concerto/ J.Judd & Baltimore SO /Baltimore)
"Sayaka Shoji, 23 years young, was the 1999 Paganini International Competition winner - the first Japanese violinist to take this prestigious award. It surprises me that I should not have heard of her before. Her impeccable, sober performance of the second of Prokofiev's violin concertos had plenty musicality, lovely light touches, lyricism but was never in danger of becoming overplayed or too sweet. For having been soft, she was still plenty energetic in the finale.
Ionarts 16th March 2006(Prokofiev Vn.Concerto /J.Judd & Baltimore SO/ Baltimore)
"Ses interprétations, fraîches, de haute qualité, à la fois lumineuses et réfléchies nous laissent pantois devant son efferveschente technique. Un moment inouï."
Le Droit February 2006
(Recital / O.Poliansky/ Nantes)
"Solche Auftritte gibt es nicht jades Jahr. Ein blutjunges japanisches Mädchen, zierlich wie eine Puppe, trägt ihre Stradivari herein und stellt sich bescheiden neben das Dirigentenpodest im Stuttgarter Beethovensaal. Dann aber, als die Kölner WDR-Sinfoniker unter Semyon Bychkov den Klanglichen Schmuserand zum g-moll-Violinkonzert von Max Bruch anspielen, scheint Sayaka Shoji von ihrer heftigen Musikalität attackiert zu werden. Ein Geigenton von überraschender Kraft und Sinnenhaftigkeit kommt vom Podium mit Schwerem süßen Vibrato in den sorgfältig ausgearbeitetn lyrischen Passagen und mit fast immer sauber gegriffenem technischer Furor.
Im berühmten Adagio scheint es, als ob Sayaka Shoji in den Satz hinein lauscht und die Romantik flϋstern hört. Auch die Stradivari scheint ob solcher Hingabe Lust am klingen zu haben und trägt zum strahlenden Erfolg der jungen Dame beim fϋnften Meisterkonzert bei".
Erwin Schwarz ESSLINGER ZEITUNG 7 December 2004(Bruch Vn.Concerto/ S.Bychkov & WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne /Stuttgart Beethovensaal)
Großartig
"Als ob sie sich in der Tϋr geirrt hätte: die junge Geigerin Sayaka Shoji schaut vorsichtig in die Philharmonie, betritt zögernd das Podium. Dann findet sie ihren Platz vor dem Orchester, und es kann losgehen mit Bruchs erstem Violinkonzert.
Shoji beherrscht ihren Part mühelos, und je freier und gelöster sie wird, umso strahlender formuliert sie. Dem Zufall aber will sie nichts überlassen, sie geht kein Risiko ein. Hauptsache richtig und schön, scheint die Devise, und das nimmt ihrem Spiel einiges Weite. Sie hört genau aufs Orchester, bekommt vom Dirigenten, Semyon Bychkov, selbstcerständlich den roten Teppich ausgerollt"
Johannes Rubner, Süddeutsche Zeitung December 2004(Bruch Vn.Concerto/ S.Bychkov & WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne/ Munich Philharmonie)
"Shoji is only 21, but her reputation is growing fast. With a rock-solid technique and a big, hall-filling sound of great clarity, yet also an ability to vary her tone to respond to work';s familiar lyricism as well as dramatic side, Shoji made light of this Concerto's more obvious challenges"
Keith Potter, Independent 6th December 2004(Bruch Vn.Concerto/ S.Bychkov & WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne/London Royal Festival Hall)
"The concert began with Bruch's justly beloved, minor Violin Concerto in which the soloist was 21-years-old Sayaka Shoji, possessor of both a superb technique and of searching musicianship. There was nothing flashy or meretricious about her performance. The poetic melodies sang from the heart and she phrased the adagio - Elgarioan before the word existed - with bewitching intensity
Michael Kennedy, Sunday Telegraph 4th December 2004(Bruch Vn.Concerto/ S.Bychkov & WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne/London Royal Festival Hall)
"warm and compelling here. The Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji was an assertive soloist, one with her own ideas about the piece, as she showed in finely phrased playing. With Bychkov giving clear and detailed direction, the concerto moved naturally from its searching first movement to a hushed an poised adagio, before an unfettered finale in which everyone communicated their sense of enjoyment".
