Reviews

Pianist Aimard sheds light on the music of Ligeti in festival

From Trouw, April 9, 2018 by Frederike Berntsen

[…] Joseph Puglia is violinist in the Asko|Schönberg ensemble and for the occasion, he performed solo next to his colleagues under the direction of Reinbert de Leeuw in Ligeti’s Concerto for Violin. That went like this: he came on stage, arranged his sheet music on his stand, looked around peacefully and nodded to the conductor: well, let’s begin, all as if he were just sitting with you at your kitchen table. And with that exact same attitude, he played Ligeti’s virtuoso piece, a piece of cake in Puglia’s hands.

Breathtaking.

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Ladder of Escape: Music for violin Rating: 10

From Luister Magazine by Rene’ Seghers, June 2016

Joseph Puglia’s substantive interpretation of this violin repertoire comes from very deep within.

Furthermore, he came up with a very original concept for the magnificent cycle of 34 duets for two violins in which Berio portrayed just as many fellow composers/musicians, going from Bartók to Pousseur, Kagel, Boulez, Stravinsky and Maazel.

Puglia plays the duets along with 34 different soloists, between the age of 7 and 69 years old.

The seven-year-old Kiana Carroll is first up in the first 49-second duet dedicated to Bartók. At first glance it seems to be a gimmick, but it is not.

The challenge with this cycle of duets lies precisely in the fact that it is very difficult to approach them as portraits when all played in a row. It is exactly by playing the duet together with someone who completely focuses on one single short piece that a huge depth is created; such a level of focus touches the audience and gives a tremendous power to the pieces.

The ‘Due Pezzi per violin e pianoforte’ that lasts about 6.5 minutes, also holds up to that high standard.

Furthermore, Puglia can enjoy the ‘Sequenza VIII’ for solo violin to the fullest. This was already more than enough to deserve our highest rating, but, as cherry on the cake, Attacca treats the audience with another fifteen minutes of ‘Corale su Sequenza’ played with the Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht conducted by Johannes Leertouwer.

Mindblowing.

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From “De Leeuw, New World explore the dark side in contemporary program”
April 16, 2017, David Fleisher, South Florida Classical Review
The concert opened with a violin concerto by the renowned Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. Entitled Graal Théâtre (Grail Theater), the concerto was inspired partly by poems about the Chivalric search for the Holy Grail.
…The solo violin, played by the American-born contemporary music specialist Joseph Puglia, goes on a journey across a bleak and menacing orchestral landscape. […]
Puglia plunged with gusto into the demanding, complex solo part. He played in the rough, aggressive manner that much of the music demanded. Yet the soloist also brought a ghostly tone to eerie procession of high notes. Puglia achieved a huge tone as his bow swept across the strings in rapid arpeggios, drawing enough power to stand up to the massed forces of the orchestra.
The concerto was almost non-stop turbulence, with the orchestral tone turning more dire and threatening in the second and final movement. But at the very end, it achieves a sort of peace, as Puglia played glassy high notes and arpeggios and fades out.

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From “Roukens’ Violin Concerto is Fiery” March 18, 2016, NRC Handelsblad, Merlijn Kerkhof
[…] last Thursday [Joey Roukens’] new violin concerto “Roads to Everywhere”, written for Joseph Puglia and Asko|Schoenberg, was performed in the Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ. It could not have been written by anyone else. Sections flow over each other organically and in a dance-like manner. […] Puglia played it with fire and to great effect.


From Luister magazine – Berio CD review – rating 10/10
Rene Seghers
Joseph Puglia’s substantial advocacy for this repertoire comes from deep within. Above all he has thought of a very original concept for the magnificent cycle of 34 duets for two violins, where Berio has made portraits of many fellow-composers and musicians: from Bartok to Pousseur, Kagel, Boulez, Stravinsky, and Maazel. Puglia plays them with 34 different soloists, from 7 to 69 years old. The seven year old Kiana Carroll kicks off the set in the 49 second duet dedicated to Bartok. At first glance it might seem like a gimmick, but it is not. The problem with this cycle of duets lies precisely in the fact that it is very difficult to approach them as portraits if you play all 34 in a row. By playing each duet with someone who is solely focused on that piece there develops an enormous depth, a touching level of concentration that gives the pieces their full weight. The “Due Pezzi per violine e pianoforte” of about six and half minutes holds up to that high standard. Puglia can then let loose in the “Sequenza VIII” for solo violin. That was already more than enough to rate this disc a big fat 10, but Attacca gives us an extra fifteen minutes in the form of “Corale su Sequenza” with the Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht, conducted by Johannes Leertouwer. Dizzyingly good.
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From “Joseph Puglia Dazzles in Music of Luciano Berio” – CD review
Cultureel Pers Bureau, July 2016, Thea Derks
Joseph Puglia…proves once again that “modern” music is not a priori dry and unapproachable, but can also be fiery and emotional. Highly recommended!

