Fred Kirshnit of the New York Sun certainly had his ax sharpened and ready for this hatchet job on Julia Fischer’s performance of the Brahm’s Violin Concerto with Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic. Kirshnit called Fischer’s performance “excruciatingly dull”, and thought the night would have been better served if the concertmaster had played the concerto rather than Julia Fischer.
Meanwhile, Vivien Schweitzer of the New York Times (registration required) seemed to be having a much better time. In her review she called Fischer’s playing “burnished” and “richly sweet”. Mhaithaca was also in the audience and posted his thoughts on his blog, saying Fischer gave a “spectacular” performance.
