Reviews Volodja Balzalorsky
Izjemen violinist… odličen, močan in navdahnjen interpret – Većerne Novosti
“Outstanding violinist Volodja Balzalorsky scores a splendid success”… a brilliant, powerful and inspired interpreter…
“Vecerne Novosti” – Slobodan Turlakov
…zelo subtilno igranje, inteligentne in občutljive interpretacije... Le Monde
Volodja Balzalorsky et Christoph Theiler, un duo aux qualites complementaires
Volodja Bazalorsky and Christoph Theiler complement one another well, with very subtle playing, intelligent and sensitive interpretations…
Jacques Lonchampt – Le Monde
...Izjemno fumetnik… nadarjen glasbenik... Bassa Romagna
An extremely fine artist…a gifted musician…
“Bassa Romagna” – Salvatore Grillo
Fanfare…V primerjavi s surovo energijo Isaaca Sterna se zdi Balžalorskyjeva v Franckovi sonati nadvse subtilna…
…Compared to Isaac Stern’s raw energy, Balžalorsky’s seems super-subtleized in Franck Sonata…
Fanfare Review: CD Volodja Balzalorsky Live in Concert Vol. 2: Live in Belgrade
who could strike sparks in the last movement of Mendelssohn’s Concerto but who, as a composer, could also lead violinists through rhapsodic serpentine chromaticism in his own solo violin sonatas).
All Music Guide…Balzalorskyjeva izvedba se zlahka kosa z mnogimi boljšimi mednarodnimi izvedbami zadnjih 20 let in je vredna poslušanja.…
…Balzalorsky is an intelligent artist with sweet tone and a smooth technique. In this 1989 issue from the International Chamber Music Series of Maribor, Balzalorsky’s Dvorak Sonatina is delightful and soulful, his Debussy Sonata is light and ethereal, his Paganini Cantabile is ripe and tender, and his Srebotnjak Sonata No. 1 is powerful and persuasive.
With the sympathetic accompaniment of German pianist Christoph Theiler, Balzalorsky’s performances are easily in the same league as many of the better international performances of the past 20 years and well worth hearing…“All Music Guide” Reviewed by James Leonard
New York Concert Review – Vrhunska zasedba, Klavirski trio Amael!..
Amael Trio brought unity and vigor to both old and new…The synchronization was marvelous, particularly in the string doublings….
All three blended in a way that was rich and warm, but also translucent, like the sonic equivalent of amber…It was a fulfilling musical evening, and this is a superb ensemble
The New Your Concert Review…Evznemirljivo ustvarjanje glasbe
“New York Concert Review – January 2006”: Volodja’s performance at Carnegie Hall in September 2005
Volodja Balzalorsky in a performance of Janacek, Skerjanc and Brahms:
…exciting music making…
by Harry Saltzman
…osupljiva virtuoznost in ganljiva energija… polnokrvni ton, a tudi spoštljiva jasnost strukture… “The Classical Source Review”
.. with stunning virtuosity and gripping energy…
…In the hands of this subtle yet communicative artist the violin came alive, with pointed pizzicato, incisive double-stopping and rapid passagework adding to the relentless excitement… .
..a superb Beethoven’s ‘Archduke’, full-blooded in tone yet also respectful of structural clarity.
Magical colouring of modulations, highlighting of luminescent thrilling, and fresh shades…
Pride of place was accorded to Maestoso lugubre by one of the leading Slovenian composers, Lucijan Marija Skerjanc (1900-1973), a multi-talented musician, pianist, conductor, and composer, who composed it when he was thirty-five, as the finale of a 45-minute work.
The movement starts with a Hindemith, like fugue based on a widely contoured subject, introduced here with strident resonance by Damir Hamidulin.
The work evolves a more opulent chromatic impressionism reminiscent of Delius, with crunchy piano chords overlaid by expansive, sustained melodies in octaves for strings.