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From “NJO Symphony shakes the foundations of a former radio station”
August 9, 2015, Thea Derks, blog
Soloist in Anders Hillborg’s Violin Concerto was Joe Puglia (New York, 1984), also known as the concertmaster of Asko|Schönberg. He played the fast-paced and often incredibly difficult solo part with abandon and superior control. His smooth, warm tone sounded clear even in the furthest flageolets. The many glissandi were remarkable, from the soloist and the orchestra, with the use of quarter tones creating a sometimes ghostly atmosphere.
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From Bachtrack.com: “International Musicians Seminar Prussia Cove: New Talents in Cornwall”
Lucy Armstrong – 16 April 2012
[…When] Bach’s Chaconne from the Violin Partita in D minor was carried on the bow of Joseph Puglia that I felt myself breathe freely and easily, finally able to relax in the spaces between the sounds that Puglia’s violin of many voices exposed. Diverting his pianissimos from soaring fortes, Puglia flowed from architectural passage to passage, segueing into each musical section with a seamlessness which demonstrated a matured sense of musicianship and a tone which balanced the smooth with the raw.
Defining each note of an ambitious run at fast tempo with Baroque pristineness is hefty work, but the soloist executed this with a delectable combination of Bach-like clarity and Vivaldi-esque fire.

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From “Exceptional Debut violinist Puglia with Asko|Schoenberg”
June 19, 2009, NRC Handelsblad, Jochem Valkenburg
Joseph Puglia made an exceptional debut… Puglia flew as a seasoned
virtuoso…It earned him an ovation.
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From “Puglia Brings Hall to a Boil in Adams’ Violin Concerto”
June 20, 2009, De Volkskrant, Guido van Oorschot
The young violinist was Joseph Puglia. This American, who studied at the conservatory in The Hague with Vera Beths, brought the Grote Zaal to a boil.

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CD review “Ladder of Escape 14”                 

From www.opusklassiek.nl by Siebe Riedstra

I don’t know how many friends violinist Joseph Puglia has, but there are certainly at least 41. And they all play the violin. Some are 7 years old, another is 67, and others are Vera Beths or Gordan Nikolic. Together with Joseph they play the duets for violin that Luciano Berio wrote between 1979 and 1982. The pieces are miniature odes to Berio’s friends and idols and are dedicated to Kagel, Maderna, Bartok and Maazel, to name just a few of the big names. The duets on this CD are performed properly and lovingly, and are a delight to listen to. The pleasure of the violinists is audible. The sting of this CD lies at the end, because then Puglia is suddenly loose on Sequenza VIII for solo violin. He rushes, creaks, squeaks and crunches through the Sequenza which actually also is a kind of ode. It reflects Berio’s humble fulfilment of the “personal guilt” that he had with the violin, as well as a tribute to Bach’s solo Partita in D minor. Hell yeah, well done.

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From “Joseph Puglia Dazzles in Music of Luciano Berio” – CD review
Cultureel Pers Bureau, July 2016, Thea Derks
The American-Dutch violinist Joseph Puglia is a heartfelt advocate of contemporary music. Last year he took a good chance with his interpretation of the violin concerto of Anders Hillborg, together with the young musicians of the NJO Symphony Orchestra. He is the first violinist of Asko|Schoenberg, where he gave the world premiere earlier this year of the violin concerto Roads to Everywhere by Joey Roukens, written specially for him. The Australian-Dutch composer Kate Moore also wrote a concerto for him and this ensemble, “Synaesthesia Suite”. Now Puglia presents his first CD with the Attacca label, that is number 14 in their series-beyond-praise, “Ladder of Escape”.

