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Stasevska and Shaham: Satisfying Partnership Philadelphia
Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center
10/09/2026 - & October 10, 2026
Anna Meredith: Nautilus
Camille Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto no. 3 in B minor, opus 61
Jean Sibelius: Pohjola’s Daughter, opus 49
Ottorino Respighi: Pines of Rome
Gil Shaham (violin)
The Philadelphia Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)
G. Shaham (© Chris Lee)
Some day I hope to interview violinist Gil Shaham, not about his philosophy of music or the techniques and insights that make him a great artist. Rather, I would ask him the secret to happiness. If Shaham has ever had a bad day, I certainly have not witnessed it. When he strode onto the stage at the Kimmel Center, as he did recently to play Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3, he looked as though he were having the best day of his life and about to take us with him. There is nothing fake or artificial about his smile or the radiant energy that tracks every bold step. Just before performing at this recent concert, he looked out at the cheering audience, and I could swear he mouthed the words, “Oh, boy!” If you could bottle positivity, this man would make a fortune.
Of course, Shaham is not simply smiles and good nature, he is an artist of commanding stature, a frequent soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, this time under the leadership of Dalia Stasevska. Readers who haven’t heard an orchestra under Stasevska’s baton are missing out on powerhouse performances and musical interpretations of great character and depth.
Artist, conductor, and orchestra performed the Saint‑Saëns with fluidity and grace. This is French music at its most elegant and inspired. Shaham’s violin, a Stradivarius to be sure, was unfailingly on pitch, always an issue for violinists no matter how seasoned. The only downside was the orchestra’s tendency to overwhelm the solo violin. Yet even in these instances, Saint‑Saëns’ notes and the intentions behind them, continued their revelation. After several curtain calls, the soloist gave an encore (a movement from the Bach Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor). Shaham’s and the orchestra’s fully integrated partnership gave all present good reason to smile.
The concert included three other formidable works, each prompting me to rethink, to a certain degree, my own biases about playing to the audience.
The orchestra opened with a short selection for a very large ensemble by contemporary British composer Anna Meredith. While only a few minutes in length, Nautilus purports to replicate in rhythm and timber the twists and turns of a chambered nautilus shell. To me, it sounded—and I mean this in a positive way—more like a vast zoo teeming with roaring beasts, clashing and crashing with the brilliant tinniness of musical metal. With its unrelenting syncopation, irresistible rhythm, and spine‑tinging brass, the sound never let up or cooled down, and proved an energizing workout for weary ears.
The last two compositions on the program showcased Stasevska’s unique leadership style. Her vision for Sibelius’s Pohjola’s Daughter resulted in a memorable articulation of a myth pitting forces of darkness against those of light. This voluptuous music rose from a small, almost indistinct voice to an overwhelming tsunami of sound, only to ebb and fade.
Stasevska and the orchestra were a keenly partnering team in Respighi’s Pines of Rome, a work in four movements that expresses the different levels of energy throughout the Italian capital. The first movement captures the noisy world of children at play, with two calmer portraits in pursuit. The fourth and final movement is sublime. The seemingly inexhaustible resources of this fine orchestra do not disappoint as the leader at the podium carries their ideals and our hopeful expectations to perfect fruition.
Linda Holt
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