ITAMAR ZORMAN, violin
QUOTES
Mendelssohn Concerto with David Robertson/Israel Philharmonic
The amount of "speaking" that was heard from Zorman's violin was astounding. It seemed like he was reading the piece at that moment, understanding the piece in his way, and then communicated it to us. As an encore, his performance of Joseph Achron's "Hebrew Melody" went straight to the heart: a wonderful model of good taste and emotion without being overly sentimental."
—Ha'aretz
Sibelius Concerto
"Both the soloist and the orchestra interpreted the lyrical introduction in the first movement of the Sibelius Concerto with exceeding subtlety and sensitivity....the seeming ease and effortlessness, with which he tackled the occasionally extremely difficult passages was more than impressive. In the second movement, the violinist fascinated with his wonderfully rich and at the same time longingly singing sound, while in the last movement, with its hammering rhythms and folkloristic motives, he had yet another opportunity to demonstrate his commanding virtuosity.
—Badische Nachrichten
Berg Concerto
“In Berg’s Violin Concerto....Itamar Zorman, a wiry, poised Israeli violinist whose splendid playing conveyed precisely the right mix of tenderness, agitation and spiritual succor."
—The New York Times
"In the marble and red-velvet cocoon of the Philharmonia concert hall in St Petersburg Itamar Zorman's performance of the Berg Concerto was astonishingly intimate and intense."
—The Guardian
“He is an exceptional violinist with broad depth to his sound. Zorman hurdled the tricky intervals and complex language of the concerto with ease and a scintillating musicality.”
—The Atlanta Journal Constitution
In Recital
"This young man has a real thing for silence. A reputation to be a “violin whisperer” precedes him. And the young Israeli can also narrate, bathe in perfume and nostalgia, as the 2011 Tchaikovsky winner proves in small Tchaikovsky pieces. It looks like the succession to Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Shlomo Mintz is guaranteed.....The inevitability with which Zorman heads for the climaxes shows artistic mastery. And: the “whisperer” is also quite capable of properly digging in."
—Morgenweb.de
"I allowed myself to cry. I wasn't the only one.......I was able to understand finally why the Goettinger Tageblatt described Zorman as a "true virtuoso of emotions."
—Culture Map Houston
"For me, Brahms is the ultimate test of an artist's capacity for romantic musicality, and Zorman ...met the challenge with confidence to spare. Achieving a rich, majestic sound in the Adagio, moving from a ballet-like grace to a tumbling fervor in the Scherzo, and rocking together through the alternately romantic and religious passions of the "Presto agitato" finale, Zorman and Yi told a story I didn't want to end.'
—classicalite.com
"The dancelike, spirited last movement, riddled with violinistic ingenuities, was presented by Zorman with seeming effortlessness and with intense musical abandon and prompted a euphoric response from the audience."
—Badener Tagblatt
“Itamar Zorman enchanted the audience with a velvety, tenderly surrounding sound ... Tchaikovsky's Valse Scherzo in his interpretation evoked the memory of Leopold Auer, the performer of many violin works by the Russian composer."
—Rossiyskaya Gazeta
Messaien Quartet for the End of Time with Uchida
"...the string players’ phrasing showed how much minute attention goes into making its melodies seem vast and oceanic...This was the best performance I have heard of the quartet, and one of the very best things I’ve heard during two decades of Marlboro visits."
—Boston Globe