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Daniel Lozakovich’s mesmerising technique in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major was the highlight of the evening. The real powerhouse is his bow arm, frequently used to deadly effect and allowing playing of great delicacy particularly in the higher register. In many ways his playing, with its focus and clarity, harks back to a bygone era. His performance creates a multitude of sound worlds which transports audiences to far off lands. His intimate and reserved Andante opening was a case in point, accompanied most sensitively by the RPO. Cutting through Tchaikovsky’s thick orchestral texture in the Finale, Lozakovich teased phrases, switching seamlessly between fury and restraint. Returning to the stage with Bach’s G minor Sonata confirmed his place as one of the most sought-after violinists of his age.
Clare Varney
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You could feel the pain and anger [of the composer] under the slim soloist’s fingers and formidable bowing arm. What a weapon this proved to be as he guided his 1713 “ex-Sancy” Stradivarius through the tortured and torturous double-stopped runs and cross-string aerobatics of the mighty cadenza in the first movement. If this was not miraculous enough, the Adagio’s gorgeous tune unfurled like a rich silk scarf over its mesmeric nine minutes with Lozakovich’s careful control of dynamic and beauty of line. [...] Lozakovich had the audience transfixed throughout this seemingly effortless performance of this herculean piece.
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The reaction of the packed audience to the beauty of Lozakovich’s performance, which Eichler noted, speaks volumes about the violinist’s extraordinary talent and his ability to connect emotionally with those in attendance. As we gathered in the hallway at intermission, we were grateful to have heard such a sincere and beautifully phrased performance, and we marveled at what we might hear from this young artist in the years to come.
Here, elegance always remains the goal - you do not have to say a word about technology, Lozakovitch has everything at your disposal. And he dares to bring in a bitter note as well. In such differentiation, the melancholy that permeates Tchaikovsky's work, never seems sentimental.
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Daniel Lozakovich […] made his New York debut. He began with a dark-toned, probing and dramatic account of Bach’s monumental Chaconne for solo violin. In this informal space, the performance seemed epic.
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The highlight of the concert at the mariinsky theatre in june was beethoven’s violin concerto performed by the cherubic 15-year-old prodigy Daniel Lozakovich. “You haven’t heard of him, but you will,” Gergiev said.
With an incredible elegance, a luminous absence of the slightest Mannerism, this young man plays straight and slender, with a class that epitomizes the masterpiece of Tchaikovsky, makes it moving to the possible by taking care not to move, for that the pure beauty of this song, and its mezza di voce Belcantists decidedly of another time are enough.
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Daniel Lozakovich draws mellifluous sonorities from his 1713 ‘Baron Rothschild’ Stradivari in this debut disc, which is an outstanding and distinctive addition to the already heavily pregnant Bach catalogue.
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The enormous technical challenges the young violinist masters are not only sparkling clean, but also plunges with noticeable playfulness into the battle of the last movement.
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It goes without saying that the innate talent of the young Swedish violinist demonstrates a stunning interpretative maturity, an exquisite musicality and a perfect and absolute knowledge of the pieces he plays.
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Daniel Lozakovich’s performance Saturday filled Disney Hall with his ability to produce voluminous tone, fragile-as-air harmonics, and lightning-fast virtuosity on the ex-Baron Rothschild Stradivarius.
It was big. It was dazzling. But it was also an interpretation that painted, however boldly, with traditional lines.
His performance of the first movement, Allegro moderato, was explosive including Tchaikovsky’s fully notated cadenza which had the audience as well as the Philharmonic’s musicians (particularly the first violins) transfixed. The end of the movement resulted in such a tumultuous standing ovation that Salonen finally had to turn to the house and indicate they should take their seats because there were still two movements to come.
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In the first movement of the Violin Concerto, the young violinist Daniel Lozakovich already convinces with his phenomenal technique and sparkling playing, which, however, is not pure virtuosity but cares for the great melodic lines and, together with Spivakov’s wise and sensitive conducting, lives from that typically romantic agogic of urging and slowing. The same goes for a perfect control of the dynamics, in which not everything moves between loud and very loud, but also reaches to the pianissimo and uses this dynamic together with the rubato for a sensitive and moving performance. The soloist’s violin tone is elegant, full and warm over the whole range, from the lowest to the highest registers!
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Lozakovich renounces a lard sound in romantic moments, but can still let his violin sing in a stone softening manner. This mix of passion and precision is the heart of the album…
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And this is what the fiercely talented, and frightfully young (only 18 years old) Swedish violinist Daniel Lozakovich managed to do in spades. There was a touching vulnerability to his deeply sensitive opening, as it throbbed with vibrato. It was a revelation, as if hearing this wondrous concerto for the very first time. He attacked his double-stops with vim and no little vigour and with razorlike accuracy.” “I was much struck by Lozakovich’s control and breath of dynamics: the hushed G which opens the Adagio was exquisitely beautiful, the ppp coming from nowhere, the whole hall listening intently. While in the powerful climax of this same movement he was perfectly capable of singing above the fortissimo of the orchestra. The third movement rippled with energy, the crescendos masterfully guided by Stutzmann and the tenths nailed perfectly by Lozakovich.
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It is all the more astonishing with what nobility and distinction the just 18-year-old Daniel Lozakovich plays not only Tchaikovsky's violin concerto, but also some arrangements and gems such as Lensky's aria "Kuda, kuda, vi udalisis" from Eugene Onegin or the Valse-Scherzo op 34. Lozakovich explores the expressive spectrum of Tchaikovsky's music with a wonderful tone of austere sweetness and a violent technique that seems to know no boundaries. A comparably good recording especially of the D major violin concerto, you have to search for a long time. A genius at such a young age.
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This was no rigid, perfunctory reading by an 18-year-old prodigy. This was the heartfelt work of a consummate professional, a performance as sincere and moving as anyone’s. It wasn’t just that Lozakovich had the technical chops of a master, trills and double-stops to die for. He also had mature senses of melody and expression, the ability to inject and measure out feeling at just the right times and in just the right doses, without excess. When the orchestra spoke, too, he listened, and responded in perfect kind. No wonder his encore, the Adagio from Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 1, was also transcendent.
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The soft and glittering sound makes for a great recording - and reveals nothing of the youthful age of a soloist who is audibly interested in historical predecessors. Obviously, you have to keep an eye on this extraordinary talent!
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Next, seventeen-year-old Daniel Lozakovich playing Mozart. His interpretation was very touching, the outer movements remarkably nimble and fresh, and the Adagio memorably expressive.
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This was the case of the Swedish violinist, Daniel Lozakovich, who impressed with the expressive depth of his playing and his technical qualities (an often dazzling legato) in the "Introduction and Rondo capriccioso op. 28" by Camille Saint-Saëns.
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The soloist was 16-year old Swedish prodigy Daniel Lozakovich who displayed remarkable assuredness on his US debut. Lozakovich has a strong technique and a wonderful sense of phrasing. [...] As an encore, he selected a virtuosic piece by Fritz Kreisler that he dispatched with sangfroid and without any perceivable hiccup. There is little doubt that Lozakovich is destined for a prodigious career.
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