There is a funereal dotted-rhythm procession assigned to the piano at the mid-point, which Tatjana Ognjanovic projected with compelling character, highlighting the biting, ostinato-laden bittersweet flavour suggestive of Shostakovich.
In the final section there are several passages of exquisite beauty which counter the general dour mood, but the ending is a darker procession for piano alone.
In a more experimental atonal idiom was Something Wild by Nenad First (born 1964):
… an intriguing work that Volodja Balzalorsky projected with stunning virtuosity and gripping energy.
In the hands of this subtle yet communicative artist the violin came alive, with pointed pizzicato, incisive double-stopping and rapid passagework adding to the relentless excitement.
A more radical exploration of the piano trio emerged in Five Short Pieces by Milko Lazar (born 1965).
Composed in 2001 for the Amael musicians, each of the movements is vividly contrasted and finely crafted, alert to a range of influences including minimalism, jazz harmonies and rock rhythms.
The two slow movements, second and fourth, evoked poetic imagery in the spare use of tiny ostinato patterns and wisps of melody;
in the second (Largo lamento) an atmospheric texture of high violin and low piano chords frame an elegiac cello melody.
The faster movements radiated energy and panache, with quick-fire repeated-note motifs and fizzing syncopations.
The concert concluded with a superb Beethoven’s ‘Archduke’,full-blooded in tone yet also respectful of structural clarity.
Magical colouring of modulations, highlighting of luminescent trilling, and fresh shades, lifted this performance above the usual.
The fast tempo for the scherzo contributed to its lively imitative dialogues, and also the syncopations of the jocular finale.
Yet the Variations of the third movement was the highpoint, a transcendent, calm flowing beauty of tone, the rhetoric involving and absorbing. The Amael Piano Trio was on top form and will be welcome in London again and often.
Reviewed by: Malcolm Miller
Volodja Balzalorsky & Amael Piano Trio in London
“New York Concert Review” – Klavirski trio Amael je vrhunska zasedba!..
Amael Trio brought unity and vigor to both old and new…The synchronization was marvelous, particularly in the string doublings….
All three blended in a way that was rich and warm, but also translucent, like the sonic equivalent of amber…It was a fulfilling musical evening, and this is a superb ensemble
The Amael Trio, based in Ljubljana, states in its biography (in addition to mentioning traditional repertoire) that it is dedicated to performing contemporary works, and to the promotion, internationally, of Slovenian composers of piano trio literature.
They did an excellent job of just that in their Saturday evening program, and though only the pianist and violinist are natives of Slovenia (the cellist hailing from Russia), they represented Slovenia with honor.
They might add to their biography that they also promote some non-trio works, as there was a violin solo included on their program;
considering that each of the three players is of such strong individual ability, they might want to incorporate some solos or duos by the pianist and cellist as well. It would be a welcome addition.
The concert opened in an intensely dark vein with ‘Maestoso Lugubre’ by Lucijan Marija Skerjanc (1900-1973). Composed in 1935, the work is actually the last movement of this composer’s Piano Trio, though Skerjanc himself suggested that it be performed as a single work.
From the very first solo cello notes by Damir Hamidullin, a somber lyricism pervaded, deepened by each player’s entry.
The synchronization was marvelous, particularly in the string doublings (which can so easily sound ‘off’ but were never so).
All three blended in a way that was rich and warm, but also translucent, like the sonic equivalent of amber. The pianist, Tatjana Ognjanovic, managed to be the perfect foundation and ‘glue’ for the trio without any suggestion of dominance even with the Steinway lid up.
Violinist Volodja Balzalorsky came onstage next as soloist in ‘Something Wild’ by Nenad First (b. 1964). Mr. First, though born in Zagreb, lives and works in Slovenia.
Something wild is pretty much what its title suggests, a rhapsodic, virtuoso violin showpiece with a rough, rustic streak (plenty of fifths) and dizzying speed (think Bartok meets Paganini).
Seemingly fiendishly difficult in parts, it was the compulsory violin work in the 2005 International Johannes Brahms Competition.
