REVIEWS
Gwendolyn Masin und das Berner Symphonie Orchester im Grossen Saal des Kultur - Casinos Bern, CH
"...Zum Abschluss setzte die Holländerin Gwendolyn Masin vorzügliche Massstäbe. Ihre Interpretation von Maurice Ravel's "Tzigane" besass in jeder Hinsicht Konzertreife - handwerklich überlegener, kontrastreicher, raffinierter und ausdrucksintensiver lässt sich die berühmte Pièce wohl gar nicht nachvollziehen"
- Urs Etter, Der Bund August 2000
Gwendolyn Masin and the Radio Telefis Eireann Concert Orchestra in the National Concert Hall Dublin, IE (as part of a six day concert tour of Ireland)
"She relished the colouristic opportunities of "Tzigane", where the assured Gwendolyn Masin brought a thoughtful intelligence to bear on Ravel's faux-gypsy fantasia"
- Michael Dervan, The Irish Times August 1998
Gwendolyn Masin and Julia Bartha (pf) in the Civic Theatre, Dublin, IE
"Gwendolyn Masin's impressive playing of Franck and Beethoven sonatas revealed a mature and formidable talent that demands attention"
-Dick O'Riordan, The Sunday Business Post January 2005
Gwendolyn Masin and the Radio Telefis Eireann Symphony Orchestra in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, IE
"Gwendolyn Masin was the impressive soloist in Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole with the RTE National Symphony. She has a beautifully rich tone, easy virtuosity and a real feeling for a musical line. Having conquered these peaks with seeming effortlessness, she allowed her charming personality to shine through fully"
- Ian Fox, The Sunday Tribune June 2003
Gwendolyn Masin and the Young European Strings Chamber Orchestra in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, IE
"In a highly rewarding account of Mozart's Fifth Violin Concerto in A major, Ms Masin's incisive performance was rich in musical feeling"
-Pat O'Kelly, Irish Independent January 2005
Gwendolyn Masin, Ronald Masin (vln/vla) and Deborah Kelleher (pf) in "Encore!" in the John Field Room, National Concert Hall, Dublin, IE
"The concert featured father and daughter playing in 17 short pieces, mostly for solo violin and piano, and of the flamboyant kind. Gwendolyn Masin is a natural performer, with an authority which most 21-year old violinists would envy. (...) She played Heifetz's arrangement of Dinicu's "Hora Staccato" with violinistic wizardry and ended the programme with Halvorsen's Passacaglia for violin (Gwendolyn) and viola (Ronald); it was excellently played"
- Martin Adams, The Irish Times May 1999
Gwendolyn Masin in the Royal Dublin Society Hall, Dublin, IE
"I got great pleasure from listening to Gwendolyn Masin. Gwendolyn Masin played Kreisler's "Recitative and Scherzo Caprice" Opus 6 for solo violin with a winning purity of tone and with impeccable taste (quite rare in performances of Kreisler)."
-Douglas Sealy, The Irish Times November 1994
Gwendolyn Masin und Mira Wollman (pf) im Schadau Saal, Thun, CH
"Besonders angetan war der Publizist Erich Gysling von den musikalischen Künsten der holländischen Violinistin Gwendolyn Masin. "Ich habe sie gestern zum ersten Mal spielen gehört. Diesen Namen muss man sich wirklich merken.""
- Andrea Bleicher, Sonntags Zeitung June 2002
Gwendolyn Masin and Urs Peter Schneider (pf) in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, IE
"It is not wise to attach pictorial values to music, but, as I listened to Gwendolyn Masin playing Debussy's Sonata, I thought of paintings by Renoir: there were the same gentle tones, the same caressing of line. And when there was need of something bolder, she had the resources to move into the world of Manet, thus providing welcome contrasts that never became contradictions.