Puglia’s first ever CD is dedicated to music by Italian modernist Luciano Berio. He opens with the
demanding Duetti for due violini, a series of miniatures dedicated to friends and composers whom Berio admired. Each piece tells its own story and uses other techniques, so the thirty-four portraits also have an educational function. They are intended to be performed by a combination of professionals and young musicians – for example by a teacher and his students.

In some duets the difficulty per player is quite different. In number # 17, ‘Leonardo Pinzauti’, one player only plays a scale while the other weaves gracefully tiered lines. Puglia performs with his eight-year-old pupil Sebastian Cynn, whose emotional sawing gives the music a disarming fragility. Puglia’s oldest partner is Vera Beths, with whom he performs # 6, named after Berio’s colleague Bruno Maderna. Berio treats his joysome personality with playful music, which sometimes tends to be a grounded waltz. The most beautiful one might be number # 20, ‘Edoardo Sanguineti’, which concludes the cycle. The two parts are played at Berio’s request by an orchestra of violins, in this version consisting of gifted students from the NJO Summer Academy and from Puglia’s colleagues including Peter Brunt and Emmy Storms.
One sometimes thinks to have landed in Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”, but the swift patters soon make way for more introverted lines, sometimes played with mute. Audibly Fun Playing
Whoever carries a Berio CD cannot escape his famous Sequenzas, solo pieces in which Berio explores the possibilities of the instrument. During the last Holland Festival, French bassist Pascal Gallois made a great impression with the Sequenza XII specially composed for him.
Puglia performs Sequenza VIII, which Berio composed in 1976 for the violinist Carlo Chiarappa. This is based on two tones (A and B), which form the basis for an immersive exploration of the instrument.

From sweet cantilenas to wild evisceration, and from whispered flageolets to tortuous, semmingly multi-lingual walks and periodic decorations. Puglia plays smooth and effortlessly, with an impressive sophisticated dynamic, and audible fun.
The two other pieces on the CD are also very worthwhile. The pianist Ellen Corver shows herself an
influential partner in the Due Pezzi for violin and pianoforte, with an admirable velvety attack. The New Utrecht Philharmonic makes the passionate, sometimes almost frightening Corale su Sequenza VIII together with Puglia an energetic listening experience.
Joseph Puglia makes a very convincing calling card with this CD. He proves once again that “modern” music is not a priori dry and unapproachable, but can also be fiery and emotional. Highly recommended!
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Nieuwe Noten – Luciano Berio CD review
May 24, 2017, Ben Taffijn
Since he has moved to The Netherlands, violinist Joseph Puglia has been making a steady advance. We see him more and more on stage. Last year he was a regular gest during “Dag in de Branding”, and as concertmaster of Asko|Schoenber is he also regularly to be admired. In the meantime he has also made a CD, number 14 in Attacca’s series “Ladder of Escape”, and totally devoted to the violin music of Luciano Berio.
Puglia says that 10 years ago Berio opened the door for him to contemporary music. And he describes his first contact very well: “When I first listened to Berio I thought: I have no idea what’s going on, but I definitely want o hear that again! The strange colours, harmonies and lyricism in his music drew me deeper into the world of 20th century compositions, which I now consider an integral part of my musical life.”
The biggest part of the CD is taken up by the 34 “Duetti per due Violini”, an exceptional collection of very short pieces, musical portraits of friends and colleagues. But these pieces also have another quality that makes them special, and that led to a special live performance last March. Berio decided that the pieces should be performed by experienced and inexperienced musicians together, for instance by a teacher and pupil, putting them on equal footing regardless of age. We therefore hear Puglia in these pieces together with, among others, colleague Heleen Hulst (#14), with the seven year old Kiana Carroll (#1), and with Laurie Smukler (#9) with whom Puglia studied. Interestingly, he says about the last piece “At our first rehearsal we discovered that we had completely opposite ideas about the duet’s musical meaning. Upon meeting again a few months later I had re-thought my interpretation of the work and agreed fully with Laurie’s ideas. When I told her that I thoguht we should play it her way, she said that her views had also changed because of my ideas. In the end we ended up with yet another (hopefully even better) interpretation.”
Berio wrote 14 “Sequenzas” between 1958 and 2002, an extensive series of pieces for solo instruments.
The eighth is for solo violin. A piece, moreover, that Berio reworked for violin and orchestra under the title “Corale su Sequenza VIII, per violine, due corni e archi” and that is here performed by Puglia, together with the New Utrecht Philharmonic, under the direction of Johannes Leertouwer. The “Sequenza VIII”, from 1976, is one of the most beautiful in the violin literature, but is an incredibly difficult piece.
However, Puglia’s love for Berio takes care for this, and what is actually true for the entire album, is that the piece gets a performance bordering on perfection.
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De Volkskrant – Frits van der Waa – CD review – Luciano Berio: Music for Violin
One CD, 42 violinists. Foremost Joseph Puglia, that for the 34 “Duetti per due violini” invited an entire contingent of colleagues, from age 7 to 69. A really nice idea, that naturally comes from the composer himself. The Duetti are distinctly playful and accessible, sometimes very simple, sometimes ragingly virtuosic. Throughout you can hear that Puglia has a great affinity for Berio. “Due Pezzi”, an early work, and the fascinating “Sequenza VIII”, followed by an extended version with orchestra make this delivery of the Ladder of Escape series from Attacca complete.

