Nadir Khashimov

There's been some buzz around town about an 18 year old CSU violinist named Nadir Khashimov from Uzbekistan. One person with some knowledge of music told me that he was "better than Kreisler". The only thing one can make of such a comment is that it's hyperbole. No 18 year old could be as good as a seasoned master. Still, the comment piqued my interest and I made it a point to see him play last night.

It was a jaw dropping performance.

The last piece he played, solo, was Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35. I'm not familiar with this piece and it may well be that it's because most violinists don't want to tackle it. It's a beautiful piece but it obviously requires a great deal of technical skill.

I've seen a lot of violin solos. I was one of the few who saw Midori's performance with the Atlanta Symphony on the first night of Freaknick. But I've never seen anything like this. His hands were everywhere and the most common reaction in the audience was to put their hand over their mouth to keep from drooling like an idiot.

Columbus is lucky to have a University with such fine facilities which attracts so much talent. If you see this young man on the bill, don't miss it!