Review – SPCO with Veronika Eberle

Rob Hubbard of the Pioneer Press reviewed this week’s program with German violinist Veronika Eberle and conductor Robert Abbado, writing:

If you’ve never heard of Veronika Eberle, that’s understandable. The violinist mostly performs with the many exceptional orchestras in her home country of Germany, venturing out occasionally to perform concertos elsewhere. But she hadn’t made her way to the Twin Cities until Thursday night for a St. Paul Chamber Orchestra concert.

Lucky us. What she offered at Stillwater’s Trinity Lutheran Church Thursday night was among the most exciting, pulse-pounding, confidently rendered interpretations of the Beethoven Violin Concerto that I’ve encountered in decades of concerts. In collaboration with a supremely simpatico SPCO under the firm guidance of conductor Roberto Abbado, Eberle summoned something magical from an oft-played piece, emphasizing contrasts between light and darkness, smooth sweetness and gruff aggressiveness, yet making every segue between them seem as organic as imaginable.

Here’s a link to the complete review. Limited tickets remain for concerts tonight and tomorrow night, but watch for possible last-minute availability.