Last week, Stefan reunited with conductor Benjamin Zander and the Boston Philharmonic in Prokofiev's second violin concerto. Boston Globe music critic Jeremy Eichler wrote, "it took all of one phrase to realize we were in for a performance of uncommon musical substance. Jackiw naturally has all the requisite virtuosity and technical firepower one would expect from a young soloist these days, but in Saturday’s strikingly self-possessed appearance, he placed technique at the service of a notably refined sense of artistry. After a first movement of intense lyricism and introspection, he caught the ear at the outset of the Andante with the subtlety of his coloristic imagination: The tone was distant and veiled yet glowing from its core. The utter seriousness and conviction behind Jackiw’s approach here dispelled the whiff of sentimentality that can sometimes detract from this movement. Prokofiev’s whirling finale followed with impressive bite and adrenaline. Jackiw may still be young but it’s clear he has thought more deeply than many of his peers about an essential koan of interpretation: how to wed genuine devotion to a composer’s vision with playing of interior participation and personal freedom" (read full review here).