Schumann's Sonata no. 2 in D minor, opus 121 shows no signs of aberration. It displays a warmth of feeling and liveliness that belies the composer's age and the performers matched these conditions intuitively. It beautifully balanced the Debussy, bringing out a common vein of romanticism and a shared appreciation of the way violin and piano can support each other"
- Douglas Sealy, The Irish Times November 2001
Gwendolyn Masin and Albie van Schalkwijk (pf) in City Hall, Waterford, IE
"Gwendolyn Masin was highly assured in her smoothly-flowing Faurè Sonata"
-Ian Fox, The Sunday Tribune August 1997
Gwendolyn Masin and Albie van Schalkwijk (pf) in Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford, IE
"...the Gala concert thrilled a capacity audience and the most memorable performance of the concert and the festival was the Brahms Sonata no.1, opus 78, played by a virtuoso for tomorrow, the Dutch violinist, Gwendolyn Masin"
- ad, The Munster Express August 1998
Gwendolyn Masin and Dearbhla Collins (pf) in the John Field Room, National Concert Hall, Dublin, IE
"Throughout the Sonate Opus 27, no.3 by Eugene Ysaye, subtitled Ballade, her strong technique was the servant of expression; and expression seemed to spring from herself, with an instinctual ease which made this recital a truly enjoyable experience"
-Martin Adams, The Irish Times February 1999
Gwendolyn Masin and Albie van Schalkwijk (pf) in the Good Shepherd Chapel, Waterford, IE
"The Festival got underway with a tremendously enthusiastic audience at the opening concert, with the violinist Gwendolyn Masin playing encores for a standing ovation"
- Waterford Today August 1998
Gwendolyn Masin en Sander Sittig (pf) in het Patrimonium, Veenendaal, NL
"...Gwendolyn Masin gaf een fraaie indringende vertolking van de Passacaglia voor viool solo van Biber. Het barokke, niet overdreven verfijnde idioom van de Boheemse componist paste uitstekend bij het spel van de violiste wier talenten eerder in de richting van de virtuoze expressiviteit dan van het subtiel raffinement lijken te duiden. Samen met de voortreffelijk begeleidende Sander Sittig schitterde ze in het zusje van Beethovens beroemde Frühlingsonate, de sonata in a kleine terts, opus 23. Een muzikale dialoog met een Andante Scherzoso dat net even dat beetje sprankelende Allegretto mee kreeg waarop door de componist in zijn partituur wordt aangedrongen. Fris en pikant als een lente-uitje op deze eerste dag van het voorjaar.
Hoogtepunt werd evenwel de Blues uit de Sonate van Ravel. Op en top de sfeer van improvisatie en spontaniteit"
- Cees Hilberdink, De Gelderlander March 2003
Gwendolyn Masin and the Savaria Symphony Orchestra in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, IE
"Gwendolyn Masin played Sarasate's "Gypsy Airs for violin and orchestra" and Dvorak's "Romance" with a sophistication that belied her 18 years"
- Martin Adams, The Irish Times October 1996
Gwendolyn Masin's "In Search of Lost Time" Series in Dublin, IE
"There's nothing more exciting in classical music than seeing energy and talent channelled into innovation.
Taking the bull by the horns and going for it is almost always going to be commercially risky in the classical arena but, thankfully, there are those who can still measure success outside of the box office. It helps, of course, if you are young and have the broad horizons of an already-established career beckoning.
Gwendolyn Masin fits the role nicely. She is 26 years old, has an impeccable musical pedigree, has glided over the pitfalls of child prodigy status, and progressed at such a pace that concertos are being dedicated to her"
- Dick O'Riordan, The Sunday Business Post, September 2004
Gwendolyn Masin's "In Search of Lost Time" Series in Dublin, IE
"Mark her down as a daring and exciting young performer who ventures courageously into unknown territory with relish. Last year, her production of Love's Delusion, a fascinating music-drama inspired by excerpts from the works of Proust, was premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival. In my opinion, the format devised by Masin has huge potential for the presentation of classical music in a literary context"
- Dick O'Riordan, The Sunday Business Post, January 2005
Gwendolyn Masin, Artistic Director of the Carrick Water Music Festival in Carrick-on-Shannon, IE
"This year’s festival is under the guidance of violinist Gwendolyn Masin, who is not just a brilliant musician but also an innovative and daring operator within the musical-cultural sphere."
- Dick O'Riordan, The Sunday Business Post, August 2007
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