BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
“ … with Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman bringing refined beauty and character to the solo part of the Bernstein [Serenade] … the concert was nothing short of revelatory.”
NEW YORK TIMES
DALLAS SYMPHONY
"Liza Ferschtman was a late replacement...but gave no hint of second-fiddle status. She delivered reflective music with strikingly creamy tone and impeccably tossed off the finale's fireworks [Barber: Violin Concerto]."
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
LONDON PHILHARMONIC
"Enter the Russian-Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman whose dramatic platform appearance perfectly suited a superbly passionate performance. Her playing was authoritative, decisive, virtuosic and brave ...[Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1]."
THE ARGUS
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC
"...with Ferschtman, Zander found a simpatico partner. The Dutch violinist possesses a crisp and tastefully understated technique. Throughout her performance, her tone had a silvery radiance that blended gracefully with the chamber-like orchestral accompaniment [Beethoven: Violin Concerto]."
DALLAS SYMPHONY
“Comprising the [Bernstein] Serenade after Plato’s 'Symposium' and the orchestra’s first-ever performance of his Third Symphony, it was compelling start to finish … Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman gave a commanding performance, by turns gutsy and sweetly singing …”
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
BBC NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF WALES
"The highlight of a 'five-star' concert was the performance of Dvorák's strangely neglected violin concerto. It contains all the lyricism, virtuosity, scale and, in the typically Dvorákian final movement furiant, high spirits, that one could wish for in a Romantic concerto. In the marvellously persuasive hands of the brilliant young Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman it could not have wished for a more convincing endorsement – passionate and totally committed."
SOUTH WALES ARGUS
BREMEN PHILHARMONIC
"... With a forceful manner of playing, which thanks to immaculate bowing pays ample tribute to the tiniest details, the violinist Liza Ferschtman of Russian birth conveyed the vast palette of changing mood themes. Opening with a brief and inspirational violin solo, eruptions of sound form in a highly charged alternation of sequences, in turn opulent and driven by overflowing emotional force, also delicately conveyed and lyrical, or lively and cheerful, all seamlessly connected. Thunderous applause.[Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2]."
WESER-KURIER
BRUSSELS PHILHARMONIC
"...The Serenade after Plato's 'Symposium' for Violin and Orchestra (same formation as for the Chichester Psalms)...above all allowed [one] to hear a high-class performer, the Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman, who approached the demanding solo part with a total technical safety (bow conduct and use of remarkable vibrato), a sensibility without affectation, and a magnificent purity of sound expression, illustrating in particular in the fourth movement Agathon, [the] emotional heart of this Serenade."
BACHTRACK.COM
WIGMORE HALL RECITAL
"Classy, cultured playing comes naturally to Liza Ferschtman...Beauty of sound was a priority, ranging from the softest, cleanest entries to rich depths and sonorous voicing. Taking dynamics to degrees of daring quietness, almost coaxing hairpin swells out of nowhere, characterized the more fantastical moments of her Bartók. When bite and attack was needed, it was forthcoming – albeit with a feeling that purity, bell-like intonation and quality of tone mattered necessarily more than gratuitous bravura or extravagant theatre. Both the Bartók and Lutoslawski [Subito] are works of exacting difficulty and detail, metrically and expressively on the edge. Ferschtman made light of the complexities."
CLASSICAL SOURCE [UK]
"... The achievement of violinist Liza Ferschtman and pianist Roman Rabinovich was to transcend the superficially rebarbative nature of this piece [Bartók: Violin Sonata No. 1], and to display its underlying unity. They triumphantly brought out the poised beauty of the Adagio and the wild fiddle-dance of the finale."
THE INDEPENDENT [London]
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS RECITAL
“The high point was the [Schubert] Fantasy in C. No music was on hand for either Ferschtman or Barnatan, for one of the longest, most difficult duos ever written. I'd never seen this feat attempted anywhere, and the performance was extraordinary at all levels...the unanimity between the artists, down to the tiniest nuance, was almost eerie. It was a true tour de force of ensemble playing.”
WASHINGTON POST
CD: KORNGOLD • BERNSTEIN (Challenge Classics)
KORNGOLD Violin Concerto
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Malát, conductor
BERNSTEIN Serenade after Plato’s ‘Symposium’
Het Gelders Orkest, Christian Vásquez, conductor
“… In this live performance [of the Korngold], Ferschtman’s sound is big and rich, full of personality and fizzing with ideas, but she’s also capable of that special trick of melting while maintaining poise and elegance.”
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
“Ferschtman is one of a generation of violinists for whom Bernstein’s sometimes ungainly writing for the instrument holds no terrors … Ferschtman’s intonation is well-nigh flawless.”
GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE
"This is a work [Bernstein: Serenade] that both Stern and Francescatti recorded with the composer, and Ferschtman doesn't suffer in comparison with either....From her opening solo, she catches the work's balancing of the spiritual with the flesh, and later in the movement, her phrasing is wonderfully imaginative. in "Agathon," time stands still, as Ferschtman spins a thread of sound that is at once ethereal and eternal. At the same time, she lets her hair down in the jazzy, drunken "Alcibiades" movement, which closes the work....If you want a modern recording of this work, Ferschtman's is more idiomatic than Lenny's (relatively) late-career effort with Gidon Kremer. I have nothing but enthusiasm for this release, and I look forward to getting to know this violinist's work better ... she is the real thing."
FANFARE
“… in this live recording Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman sets on Korngold’s score with spontaneity and abandon…With lithe virtuosity she describes just the right amount of light and shade, particularly in the richly imploring opening of the second movement Romanze."
"… in Bernstein’s five-movement Serenade after Plato’s ‘Symposium,’ Ferschtman takes a subtly shaded approach, the brilliance and energy of her performance thoroughy compelling. The moments when the texture clears and the solo violin emerges alone are particularly entrancing, and Ferschtman’s artistry and flair never falter.”
THE STRAD
CD with HET GELDERS ORKEST (Challenge Classics)
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Violin Concerto, Op. 64 – Kees Bakels, conductor
String Octet, Op. 20
"Oh, not another Mendelssohn Violin Concerto recording, I hear you cry. Well, yes, but wait: this one is worth exploring. These Dutch musicians treat the piece as a chamber work, the cut-down forces of the Het Gelders Orkest giving light and airy support to Liza Ferschtman's carefully judged, singing solo line. It works beautifully ... Ferschtman changes gear for the Octet, Op. 20, driving the inexhaustible exuberance of this youthful piece with thrilling intensity ..."
THE GUARDIAN
"Does the world need another recording of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto? Liza Ferschtman bravely asks this question herself in the CD booklet, before telling us her new insights and her desire to share her discoveries. These don't leap out at you, but this is certainly an attractive performance. She has a focused, silvery tone, and her playing has constant energy."
THE STRAD
CD with THE NETHERLANDS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (Challenge Classics)
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Violin Concerto – Jan Willem de Vriend, conductor
“It’s not easy to bring off this wonderful piece on the violin … but she succeeds triumphantly … Ferschtman’s interpretation is constantly illuminating.”
GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE