Khachaturian Concerto-Bloomington Indiana
Bloomington Herald-Times
Peter Jacobi
Music Review: IU Philharmonic
Post-intermission, alum Noah Bendix-Balgley joined the orchestra for the Aram Khachaturian D minor Violin Concerto, a colorful exercise that gives the soloist a feast of challenges ranging from the flamboyant to the effulgent. The youthful Bendix-Balgley was recently appointed first concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, a real coup in the orchestral world. What one heard from him proved he should be the right man for the job; he’s a truly gifted musician with the technical goods and artistic depth. His performance of the Khachaturian earned him five bows, or was it six? He thanked the audience with an encore, a Bach Partita played beautifully.