If you ask around who is the greatest living violinist in the world, you will likely be told Maxim Vengerov. Born in the Soviet Union, Vengerov first picked up violin lessons at the age of five and won his first major competition at the age of 10 in Poland. By the age of 16, he won the International Carl Flesch Competition in London which landed him his first recording contract.
Since then, his career has been fairly constant with the exception of a year off after an accident damaging his shoulder. He made use of the time to study conducting which, he says, has allowed him to now speak the language of the conductor and to more fully grasp the bigger picture of his soloist position when working with an orchestra.
Vengerov has toured the world many times over, recorded more than 40 albums and collected a myriad of International awards along the way including a Grammy, two Gramophones, a Classic Brit Award and five Edisons.
To have him touring Australia is such a rare treat. It’s been a decade since he was last here. Accompanying him on tour is the phenomenal pianist Polina Osetinskaya who is a life long friend. One would normally expect the accompanist to sit in the background highlighting the violinist and matching his whims but, no. Osetinskaya is a powerhouse performer in her own right and met him toe to toe with playing that was both magnificent and masterful. They have toured together around Germany, United States, London and New York.
The Concert Hall at Sydney Opera House was not completely full for the one off matinee concert which was a surprise. There were a fair few complaints heard about the souvenir program costing $20 when it only had the briefest information. There was a bio for each performer, info on each piece of music and a badly edited Q and A interview lifted from a magazine.
The audience who attended were not all aficionados and needed some guidance initially as to etiquette. Vengerov and Osetinskaya opened with Prokofiev’s Five Melodies, a very modern piece and not often played in Sydney concerts. It flows through a wide range of emotions and is most suited to a fully attentive, deep listening audience. There was a pause early on between melodies and someone began to clap. Vengerov held up his hand to stop them but, too late. More joined in and the concert hall ushers took this as the cue to throw open the doors and allow all the latecomers to enter the auditorium. The smile disappeared off the performers’ faces. We are not talking about 2 or 3 people but hoards of people, possibly caught in the Sydney train track work over the weekend. So, the performance was paused for several minutes as all these people found their way to their seats before continuing the piece.
The Five Melodies is a technically challenging piece and Vengerov was able to demonstrate his superior skills with confidence, a fine vibrato and fluid movements. One could see immediately, this artist stands head and shoulders above every other violinist. At the close, the performers went straight into Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 1 without a gap. The final bars were gentle and introspective but, alas! Again the magic was broken with a pair of hands keen to start the applause the instant the final note was barely finished. The smile dropped off Vengerov’s face once again. The two performers talked together – one was hoping they weren’t discussing just walking off and leaving the theatre. They did however persist with patience for the less educated, gracefully bowed and made their exit just for the interval.
In the second half, the audience was more settled and stayed silent between movements, allowing a decent pause after each work. What a relief. Franck’s Sonata in A major is a popular piece – more a duo than a violin solo accompanied. These two are so well familiar in playing together and their trust in one another made for great viewing and listening. It was interesting to note that Vengerov did not vary the tempi much. This made for a very solid and reliable version of the sonata. One that felt safe so the audience could relax and purely enjoy the immense skill of the two players. There was much applause for this piece.
The final work in the program was even more popular. The writing of Ravel’s Tzigane was heavily influenced by Hungarian Gypsy music which made a stark contrast to the earlier works in the program. Vengerov’s gypsy styling to the music will knock your socks off, if you get the chance to hear it. So very powerful and charismatic. He knows the work well and was able to throw in all sorts of super, virtuoso tricks making for wonderful entertainment. The crowd loved it and roared their appreciation.
Well prepared, the duo had a number of encores up their sleeve ready to keep us clapping including a March by Prokofiev, Fritz Kreisler’s Liebesleid and Liebesfreud, finishing with the beautiful slow variation on a theme of Paganini written by Rachmaninov.
The audience paid tribute to the performers with a standing ovation. We look forward to seeing either or both of them again here in Sydney.
Vengerov and Osetinskaya performing at Carnegie Hall
Program
SERGEI PROKOFIEV – 5 Melodies, Op. 35
SERGEI PROKOFIEV – Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80
CÉSAR FRANCK – Sonata in A major
MAURICE RAVEL – Tzigane
Related Links
Maxim Vengerov website: https://www.maximvengerov.com/
Olga Osteinskaya website: https://osetinskaya.com/bio/
More events and tours by Castiglione Arts and Culture: https://www.castiglione.com.au/
