“Amalia Hall had a particularly sweet tone.”
– The Strad Magazine
“Brilliance and immense understanding.”
– John Button, The Dominion Post
“It was a magical performance by Amalia Hall who handled the demands effortlessly.”
– Elizabeth Kerr, Radio NZ Concert
“Rendered with the perfect balance of sinew and grace by violinist Amalia Hall.”
– William Dart, New Zealand Herald
“Amalia Hall is turning heads on the national music scene and beyond.”
– William Dart, New Zealand Herald
“In this, another ridiculously virtuoso piece, Hall hypnotised her audience with her spell-binding performance. What chocolatey low-string playing! What gossamer lightness up high! And such a compelling sense of rhythm. Even in the galaxy of stellar performers assembled for this festival, she stood tall.”
– Nicholas Routley, Australian Stage
“From the concerto’s richly evocative beginning Amalia Hall seemed to ‘inhabit’ the music’s wide-ranging moods, seeming equally at home with both the work’s evocative beauties and rapid-fire volatilities – she addressed the atmospheric warmth of the opening folk-tune with full-bodied tones, along with plenty of energy and ‘snap’ to her phrasings.”
– Peter Mechen (Middle C)
“The marvellous Amalia Hall navigated capricious passage work as if born to it.”
– William Dart, the New Zealand Herald
“One of NZ’s finest musicians”.
– William Dart, NZ Herald
“But Amalia Hall proved herself a goddess of the violin, and de Pledge encouraged her to play faster and faster. With incredible control of her bow, she brought amazing energy to the music, building in waves of emotion to a tempest of fireworks in the Scherzo, playing with miraculous speed and stamina, and an expressive tender vibrato.”
– Stuff News, Margot Hannigan
“Sumptuous and sweet tone… full of vitality.”
– Andrew Buchanan-Smart, TWSO review
”Amalia displayed her flawless technique and lyrical tone, communicating the composer’s intricacies magnificently to create a magical intensity and engagement.”
– Gil Hardy, The Devonport Flagstaff
“Also of note is Amalia Hall’s beguiling violin performance on opus 24a, which elevates the piece from meandering confessional to sublime testimony, undimished and flawless. A quiet masterpiece.”
– Chris Morgan, Scene Magazine
“Visiting internationally acclaimed New Zealand violinist Amalia Hall’s playing was all that could have been wished for, holding the audience spellbound from start to finish. She projected the essential character of each of the 12 movements with exceptional clarity, vivid contrasts of expression, exquisite phrasing and an impeccable sense of the Baroque style. No wonder the audience was instantly on its feet at the end.”
– Peter Williams, Hawke’s Bay Orchestra review
“[Her playing was] full-bodied and generous, and always alert to the needs of every phrase, with scrupulous use of vibrato. In fact her vibrato showed her attention to the emotion and meaning of every phrase. […It] was overwhelming, evidence of the violinist’s skill as well as her sheer musicianship.
In the second movement Hall captured its profound meditative beauty… again the opportunity to be touched by her ability to sustain long melodic lines filled with genuine emotion.
“The pair [with pianist John-Paul Muir] played rhapsodically, taking every chance to discover fresh nuances”
– Lindis Taylor, Middle C, Classical Music Reviews
”Concertmaster Amalia Hall’s idiomatic solos were the soul of subtlety.”
– William Dart, New Zealand Herald
“Amalia displays a maturity and an extraordinary sensitivity unusual in one so young.”
– Lynette Urlich