Reviews
The slow movement is the emotional heart of the work, and this was totally compelling. The duet in the major between clarinet and violin was wonderfully well done, with Christina Mok on violin repeating the melody piano over the clarinet’s delayed counterpoint…
Mok did a first-rate job of rising to Paganini’s many technical challenges.
Ms. Mok put this program together to feature masterpieces from Eastern Europe, and succeeded in treating us to some exotic sounds plus an exciting blend of virtuosity and superb ensemble playing.
It is always a pleasure to hear violinist Christina Mok, for her mastery and high level of musicianship enhances everything she performs.
The evening’s concert began with a performance of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” featuring concertmaster Christina Mok as leader and violin soloist. Any opportunity to hear a performance of Vivaldi’s great work is likely to be a powerful experience, and it certainly was on this occasion. Mok dazzled us with her virtuosity, her warm vibrant tone and her elegant musicianship. Her high voltage energy in the faster movements kept us transfixed, and her expressive beauty in the Adagio movement of L’estate was remarkable for her tasteful addition of charming ornamentation and embellishment.
Christina Mok, playing the extended solo(Ein Heldenleben) in which Strauss depicts wife Pauline…Mok’s playing was lyric, then bracing, then coy; she effectively narrated the solo, with its various episodes and moods. And she was technically commanding.
Alongside Beethoven we had Brahms unfolding some of his most prolonged melodic lines, played out through Mok’s impeccable sense of phrasing…This was one of those dual purpose recital. Through Mok’s interpretation one could readily appreciate what made each of these sonatas an outstanding contribution to the history of chamber music. On the other hand, those just beginning to develop a taste for chamber music were presented with a clear case of why chamber music fans get so excited over this genre. Mok clearly appreciated the foundations of tradition on which each of these sonatas was constructed, but her interpretation still caught the adventurous spirit with which each of these composers sought to take that tradition in new directions.
Christina Mok’s “Four Seasons” was a lock-it-down performance of Vivaldi’s Baroque warhorse….Mok’s playing sang out. It was rock solid and it told stories. It also expressed great sentiment without being sentimental… richly mellow, nimble and fast moving, and taking judicious liberties with ornamentation. It was a dynamic performance: Sometimes a warhorse gets to display its original brilliance, and that’s what happened here.
Christina Mok shines at the Symphony Silicon Valley – She was a spellbinder as she dug in and let it fly…There was no need to long for Itzhak Perlman or Gil Shaham.
Christina Mok took center stage as soloist in the Mendelssohn, making the great concerto her own. Mok set her tone for the performance at the outset, drawing a broadly phrased line and reinforcing it throughout with strong tone and no small degree of the virtuosity that the score asks for.
Violinist Christina Mok and pianist Lori Lack made Suite Italienne’s virtuosic demands and effects seem easy as pie.
The performance was a perpetual-motion display, throwing sparks all over…..Mok seemed to relish the Paganini-like flourishes and Piazzolla’s fondness for jazzy string slides, tossing them off with ease and virtuoso aplomb.
Christina Mok deftly handled the violin pyrotechnics. Her tone was excellent and intonation secure.
There’s integrity in her playing, of a most admirable sort.
Christina Mok provided solid leadership, as well as excellent solo work, throughout the program.
She performed the work with enormous artistry and superlative technique.
Mok dazzled the packed audience with technical maturity and artistic excellence rarely found in a young performer.