John Allison, The Times 4th December 2004(Bruch Vn.Concerto/ S.Bychkov & WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne/London Royal Festival Hall)
"The solist in Bruch's Concerto was Sayaka Shoji - weighty tone, darkly lyrical and rhapsodic in approach".
Tim Ashley, Guardian 3rd December 2004(Bruch Vn.Concerto/ S.Bychkov & WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne/London Royal Festival Hall)
A Shining Ray of Hope for the Star-Crossed Pair
"Between the two works came the young Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji in her Philharmonic debut. She leaned heavily on the lyrical qualities of the First Violin Concerto, spinning out the lines with impressive poise, refined technique and an often beautiful tone".
Jeremy Eichler, New York Times 9 th October 2004(Prokofiev Vn.Concerto No.1/ L.Maazel & New York Philharmonic/New York Avery Fischer Hall)
"Die junge Japanerin Sayaka Shoji schenkte dem fein gezeuchneten, beinahe zerbrechlichen Melos des ersten Satzes auf Ihrer Geige liebevolle Zuwendung, wusste aber auch sehr virtuos mit dem Feuer des Mittelsatzes umzugehen und das langsame Finale mit warmen, expressiven Farben bis hin zum ätherischen Verschweben auszustatten. Das hoch sensible, technisch blendende Spiel der Geigerin begleitete das Orchester mit der gebotenen Zurϋckhaltung, setzte aber dennoch die Eigenständigkeit seines Parts ins rechte Licht".
Hans Elmar Bach, Kölner Stadt Anzeiger 28th September 2004(Prokofiev Vn.Concerto/ A.Rasilainen & WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne/Cologne Philharmonie)
"She is physically slight, and the violin looks large and unwieldy on her shoulder. But that only makes her sure command of it all the more impressive. Shoji breezes through the concerto. Her tone is firm and her phrases confident. She proved a dazzler in the big cadenza".
Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 11th January 2003(Mendelssohn Vn.Concerto/ Z.Mehta & Los Angels Philharmonic/ Los Angels)
Cette artiste qui possède un don inné pour le violon n'aura pas de mal à s'imposer sur les scènes musicales européennes, à en juger par la sublimissime prestation de ce soir.
[...] Sayaka Shoji énonce ces quelques premières mesures en toute simplicité, avec délicatesse, dans un son dune transparence remarquable.
[...] Les regards, la sensibilité et la complicité entre Sayaka Shoji et Yuri Temirkanov en dirent long sur le plaisir éprouvé par chacun !
Concertonet.com
L'âme russe - Toulouse, Halle aux Grains, 03/18/2003
(Sergei Prokofiev : Concerto pour violon n°2, op. 63, Sayaka Shoji - violon)
"...an impressive UK debut...this Brahms flowed gracefully...every phrase rang sweet and true".
Peter Quantrill, The Strad, February 2002(Brahms Vn. Concerto/ Y.Temirkanov & Baltimore Symphony / London Barbican Center)
"She was an angel in a pink dress who played like the devil. The 18-year-old Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji gave Brahms's Violin Concerto the ride of its life in an elegant, angular and willful performance with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra".
James Allen, The Scotsman, 26th November 2001(Brahms Vn. Concerto/ Y.Temirkanov & Baltimore Symphony/ Glasgow Royal Concert Hall)
"Connoisseurs were overwhelmed last night at one of the finest concerts ever staged in the Royal Concert Hall. No glitz. No daredevil ride. No thrill-a-minute. Just honest to goodness quality playing. In the middle came the sensation, with the unknown 18-year-old, Sayaka Shoji, delivering a riveting account of the Brahms Violin Concerto, playing with an intellectual maturity beyond her years, and an emotional intensity that many violinists will never achieve. A star in the making. A wonderful night for aficionado".
Michael Tumelty, The Herald, 23rd November 2001(Brahms Vn. Concerto/ Y.Temirkanov & Baltimore Symphony /Glasgow Royal Concert Hall)
