Vladimir Spivakov


	"Conductor Spivakov accentuated the comparison through his very tight yet sensually expressive direction..." Rick Kardonne, The Jewish Tribune Toronto, May 13, 2009 "Spivakov and company are Russian to their souls. Their glorious sound is big but not vulgar. In the quiet moments, the music shimmers, then rises again like a volcanic rush of excitement, sweeping every listener with it. The maestro builds climaxes around tension, lengthening pauses just long enough so that the audience is panting for the next note." Paula Citron, Classical 96.3 FM Toronto, April 28, 2009 "The orchestra also offered a richly wrought performance (enhanced by fine wind playing) of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 9..." Vivien Schweitzer, The New York Times, April 27, 2009 "Spivakov's conducting style is so dapper and so balletic...His Tchaikovsky was classic: so eloquent and so cogently shaped that it reminded us what a superb work it is." Ken Winters, The Globe and Mail, April 30, 2009 "...the Philharmonic offered two beautifully contrasting Romeo and Juliet [works], first Tchaikovsky's sublime overture, then four razor-sharp movements from two Prokofiev suites." Rebecca J. Ritzel, The Washington Post, April 27, 2009 "...He [Spivakov] managed his massive forces with crisp efficiency and put on display the orchestra's huge barrel-chested sound." Jeremy Eichler, The Boston Globe, April 25, 2009 "Spivakov gave the orchestra and Rachmaninov's distinctive modality full rein. [He] and the orchestra gave a delicate, perfumed, but not pallid reading." Jeffrey Gantz, Boston Phoenix, April 23, 2009 "...Spivakov and his players delivered the goods magnificently. [He] showed he clearly has a close-knit relationship with his orchestra in Stravinsky's Divertimento, The Fairy's Kiss. Enthusiastic ovations brought Spivakov back for a generous supply of encores." Lawrence A. Johnson, The Miami Herald, April 12, 2009 "Even Stravinsky's Fairy's Kiss: Divertimento was captivating in its own way thanks to the strong musicianship and leadership of both the orchestra and Spivakov. Spivakov and his musicians achieved a string sound of luscious beauty with a bejeweled shining edge. Wednesday evening inspired us to name the National Philharmonic of Russia the best of them all!" Gayle Williams, Sarasota Herald Tribune, April 10, 2009 "Under Maestro Vladimir Spivakov, the orchestra delivered Strauss's late-Romantic harmonies and long lines in a suitably wistful and understated manner...this orchestra played with all the discipline and style of a veteran ensemble." Scott Warfield, Orlando Sentinel, April 6, 2009 "Spivakov led a lively account of this brilliant curtain-raiser, which nicely showcased the nimble Philharmonic strings." Lawrence A. Johnson, The Miami Herald, April 9, 2007 "Conducted by Vladimir Spivakov...the 107-piece orchestra opened with a soaring performance of Shostakovich's Festive Overture that displayed its cohesive force and great nimbleness." Laura Stewart, Daytona Beach News Journal, April 8, 2007 "Both vibrant and controlled under Maestro Vladimir Spivakov...[he] wrapped a cocoon of disciplined cacophony around the soloist with the opening movement's main theme, parting easily for the piano's answering subject." Jack Zint, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, April 7, 2007 "If Spivakov, famous as a violinist, was an ideal accompanist, he was also a terrific parade grand marshal." Sharon McDaniel, The Palm Beach Post, April 6, 2007 "Maestro Spivakov gets what he wants from his forces: dramatic dynamics, nimble tempos, legato brass singing and musical might. Spivakov sealed the captivating deal with the Symphony No. 5 in E minor...he tapped into emotional fraughtness honestly without dwelling on it. Heeding the clear vision of Spivakov, its [National Philharmonic of Russia] members play with a cohesiveness and insight that belies their short history, as if they have been doing this forever." Margaret Shakespeare, Orlando Sentinel, March 30, 2007 "Spivakov and company had an abandon that made the music's drama hit home. The sheer range of the orchestra's sounds, from murmurs to flashes, played up the phantasmagorical streak that runs through the whole piece." Steven Brown, The Charlotte Observer, March 28, 2007 "The highlight of the afternoon was the concerto's [Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2] celebrated Adagio, where Spivakov created a gossamer halo around Kern's luscious phrases." Robert Battey, The Washington Post, March 26, 2007 "Spivakov seemed to know just what we wanted. With a dancer's grace...Spivakov built up and finely honed the many dramatic crises of this work. Spivakov and orchestra battled their way through famous melodies and explosive releases of energy to a rousing climax." John Frayne, The News-Gazette, March 16, 2007 "Spivakov relied a great deal on virtuosity...favored thick textures...and he demonstrated a love for a good earth-rattling climax. [He] left no room for uncertainty." Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2007 "[the Philharmonic's] performance...under the baton of Vladimir Spivakov was exceptional and often brilliant, with moments so vivid that the music felt almost wet, like fresh paint on a canvas...the credit has to lie with Spivakov whose conducting Sunday in San Francisco went beyond refined to cartographic, his balletic gestures delineating the musical landscape. A clean arc of the wand summoned golden glazings of strings; a snap of the wrist summoned a bolt of percussion." Richard Scheinin, The Mercury News, February 27, 2007 "Brilliant bowing, wide shining tone, splendid intonation and a vibrato as sweet as molten sugar." The New York Times "As a student of the Russian Romantic tradition, he has learned the reproduce wide, shining, heavily vibrating string tone and long legato phrasing, and to do both with utter ease and accomplishment. In Mr. Spivakov's hands, Mozart leaps a century ahead and, in its new and opulent furnishings, seems right at home. One remembers the first movement's big, ringing cadenza and the smooth, vibrato-laden solos of the Andante." The New York Times "His playing was godlike, creating sound perhaps no other living violinist has ever before successfully attempted." Daily News (New York) "A virtuoso violinist and chamber musician of distinction. Not since David Oistrakh's first appearance here has there been such a supercharged debut. He has everything." Chicago Tribune "A regal, elegant performer, expansive in gesture and tone..." New York Post "The violinist is both elegant and exuberant...There was a nice, almost conversational quality in some of the lyric passages, and plenty of virtuosity everywhere." The Boston Globe "...a refined and aristocratic artist. His playing is not only extraordinarily persuasive, even exhilarating on a purely technical level, but bespeaks a refined and probing musical mind." The New York Times "His suave reading of the Bach Concerto exhibited the highest level of virtuosity." The Los Angeles Times "He can be justly compared to Heifetz." San Francisco Chronicle "A musician whose virtues lie in the direction of correctness, restraint and precision. A spotless technician with dead center intonation and a tight vibrato that emphasized his pure tone." The New York Times "Spivakov played the solo violin part, executing Hartmann's fervid pirouettes in high style and giving a jolt of entertainment." Newsday "World-famous as violinist and conductor, Vladimir Spivakov maintains that his humanitarian endeavours are 'probably the most important thing I do. The biggest deficit in the world today is not a deficit of energy; it is a deficit of love.' " Toronto Star Read entire article "As its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Spivakov is quick to remind his audiences that he is a violinist first, and his strong performance of a work that is darkly evocative of the Brezhnev era was memorable on many levels. Alfred Schnittke's Sonata for Violin, Chamber Orchestra and Harpsichord (1968) flirts with the 12-tone method and yet is stuffed with dance tunes, waltzes and a cozy Romantic-style expressiveness that makes it too mercurial for simple name tags. "Drawing on a pastiche of styles, Schnittke effectively incorporates a rickety old harpsichord into his strident, modern vernacular. This weird effect is heightened by the wild explorations Spivakov undertakes on his violin, alternating between an expressive, silken tone to a brittle and abrasive one. Rarely could a listener get comfortable in his seat without a new narrative direction emerging. Given bracing accompaniment all around, Spivakov was thoroughly convincing as the chameleon instrumentalist, making Schnittke's "polystylistic" concerto both persuasive and rewarding." Chicago Classical Review "I was delighted to hear Alfred Schnittke's Violin Sonata No. 1 (in the version with chamber orchestra and harpsichord) on the second half of Sunday's program. The work is a riveting example of the composer's century-hopping 'polystylism.' The violin is assigned high-minded flights of eloquence but Schnittke also delights in nose-thumbing quotations of 'La Cucaracha.' Spivakov was commanding in his turn as violin soloist." Boston Globe "In a highly appealing program of Russian and classical works last Friday night at the Music Center at Strathmore, Spivakov & Co. displayed extraordinarily high musical polish. In Boccherini's Symphony No. 4, every phrase had a shape, a color, and a concept behind it. The dynamic range was startlingly wide, with stinging accents and caressing lyrical sections." The Washington Post "First-rate string players honed by Vladimir Spivakov to a rare fineness of ensemble. The smoothly delivered program was a demonstration of Russian string style – fulltoned, vibrant 'into the string' playing at its best and most refined. What the violinist has achieved with this group is remarkable, and the Virtuosi will certainly be welcome wherever they tour." The New York Times "In the Bach, the ensemble combined the clean tempos and terraced dynamics of the traditional baroque with subtle phrasing and a romantically rich, deliciously deep string sound. The Tchaikovsky Serenade was equally magnificent. The Virtuosi string players have a sound that would put many full orchestras to shame, and under Spivakov are an impressive and dramatically unified ensemble." Washington Post "Spivakov's Moscow Virtuosi shined brightly in its tonal splendor, at once rich and warm. As soloist in the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante, he captured the intimacy of the dialogue as well as its urgency." Seattle Post Intelligencer "At the helm of the Moscow Virtuosi is noted Vladimir Spivakov, who chose a program which underscored the group's collective sensibility rather than his own virtuosity. In doing so, he revealed not only considerable conducting talent but a high-minded sense of artistic priorities." New York Post "The great violinist has the most exquisite gift of musicality; the beauty of his sound is wed to an exemplary clarity of phrasing and an unsurpassed intensity of feeling." Il Corriere Della Sera (Italy)