The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
‘MUSIC IS FLAME’
Violinist Maxim Vengerov is on a mission to carry the torch of music around the world. Rebecca Baird finds out how the Russianisraeli maestro is speaking without words
Fans of classical music and Top 40 diehards may not always have similar tastes. But for master violinist and conductor Maxim Vengerov, a classical music concert isn’t such a far cry from a pop gig. “If you go to pop concerts, you can get your emotions out, you know? You can sing and shout and it’s a great experience,” the 48-year-old explains. “Now, a classical concert is a more serene, more spiritual experience – but still, you let out your feelings, you release your emotions.”
Vengerov, who is considered one of the greatest living violinists, is speaking ahead of his concert with the Romanian National Philharmonic Orchestra in Perth next week.
He’s “very excited” to bring a varied programme to the Concert Hall stage.
“Modern contemporary composers are equally inspiring, and to make your premiere with a contemporary master can be very fulfilling in spirit,” he explains.
Good news for Perth audiences, who’ll see Vengerov playing the world premiere of “good friend” Alexey Shor’s Symphonic Prelude.
But those of a more classical persuasion, fear not – the concert includes Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky, with Vengerov promising the sonic and emotional diversity he is known for.
“I’m not conducting in this show, but I do conduct,” he says, explaining that, for him, playing and conducting are almost symbiotic.
“Violin can be, sometimes, a very lonely instrument,” he admits. “But when you’re actually conducting, you have a more intimate relationship with the other musicians.
“It’s very soul-fulfilling and gives me a lot of inspiration back to my violin-playing.”
Having made his debut aged just five in the then Soviet Union, Vengerov’s lifelong love for the violin is both palpable and infectious. That “lonely instrument” has taken him all over the world, thanks to his “tough but fair” tutor, the late Galina Turchaninova.
He recalls that to prove to her that he had “strong hands” as a child, he punched his beloved tutor in the stomach! Now, he credits his success to a different kind of strength.
“You have to be strong enough to take your luggage to the airport, but the strength is not so much physical!” he laughs. “It’s more strength of mind and great love and passion for music. Music is flame, and for me, to be a musician is about carrying the torch everywhere I go, to people all over the world.”
A dedicated humanitarian, Vengerov has travelled from hill-trapped communities in Thailand to war refugee camps in Uganda, playing his music for children who may otherwise never lay eyes (or ears) on a violin.
“I’ve seen kids who have lost all their family, and who have very little to look forward to in their lives,” he recalls. “Yet, when you take the violin out of the case, they relate to joy, they relate to music and rhythm.
“I remember in Uganda... they started making music together! It was one of the greatest joyful experiences of my life, where without words, I could play with them.”
That bond was especially crucial for the musician during the pandemic. Streaming performances with Classic FM from an empty concert hall over lockdown, Vengerov stresses that the quarter of a million people tuning in were at the forefront of his mind as he played.
“Behind the microphones, I knew we were streaming it for people,” he says. “It was a very beautiful thing. It gave me, and some members of the audience I think, great hope in such dark times.”
Now, for the Russian-israeli performer, a new dark cloud is looming as the war between his former homeland and Ukraine wages on.
“As a musician, I’m privileged to play everywhere, and it’s so painful for me that I can’t go to Russia at this moment,” he admits.
“For me... having Russian roots, it hurts me deeply, profoundly, what’s happening today.”
Vengerov believes music’s power to bring people together across nations, moments and conflicts cannot be underestimated.
“It fills me with joy to know that music, regardless of the language we speak, may speak to others without words,” he smiles.
“And we must speak from heart to heart.”
Maxim Vengerov will play at Perth Concert Hall on Monday November 28 with the Romanian National Philharmonic Orchestra. Tickets are available from the Horsecross Arts website.