….it was an intriguing break from the trios and certainly an opportunity for Mr. Balzalorsky to shine.
The first half concluded with the trio performing ‘Five pieces’ by Milko Lazar (b. 1965). Dedicated to the trio in 2001, it is a work of great variety within concise, classically restrained movements, each contrasting with the last (arranged as fast, slow, fast, slow, fast).
The performance was one of extreme precision, and it would be hard to imagine it being played more convincingly than it was by this tightly knit ensemble.
Beethoven’s ‘Arcduke’ Trio, a masterpiece that is reason enough to go to any concert, was given a fine, mostly polished performance for the evening’s close.
Performers are unfortunately subject to the accumulated preferences of a listener when performing such an established masterpiece, and I felt it was slightly unsettled in parts.
All in all, though, it was a fulfilling musical evening, and this is a superb ensemble, which I hope to hear again.
-Rorianne Schrade for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
Volodja Balzalorsky & Amael Piano Trio at Carnegie Hall
Reviews-Volodja Balzalorsky
Fanfare
…Compared to Isaac Stern’s raw energy, Balžalorsky’s seems super-subtleized in Franck Sonata…
Fanfare Review: CD Volodja Balzalorsky Live in Concert Vol. 2: Live in Belgrade
who could strike sparks in the last movement of Mendelssohn’s Concerto but who, as a composer, could also lead violinists through rhapsodic serpentine chromaticism in his own solo violin sonatas).
In Franck’s Sonata, one of the repertoire’s staples (Heifetz chose it for his last recital), they invite comparison with the great performances through the history of recording.
But Balzalorsky’s ability to turn and twist his tone, and the performers’ joint sympathy for Franck’s expressive harmonic language (think of the haunting ninth chords at the opening of the piano part) and surging passages give them a strong foothold in the first movement.
They slightly hold back climaxes, making them just bearable, and exhibit a wide dynamic range in exploring the movement’s subtleties. In the engineers’ recorded sound, Balzalorsky’s entrance in the second movement seems almost cavernous, but they’ve by no means diminished the urgency of his reading.
Compared to Isaac Stern’s raw energy, Balzalorsky’s seems super-subtleized in this sonata (Franck wrote it as a wedding present for Eugène Ysaÿe)….,
Balzalorsky and Haas know how to fall back before springing (as they do at the movement’s end), and the effect can be overwhelming.
The duo opens the canonic last movement at a somewhat slow tempo, but Balzalorsky plays with a subtly varied tone that continuously enlivens the musical interest until their shattering final pages.
After the intensity of their reading of Franck’s finale, Lucjan Marija Skerjanc’s two-minute Liricna bagatela comes as sweetmeat. (According to the jewel case, Skerjanc lived between 1900 and 1973.)
If Balzalorsky’s tone doesn’t always sound lush, that may be partly due to the engineering, but he also may not seek tonal opulence, as do many, as an end in itself. For the inherent interest of the program and for the performances themselves, the release deserves a high recommendation.
Robert Maxham
This article originally appeared in Issue 33:6 (July/Aug 2010) of Fanfare Magazine.
Reviews-Volodja Balzalorsky
…Debussy’s Sonata in Balžalorsky’s performance sounds slinky and ethereal in its first movement, with appropriately reedy and highly inflected tone production,
I’ve watched David Oistrakh playing (on VHS, Kultur) many times, but he didn’t seem to make as many timbral adjustments (neither did Isaac Stern in his recording from 1960) as does Balžalorsky in order to realize the movement’s full potential…
Fanfare Review: CD Volodja Balzalorsky Live in Conceret Vol. 3: Live in Maribor
Fanfare
All Music Guide
…Balzalorsky’s performances are easily in the same league as many of the better international performances of the past 20 years and well worth hearing…
“AMG – All Music Guide”: CD Review “Live in Maribor – Volodja Balzalorsky Live in Concert Vol. 3”
“All Music Guide” Reviewed by James Leonard
Radio Beograd
“Volodja Balzalorsky & Amael Piano Trio in Belgrade” A great artistic event of valuable guest artists
“Radio Belgrade” October 25 2010
Playing in some parts of the “Nocturne” by Shubert on the very threshold of hearing, members of the trio Amael here demonstrated exceptional subtlety of mutual listening, like the kind of prompt with silence…
After only a brief introduction of the first paragraph, in which, after performing a solo piano, imperceptibly interfere section violin and cello, it was clear from how much restraint, lyricism and, why not, the nobility, the AmaelPiano Trio interpret Beethoven’s music.
