Chen makes it matter

MUSICA VIVA TASMANIA Ray Chen and Julien Quentin Hobart Town Hall August 13

THOUGH violinist Ray Chen and fine French pianist Julien Quentin provided a partnership of rapport and sensitivity, there was no doubting the pre-eminence and superstar projection of the Taiwanese-born, Australian-raised violinist. What’s more, he was playing the magnificently rich toned 1715 “Joachim” Stradivarius. Famed Hungarian Joseph Joachim was a former owner of this famous violin on which he may well have premiered the Violin Concerto in D by his friend Johannes Brahms.

This concert tour featured first performances of Australian composer Matthew Hindson’s Violin Sonata No.1 Dark Matter (2018).

Dark matter is the unseen stuff of which a large part of the universe is made. We know of its existence largely because of the way it affects the things we can directly observe. Consisting of two contrasted parts, the first was a movingly impressive elegy inspired by the composer’s relationship with his father, who was dying of cancer at the time of composition. The second was brilliant and visceral. The performers gave superb advocacy that would have delighted any composer.

Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No.1 in D major, Opus 12 No.1 (1798) was full of verve and energy, making the piece seem “bigger’’ than usual. The Grieg Violin Sonata No.2 in G major, Opus 13 (1867) brought an abundance of romantic passion and tonal splendour. Suite Populaire Espagnole (arranged by Kochanski) by Manuel de Falla had the earthy, uninhibited, virtuosic feel of Spanish folk song.

The final three works, two of them encores, revealed Chen’s attraction to the style and tastes of an older generation of violin masters: Vittorio Monti’s Czardas (1904), Fritz Kreisler’s Syncopation (1926), and Manuel Ponce’s Estrellita (1912), arranged by Heifetz.

— PETER DONNELLY