Two sides of star Maxim
IT was a night of musical firsts. Soloist, orchestra, conductor were all making their city debuts, as was one of the featured composers.
The biggest star was the great Russian-born Israeli violinist Maxim Vengerov, who seems to have been at the top of his game for so long that it’s rather a shock to discover he’s only 48. That’s what happens when you start winning international competitions at the age of 10. Many in Thursday’s audience will have heard his classic recording of the work he played in this concert: Prokofiev’s 1st Violin Concerto. He made it when he was just 20 under the baton of Mstislav Rostropovich. His performance was astonishing then and still takes the breath away.
The outer movements of the concerto still have the poise, poetry and equanimity enshrined on that CD but it’s the central scherzo which astonishes: all those rapid alternations of bowed and plucked notes help to create a frantic impression, as if pursued by the orchestra. Vengerov is superb at making the violin seem trapped, pushing his instrument to the limits. However, the concerto isn’t all fireworks. The ending was wonderfully serene and delicate with Vengerov equally adept at producing an ecstatic sense of music rising into the air.
The other piece was a surprising choice: Alexey Shor’s suite for violin and orchestra, Seascapes. Shor is a Ukrainian composer who wrote the pieces while resident in Malta. Anyone suspicious of new classical music will find nothing to be frightened of here. Quite the contrary, as the suite is traditional and tuneful, much less “modern” than the Prokofiev. Each movement has a title (Abandoned Lighthouse, for example) evocative of the Maltese coast, although it was hard to hear any connection with the sea. Vengerov played like an angel, although it’s slightly mystifying that such an unchallenging piece should have found itself in his repertoire.
The Romanian Philharmonic under their conductor Sergey Smbatyan played with much heart, even if a few rough edges were on display. In Sibelius’ Karelia Suite rhythms were lively in the celebratory outer movements and, even in the central Ballade, things were never allowed to sag – and the cor anglais tune sounded particularly poignant.
Also on the menu was one of the most popular works in the repertoire: Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, one of its composer’s most passionate utterances and the Romanian Philharmonic were in their element. Smbatyan achieved a balance between the brooding introduction, the focused energy of the fight music and (above all) the tenderness of the great love theme.