Reviewed by Ivana Komadina
RECENZIJE – Druge ocene iz različnih držav
The Austin Chronicle: Volodja Balzalorsky at SXSW Festival
by Doug Freeman
“New York Concert Review – January 2007”: Amael Piano Trio at Carnegie Hall, June 2 2006
Amael Piano Trio is a very fine group. The stringplayer’s intonation is impeccable, their tone is rich, beautiful and homogeneous and can vary from floating delicacy to vibrant full bodied sonorousness…
A large multi-national audience rewarded the performers with warm approval and prolonged ovations.
by Edith Eisler”New York Concert Review”: Volodja’s performances at Carnegie Hall
by Edith Eisler and Harry Saltzman
“New York Concert Review – January 2006”: Volodja’s performance at Carnegie Hall in September 2005
Volodja Balzalorsky in a performance of Janacek, Skerjanc and Brahms:
…exciting music making…
Harry Saltzman
Volodja Bazalorsky and Christoph Theiler complement one another well, with very subtle playing, intelligent and sensitive interpretations…
Jacques Lonchampt – Le Monde
“Outstanding violinist Volodja Balzalorsky scores a splendid success”… a brilliant, powerful and inspired interpreter…
“Vecerne Novosti” – Slobodan Turlakov
An extremely fine artist…a gifted musician…
“Bassa Romagna” – Salvatore Grillo
“Music.download.com”: It’s a brilliant bit of retroaction that gives the works a new vitality and presence
Editor’s Reviews: about recordings of Volodja and Amael Piano Trio at download.com
“Music.download.com 2006”: about Amael Piano Trio
This award-winning Slovenian group plays its renditions of 19th-century German and Russian luminaries with a masterful cross of red-blooded force and delicate restraint.
It’s that balance of vigor and vulnerability that distinguishes these works, this trio hits all the right notes.
“Music.download.com 2005”
Slovenian concert violinist Volodja Balzalorsky puts his instrument front and center to beautifully interpret classical works from the Romanticism and Impressionism eras.
With only piano as accompaniment, he elevates the material with his intuitive and refined technique.
Volodja at 12th Kromeriz Fest presenting Slovenian music and in Prague with Percussion Plus Ensemble
“Composer USA” and “Opus Musicum” by Jan Grossman / “DNES-Mlada fronta”, Prague: by Wanda Dobrovska
“DNES-Mlada fronta”, Prague: by Wanda Dobrovska
Volodja with Percussion Plus Project in Prague:
Volodja Balzalorsky performed Fiser’s “Crux” from memory, thus bringing to the performance an impulse of experienced, virtuoso immediacy…every thing that he attempts is entirely concentrated in the moment…
Reviews-Volodja Balzalorsky
OTHER REVIEWS / AMAEL TRIO REVIEWS: various languages with some translations
New York Concert Rerview, Fränkisher Tag, Neue Musick Zeitschrift, NÖ Nachrichten, Die Presse, CD journal Regio, Neuburger Rundshau, La voce del popolo, all Ribalta, Bassa Romagna, Il Resto del Carlino, Vjesnik, Vjecerni list, Politika, Delo, Dnevnik, Radio Slovenia etc.