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From VPRO Vrije Geluiden CD review “Ladder of Escape – Music for Violin by Luciano Berio (Attacca) – Joseph Puglia, violin”
April 13, 2016 Remarkable new releases
I don’t know how many friends Joseph Puglia has, but in any case it is at least 41. And they all play
violin. Some are 7 years old, others 67, and still others are Vera Beths or Gordan Nikolic. They help
Joseph in performances of the violin duets of Luciano Berio, written between 1979 and 1982. They are minature odes to friends and exemplaars of Berio. Dedicated to Kagel, Maderna, Bartok and Maazel, just to name a few. The duets on this CD are performed well and with love, and are wonderful to listen to.
You can hear the pleasure of the violinists. The venom in this CD lies at the end, when Puglia is suddenly let loose on the Sequenza VIII for solo violin. He whistles, creaks, squeaks and crunches through the Sequenza which is also a kind of ode. It reflects Berio’s humble fulfillment of the “personal guilt” that he had with the violin, as well as a tribute to Bach’s solo Partita in D minor. Gosh darn, though, nicely done.
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From “ Un final d’une eblouissante sensibilite!” – July 30, 2014
Il y eut l’un des plus beaux Trios, celui de Ligeti, cor, violon et piano, une oeuvre remarquable,
intense et interpretée d’une main de maître. Ce fut un petit bijou musical, joué avec force et complicité. Coincé entre le piano et le cor, le violon rugissait pour ce faire entendre, d’une belle énérgie deployée, chère à Ligeti. La sonorité de ce trio a été superbe. » (Le petit journal)
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From “Sublime” – Le Petit Journal – July 28, 2014
Mais le “Trio a cordes en sol majeur” du jeune Beethoven a ete l’oeuvre qui a revele la
remarquable virtuosite de ses interpretes. Le dernier mouvement en particulier, execute presto, a vu les trois instruments violin, alto et violoncelle se poursuivre, se repondre et rencherir l’un sur l’autre jusqu’au point final ou les jeunes musiciens ont salue devani un assistance debout pour les applaudir.
Leur interpretation du “trio a cordes” de Beethoven leur vaudra une ovation.
Le festival de musique de chambre 2014 “Musique a Marsac” se poursuit toujours avec
panache et sublime qualite.
Pour finir, Trio a cordes de Beethoven avec Joe Puglia – violon, Tom Hankey – violon/alto et
Ariana Kashefi au violoncelle. Un sublime concert une nouvelle fois nous faisant decouvrir des
interpretations enthousiasmantes et de tres haut niveau. Comme habituellement, ces jeunes musiciens usent d’une technique instrumentale impressionnante jamais gratuite mais totalement consacree a servir les oeuvres.
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From “Une ouverture du festival de musique: fortissimi!”
Le Petit Journal, July 26, 2014
Le fait marquant de cette premiere soiree musicale fut cependant la brillante interpretation de la
Sonate en canon #4 en re mineur de Telemann….Des musiciens epoustouflants, entre puissance et
delicatesse.
L’interpretation a subjugue l’auditoire: concentration extreme, contrastes sonores saisissants,
avec une palette sonore d’une etendue considerable. Pari tenu pour cette ouverture de festival de
musique de chambre: Toujours sublime! Un veritable regal pour les oreilles!