Shimmering Beethoven: Nikki Chooi Dazzles in Violin Concerto

17 October 2025

But back to this weekend’s concert, after intermission, we were treated to one of the pinnacles of classical music, Beethoven’s violin concerto. Nikki Chooi (say “chewy”) can play anything, and he was wonderful in this concerto. When I closed my eyes, I could hear other great violinists: the impeccable intonation of Gil Shaham, the flair of Joshua Bell, the warmth of Itzhak Perlman.

A highlight of any concerto is the “cadenza,” where the orchestra is silent and the soloist gets to strut his or her stuff. Beethoven didn’t write a cadenza for this concerto, so over the years violinists have used music by Brahms’ friend Joseph Joachim, or by Joachim’s student Leopold Auer, which was arranged and popularized by Auer’s student Jascha Heifetz. But for sheer entertainment, it’s hard to beat the cadenza of the very popular Viennese violinist, Fritz Kreisler, and that’s what we heard.

But wait, there’s more. Responding to thunderous applause by both audience and all his fellow BPO musicians, Nikki Chooi graced the audience with an encore that went far beyond Kreisler’s cadenza in showing off what makes Chooi a Buffalo favorite, and that was an excerpt from composer John Corigliano’s film score to “The Red Violin.” Wow. From what I know from decades of concerts, and what I know of Nikki Chooi, you will never hear that music better. Ever.