Yevgeny spoke to John Pitman for All Classical Portland. Listen and read the review here.
Yevgeny spoke to Julie Amacher for New Classical Tracks on Classical MPR. Listen here.
Yevgeny’s recital at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC reviewed by The Washington Post!
“He turned in a vivid and captivating performance [of Muhly’s Compare Notes]…That sense of directness and vitality set the tone for the entire concert, which may explain the program’s striking sense of cohesion. Or perhaps it was Kutik’s assured and full-bodied playing, which (supported impeccably by Andres) brought a kind of rough-and-tumble lyricism to two neo-classical works by Stravinsky, the 1932 “Duo Concertante” and the 1933 “Suite Italienne for Violin and Piano” (based on the Pulcinella ballet). Kutik, who was born in Minsk, Belarus, has a clear affinity for Stravinsky’s earthy, rich chamber music, and his reading of the “Duo Concertante” was the most characterful — and maybe most satisfying — you’re ever likely to hear.
But the violinist may have reserved his most insightful playing for the premiere of “Words Fail,” a one-movement “song without words” he commissioned from Andres last year. The work, Andres explained, was an attempt to grapple with his own aversion to vocal music (words are “one thing too many” in music, he said) by exploring the voice-like qualities of the violin. From a descending lament, the work slowly gathers power through overlapping variations, becoming darker, more ambiguous and more complex before building to a soaring climax. Kutik and Andres gave a persuasive, deeply thoughtful reading to this involving new work.”
THE GREENVILLE NEWS (March 23, 2014)
“For the Sibelius violin concerto, Yevgeny Kutik exerted a dazzling command of the soloist’s role. Sibelius’ only concerto, composed for the instrument he loved most, reveals the tempestuous soul of his homeland. Kutik rolled off the soaring melodies in rhapsodic style. Above all, Kutik’s performance was passionate. With lightning-fast arpeggios, stretches of ‘dialogue’ in which Kutik created both ‘speakers,’ and ravishing slow violin melodies, Kutik offered the audience an electrifying performance.”
CITY PULSE (Lansing, MI) (September 17, 2014)
“Yevgeny Kutik infused every note, no matter how fleeting, with its own color and character, elevating Bruch’s music [Concerto #1] from merely pleasing to unforgettable. From the start, it seemed to dawn on everyone in the hall that a master was at work. Many listeners leaned forward, mesmerized by the liquid, mercurial strands of melody that spiraled from his fiddle. Kutik had a way of working the virtuoso bits unto the grain of the music, like patterns on birch bark, burnishing his tone with breathtaking beauty. Far from showing off, he seemed to float above himself, monitoring every move, deflecting attention from the effort required to achieve this miracle of sound.”
THE REPUBLICAN (March 30, 2014) – Violinist Yevgeny Kutik brilliant with Springfield Symphony Orchestra
“Violinist Yevgeny Kutik might well be the finest guest soloist the Springfield Symphony Orchestra has featured in the past 20 years. Kutik’s account of Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto explored thrilling extremes of character and intensity, laying bare the composer’s soul at its most romantic and private one moment, at its most ironic and extroverted the next.
Kutik’s gift goes far beyond the mere mastery of his instrument. It combines deep and revealing investigation into the heart of the music he plays with passionate desire to share its stories in the most vivid terms imaginable.
In Kutik’s able hands, the soaring lyrical themes of the first movement of the Prokofiev Concerto were exquisitely tuned at dizzying altitudes – heart-breaking high C’s sung with heavenly melancholy. The scrubbing passagework of the brisker portions capered with the mischief of a maleficent imp.
The subtle Andante drew still more heartfelt playing from the young violinist – shapely, golden tones, elegantly phrased with a panache that belied his years. Kutik’s superb negotiation of the finale, with its warm, sensual Spanish flavoring (the Concerto was first performed in Madrid in 1935) and fiery finish, brought the Symphony Hall audience of 1,744 immediately to its feet, for a lengthy ovation, followed by two curtain calls. Kutik rewarded their accolades with a profound encore of the Largo from J. S. Bach’s Sonata in C for solo violin.”
THE STRAD (June 2014)
“American violinist Yevgeny Kutik gave a convincing recital at [New York City’s] SubCulture, opening with a masterful performance of the Waltz from Prokofiev’s Cinderella…Franck’s Violin Sonata followed, and Kutik presented an elegantly phrased, sensitive interpretation that balanced passion with nuance…His performance of the Schnittke Sonata no. 1 was as compelling as his spoken introduction to it, both of which demonstrated a deep knowledge and understanding of the work and allowed Kutik to communicate the complex piece well…The audience sat hushed throughout his encore–a traditional Yiddish folk song–listening intently to his heartfelt playing.”
POBEJDA (May 25, 2013) — “Supreme Violinism” By Sonja Marinkovic
“Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major is justly considered one of the most wonderful and most complex in the late-Romanticist concert literature. It uncompromisingly places the highest demands on its violin soloist…Yevgeny Kutik’s complete command of his technical facility is undeniable; he handled the interpretation of the concerto with impressive precision, in the virtuoso aspects of the work, but at the same time always created the necessary poeticism and beauty in its lyrical moments, communicating well with the orchestra and its individual soloists…”
OSTSEE-ZEITUNG (Rostock, Germany) (May 22, 2012) — This happens very rarely: Already after the first movement the audience – which is quite well acquainted with the ‘symphonic behavior code’ – cannot hold its applause and breaks forth. So it happened during the concert of the Norddeutschen Philharmonie, started off by the Russian-American violinist Yevgeny Kutik with the emotion-packed and striking Violin Concerto of Peter Tchaikovsky. Throughout, the young violinist put on a violin show par excellence with his breathtaking virtuosity, fine dynamic nuances, and melodic and rhythmic flexibility. And after the last movement he received – now according to the rules – huge ovations.”
The New York Times (June 20, 2008) — “…The program’s main draw was the New York premiere of George Tsontakis’s Violin Concerto No. 2 (2003)…A compact, eventful score, it makes good use of the orchestra’s resources…and treats the violin as both a distinctive solo voice and an essential strand within the ensemble texture. In its solo passages the violin often projects an old-fashioned rhapsodic style, which was magnified by Yevgeny Kutik’s rich, sweet tone. The orchestral writing often had a sharper harmonic edge and used the solo violin more assertively and with an earthier sound. George Rothman led a thoroughly prepared, energetic performance…”