“[Gulda’s] Concerto for Cello and String Orchestra (which includes percussion and guitars) was written in 1980 for cellist Heinrich Schiff. It is a kind of mad-cap patchwork of pastiche, from rock and jazz through echoes of early music in the style[…]
Reviews
“With the first half of the concert that featured a performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Six Studies in English Folk Song, Leoš Janácek’s Pohadka, and Claude Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, the duo throughly displayed an impressively synced execution,[…]
“Any time cellist Denise Djokic wants to come back to Saskatoon, she is more than welcome. ‘Amazing’ and ‘unbelievable’ were among the words I overheard whispered during her performance…Variations on a Rococo Theme, a virtuosic piece that calls on the[…]
“The program featured acclaimed Canadian cellist Denise Djokic performing Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33 that unfolds as a wonderfully crafted set of theme and seven variations. But in Djokic’s hands, it became so much more, as she[…]
“The highlight of the concert, though, was Dvorák’s heartfelt and heart-winning cello concerto…this was very much a Romantic concerto performance in the grand style, the soloist in a passionate dialogue with the orchestra…So often the concerto is played autumnally, old[…]
“With a tremendous display of musicianship and acute attention to detail, the performance Sunday evening marked what will undoubtedly be considered one of the high points of this year’s festival.. … the dramatic dialogue between the cello and violin throughout[…]
“Denise Djokic gave a powerful performance of the Shostakovich concerto: strong, assured, expressive. Wood and the orchestra gave her space, acoustic space, for an ideal balance of soloist and ensemble.” (Halifax Chronicle Herald, 10 June 2013)