“ALLA RIBALTA” – Alberto Spano (Special Italian Music Magazin)
Non e piu il caso di parlare di interpreti o di promesse nel caso di Volodja Balzalorsky, violinista sloveno ascoltato nei ciclo “Musica con…”
in duo col pianista tedesco Christoph Theiler in Dvorak, Debussy e Brahms: una cavata di eccezionale bellezza e dal timbro di particolarissimo colore, apparso a Bologna come una meteora con il suo bagaglio di emozioni, di languori, di virtuosismo e temperamento, seguito dalla tastiera prontissima di Theiler.
Un pianista toscano molto promettente (bella mano, suono calibrato, ottimo curriculum) succedeva a Balzalorsky.
“OKO” – Zagreb
The brilliant violinist Volodja Balzalorsky focused the audience’s attention on his stunning interpretation of Brahms, Bloch and Lipovsek.
“BASSA ROMAGNA” – Salvatore Grillo
Due vallidissimi artisti Volodja Balzalorsky il sloveno Volodja Balzalorsky ed il tedesco Christoph Theiler -Volodja Balzalorsky dispone di una tecnica raguarevolle e di potenza di suono, arricchiti da una sensibilita espressiva e da uno temperamento interpretativo di grande reliefo, che ne fanno uno dei violinisti piu noti nel suo paese.
Il partner al pianoforte non era certamente da mano, in quanto a talento interpretativo e ad accuratezza esecutiva:
Theiler e capace di alternare il suono scrrevole e nuance alle tempestose incursioni sulla tastiera.
L’insieme si fa apprezzare per la capacita di fondersi in un dialogo esuberante, ma emotivamente ben controllato, ove chiarezza e semplicita si intrecciano con dinamismo appasionato.
“NEUE MUSIC ZEITSCHRIFT” – Claus-Henning Bachmann
Georg Crumb Festival-European Month of Culture (Ljubljana 1997)
Das Finalkonzert, von Musikern (Ensemble Ouverture) exzellent musiziert, bot als Hauptwerk “Black Angels” (Volodja Balzalorsky, 1.violine, Irina Kovorkova, 2.violine, Svava Bernhartsdottir, viola, Igor Mitrovic, cello)
eine wiederum anspielungsreiche, spirituell aufbereitete Reise der Seele als Auseinnandersetzung mit dem Vietnam-Krieg. Die Begrenzungen dieser Musiksprache waren unüberhörbar, doch eine kleine, von Crumb offenbar gut eingestimmte Gemeinde lauschte wie gebannt.
“FRÄNKISHER TAG” – Volodja Balzalorsky und Christoph Theiler präsentieren sich als ideales Duo, bewiesen künstleriche Übereinstimmung und faszinierten beim Vortrag des gut gewälten Programmes.
…Ebenfalls aus Wien war der hervorragende Geiger Volodja Balzalorsky gekommen um mit erstaunlicher Interpretationskunst zu begeistern…Die Wiedergabe dieses inhaltsreichen Werkes (J.Brahms-Sonate Op.100) war eine Meisterleistung…
Nach spontanem und langanhaltendem Beifall gab es noch zwei Zugaben: Es ertönte Scherzo in c-moll von Johannes Brahms und Sarabande von Jean Maria Leclair in andachtsvoller
Schönheit…
Fränkischer Tag – Otto Feneberg
“DNEVNIK”- Ljubljana
“An important artistic event” throughout the evening, we enjoyed the masterly interpretation…an exceptional harmony of ease and authenticity of performance…
“NÖ Nachrichten”
Ost-West Musik Fest: A. Vivaldi-Konzert für vier violinen:
Volodja Balzalorsky, Rusne Mataityte, Valery Oistrach und Gernot Winischofer leisteten ganze Arbeit. “Solisten Quartett” verstand es, die zahlreichen Zuchörer-circa drei hundert füllten das Und-Kloster fast zur Gänze zu begeistern.
“DIE PRESSE” – Walter Dobner
…Ausdruckvolle strömende Kantilene…
CD-Journal “REGIO”, Juliheft 2001
Freiburger Barocksolisten-Volodja Balzalorsky als Konzertmeister und Dirigent
“Geerdete Kraft und filigranes Spiel”
Diese CD ist im Rahmen der 53. Neuburger Barockkonzerte 2000 entstanden. Auch für Musikkenner lesenswert ist die ausführliche Beschreibung, die der CD beiliegt.
Die renommierten Freiburger Barocksolisten (Künsterische Leitung- Günter Theis, Konzermeister und Dirigent-Volodja Balzalorsky) präsentieren Werke von
Johann Sebastian Bach (Brandenburgisches Konzert F-Dur)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Konzert G-Dur für Quernöte und Orchester). Ludwig van Beethoven (Variationen über Mozarts “Reich mir die Hand zum Bunde”)
und Johann Andreas Amon (Quintett G-Dur für Flöte, Viola und Streichertrio).
Temperamentvoll, effektbewusst und frisch musiziert das Ensemble, man spürt beim Hören die Körperbewegungen der Musiker, den sanften Schwung – die Frei burger Barocksolisten spielen, wann immer möglich, im Stehen.
Von geerdeter Kraft bis zum eleganten, filigranen Spiel ?auf den Zehenspitzen” ist alles im Gestaltungsrahmen des Ensembles möglich, und eine grö ßere Differenziertheit in den Details ist kaum noch denkbar.
Da schlägt es elektrische Funken, wenn Amon über seine Marcia -Allegretto” schreibt, und das Adagio bei Bach ist von verträumter Selbstvergessen heit geprägt. Eine Art Verführungskraft wohnt den Interpretationen inne.
Die har monische Finesse demonstriert überzeu gend die dreifache Meisterschaft der Frei burger Barocksolisten sowohl in technischer Ausführung. Gestaltungskunst und Stilistik.
“NEUBURGER RUNDSCHAU”
Artikel am 22.09.2000: Als Konzertmeister füngiert im zweiten Jahr hintereinander Volodja Balzalorsky, einer der führenden Geiger Sloweniens und Professor für Violine an der Musikhochschule in Ljubljana.
Mit Günter Theis verbindet ihn mehrjährige gemeinsame Arbeit als Dozenten beim Walisischen Musikfest in England.
“VECERNJI LIST”, Croatia
The playing of Volodja Balzalorsky, the internationally renowned Slovene violinist and Christoph Theiler, the excellent German pianist, was very refined.
In a perfect collaboration, Balzalorsky and Theiler articulated a tastefully – measured dynamic with the emphasis on perfect piano work, its cultured solo entrances perfectly clear.
Everything sounded harmonious and peaceful under Balzalorsky’s and Theiler’s fingers. The concert was very well received and was rewarded with sincere applause from the large Zagreb crowd at the end.
Reviews-Volodja Balzalorsky
AMAEL PIANO TRIO: REVIEWS
“NEW YORK CONCERT REVIEW – Januar 2007”: Amael Piano Trio at Carnegie Hall, June 2 2006
Amael Piano Trio is a very fine group.
The stringplayer’s intonation is impeccable, their tone is rich, beautiful and homogeneous and can vary from floating delicacy to vibrant full bodied sonorousness…
A large multi-national audience rewarded the performers with warm approval and prolonged ovations.
by Edith Eisler
“RADIO SLOVENIA”
…perfect symbiosis of intellect and passion…
Radio Slovenia
“VJESNIK”, Croatia
Pianist Tatjana Ognjanovic, violinist Volodja Balzalorsky and cellist Damir Hamidulin collaborate on an extremely high level of musical communication.
These three excellent musicians, all of them masters of their instrument, amalgamate their respective expertise in a high-quality musical experience…
….in Brahms the sound displayed luxury, power and temperament, confirming the high technical level, the accomplished interpretation and the excellent musicianship of this leading Slovenian trio.
“Music.download.com 2006”
This award-winning Slovenian group plays its renditions of 19th-century German and Russian luminaries with a masterful cross of red-blooded force and delicate restraint. It’s that balance of vigor and vulnerability that distinguishes these works, this trio hits all the right notes.
