Back with vengence! BBC Symphony concert review
Hi. I suffered some Writer's Block crap and couldn't write for so long. Enjoy this review!
In one review of violinist Ilya Gringolts album, classicstoday.com writer Anastasia Tsioulcas wrote that, "Every season or two another teenage musician is put forward by the media, an eager label, or an even more eager manager as the next great violin prodigy, the worthy successor to the lineage of luminaries. Most of these youngsters have technique but no soul, marching in an endless parade of Sibelius and Tchaikovsky concertos, one performance (and performer) just like the last. " The paragraph concludes, "Unlike some other youthful blazes of virtuosity, he's the real deal."
My sixth sense was screaming for me to attend the BBC concert on Thursday night despite the fact I was so damned broke I'm owing my flute teacher a class fee (sigh...). the ticket was bought last minute and I was seated at the very, very front A row luckily at the center right at smack where the violinist is positioned to unleash his interpretation on Dimitri Shostakovich's Violin Concerto no 1. Every single cent of the 55 ringgit I borrowed from my mum was worth it, what more pitifully my violinist friends couldn't attend.
It took a little while to warm up at the first movement, Nocturne with Gringolts' light and a little detached sound. The BBC accompaniment towards the serene but apathetic and numb emotional music was superb. By Scherzo, his famed Russian-style aggressive robust approach unveils itself to the audience. The highlight of the concerto is the Passacaglia which contains a lengthy, yet complex and difficult cadenza (solo playing without orchestral accompaniment). At beginning of the movement, Shostakovich juxtapoxes Stalin/invasion theme from his Seventh symphony (Leningrad). Shostakovich composes that symphony during the terrible Leningrad invasion by the Nazis. In what seems to be depicting the terrible emotional agony of the war and persecution of Soviet authorites, Ilya Gringolts was very involved with the anguish of the composer, moreso during the lengthy cadenza before the last movement. Every single note was articulated well, but the coupled with fierce bow attacks and Gringolts demonic intensity the effect was devastating. The burleske movement which follows up concludes that concerto. I am convinced Shostakovich's violin concerto is not only a showpiece of technical prowess, but a powerful work of art and statement. It is to my amazement the 24-year old Ilya Gringolts, youngest winner of Premio Paganini competition displays such maturity and depth of interpretation that is very difficult to find for a guy at his age.
The BBC symphony played before that Smetana's My Fatherland from Ma Vlast and Igor Stravinsky's Petrushka after the concerto. It is typical of Czech conductors that Jirà Belohlávek conjures fine interpretation of the Smetana piece and the Dvorak Slavonic Dances encore that follows up next. The Petrushka isn't perfect, with complex notations that the BBC winds and brasses find it a challenge. Off-pitches, blunt and uncoordinated attacks aside, maestro Belohlavek highlights the Mahlerian brashness and sarcastic nature of the work and the flops are forgettable by second half of the work. For violin enthusiasts, they could've just gone home and skip the Petrushka to treasure what seemed to be a emotionally intense performance earlier.
In one review of violinist Ilya Gringolts album, classicstoday.com writer Anastasia Tsioulcas wrote that, "Every season or two another teenage musician is put forward by the media, an eager label, or an even more eager manager as the next great violin prodigy, the worthy successor to the lineage of luminaries. Most of these youngsters have technique but no soul, marching in an endless parade of Sibelius and Tchaikovsky concertos, one performance (and performer) just like the last. " The paragraph concludes, "Unlike some other youthful blazes of virtuosity, he's the real deal."
My sixth sense was screaming for me to attend the BBC concert on Thursday night despite the fact I was so damned broke I'm owing my flute teacher a class fee (sigh...). the ticket was bought last minute and I was seated at the very, very front A row luckily at the center right at smack where the violinist is positioned to unleash his interpretation on Dimitri Shostakovich's Violin Concerto no 1. Every single cent of the 55 ringgit I borrowed from my mum was worth it, what more pitifully my violinist friends couldn't attend.
It took a little while to warm up at the first movement, Nocturne with Gringolts' light and a little detached sound. The BBC accompaniment towards the serene but apathetic and numb emotional music was superb. By Scherzo, his famed Russian-style aggressive robust approach unveils itself to the audience. The highlight of the concerto is the Passacaglia which contains a lengthy, yet complex and difficult cadenza (solo playing without orchestral accompaniment). At beginning of the movement, Shostakovich juxtapoxes Stalin/invasion theme from his Seventh symphony (Leningrad). Shostakovich composes that symphony during the terrible Leningrad invasion by the Nazis. In what seems to be depicting the terrible emotional agony of the war and persecution of Soviet authorites, Ilya Gringolts was very involved with the anguish of the composer, moreso during the lengthy cadenza before the last movement. Every single note was articulated well, but the coupled with fierce bow attacks and Gringolts demonic intensity the effect was devastating. The burleske movement which follows up concludes that concerto. I am convinced Shostakovich's violin concerto is not only a showpiece of technical prowess, but a powerful work of art and statement. It is to my amazement the 24-year old Ilya Gringolts, youngest winner of Premio Paganini competition displays such maturity and depth of interpretation that is very difficult to find for a guy at his age.
The BBC symphony played before that Smetana's My Fatherland from Ma Vlast and Igor Stravinsky's Petrushka after the concerto. It is typical of Czech conductors that Jirà Belohlávek conjures fine interpretation of the Smetana piece and the Dvorak Slavonic Dances encore that follows up next. The Petrushka isn't perfect, with complex notations that the BBC winds and brasses find it a challenge. Off-pitches, blunt and uncoordinated attacks aside, maestro Belohlavek highlights the Mahlerian brashness and sarcastic nature of the work and the flops are forgettable by second half of the work. For violin enthusiasts, they could've just gone home and skip the Petrushka to treasure what seemed to be a emotionally intense performance earlier.
posted by Corgan Sow at 3:19 pm
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