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A World of Comments
HIGHLIGHTS:
"Glatzer fiddles and burns simultaneously: a masterful performance..."
The Independent, London, England
"Violinist's performance electrifying..."
Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa, Canada
"A celebration of violin virtuosity...quite incredibly breathtaking..."
Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, Australia
"Glatzer is a most remarkable violinist..."
The Scotsman, Edinburgh, Scotland
"His virtuosity is simply breathtaking..."
Auckland Star, New Zealand
"Glatzer is a virtuoso..."
Dagblad, Denmark
"A devil of a violinist..."
Hong Kong Standard, Hong Kong, China
"Pure soul of the violin..."
The Mercury, Durban, South Africa
IN DEPTH:
USA - WASHINGTON POST
Technical difficulties don't seem to faze Glatzer. He played with such ease that I found myself thinking that maybe the Caprices weren't so hard after all... What music he made of pieces that most other violinists would be happy just to get through in one piece. It was a phenomenal performance.
USA - FORT WORTH STAR - TELEGRAM
This is scholarly and aristocratic playing. As to technical attributes the playing exhibits an appealing smoothness and lyricism, completely avoiding the heavy-handed chordal attacks so often heard in the unaccompanied works of Bach. There is another manifestation so rare that it merits attention. That is an adjustment of the speed or even the presence of vibrato according to the character of the piece in hand. Intonation is infallible... We do not hesitate to say that this was as satisfying Bach playing as we have heard.
ENGLAND - OXFORD MAIL
Glatzer is a world-class violinist with such a wealth of instrumental beauty at his disposal that one would be tempted to dwell upon his playing exclusively were it not for the fact that his musicianship is of the kind that directs the attention to the music itself... The American violinist's technique would be impressive enough were it not the vehicle for a tone quality of the utmost purity and variety, with both serving lofty musical ends... He has that rare gift of being able to play a cantilena melody and leave it alone, so that its contours emerge smooth and undisturbed. Under this lies his own particular warmth, expressive without a hint of sentimentality, sincere without aggressiveness. Add to these elements his clear grasp of formal principles and sense of musical argument, and you have that rarity, the complete violinist.
SOUTH AFRICA - THE MERCURY, Durban
Mercifully free of a glamorous cutting edge or the liberal vibrato ketchup that lesser violinists cover poor tone and intonation with, Mr. Glatzer gave us the pure sound, and therefore the pure soul, of the violin. He also gave us something of himself in every bar of music, bringing passion and intellectual muscle to a programme of Bach, Beethoven, Bloch and Brahms... The finest work of the evening was Bach's solo Partita in E Major. Mr. Glatzer and his Guarneri were as one, the personality of the composer speaking through the consummate artistry of the performer.
CANADA - THE CITIZEN, Ottawa
In the Tempo di ciaccona movement of the 1944 Bartok Sonata, the composer's last completed work, Glatzer conveyed a sense of agitation and urgency right from the start, again the sense of the breaking point. It was not a question of brutal strength often associated with Bartok, but rather of a piercing tension, implosive and explosive at one and the same time. In all this Glatzer brought forth a certain meditative quality, a notion of real solitude, with a true poignancy and discretion. This movement, slightly punctuated by pizzicati, was given a close that stopped the breath. After an intense, if not openly vehement, interpretation of the four-part Fuga, Glatzer gave us the Melodia movement where he was really in his "element", his playing as pure and glistening as mercury, yet never cold.
And for a change of climate, several of the 24 Paganini Caprices. How many nervous rabbits can the most astute magician pull out of the hat and grasp by the ears in one sweep, leaving us neophytes to gasp in charmingly predictable unison? And audibly gasp we did: Glatzer performed astounding digital feats, traversing all the treacheries of double and triple stops, fluttering tremolos, arpeggios, double-stop trills, sixths and tenths leaping over intervening strings, left-hand pizzicati, octave trills and what have you. One man, one violin and one remarkable recital.
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© Copyright 2004 Jack Glatzer. All international rights reserved.
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