Splendid solo violinist gives brilliant performance of Paganini concerto. (Review by Michael Green)
The programme for this concert by the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in the Durban City Hall described it as “virtuosic prowess”, and, yes, that just about says it all for the central composition, Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor.
Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840) was a champion violinist but a second-rate composer whose works were designed specifically to show his virtuosic prowess. They are a combination of technical display and a certain glib melodic charm, and his second concerto provided a splendid vehicle for a splendid solo violinist, Russian-born Ilya Gringolts.
This young performer is building a substantial reputation in the wide world. He is a consummate technician - no difficulty appears to trouble him - and indeed he bears some physical resemblance to Paganini, with his tall, lean figure and dark hair.
He gave a brilliant performance of the concerto and was enthusiastically partnered by the KZNPO under the direction of that most energetic of conductors Yasuo Shinozaki, his second appearance with the orchestra this season.
I liked best the Adagio, in which the violinist produced the most beautiful singing tone. The long cadenza in the first movement was played with stunning expertise, and the final movement is certainly attractive, a Rondo based on the La Campanella bell-like theme which Liszt later rewrote into a famous piano piece.
All this was much to the taste of the audience, who gave the soloist a prolonged ovation. All the same, I would like to hear him play a concerto by Mozart or Beethoven or Brahms or Dvorak. That would, I think, be a truly memorable experience.
The concert opened with Verdi’s Sicilian Vespers overture, a dark and dramatic work that was given full value in this performance, and concluded with Ravel’s brilliant orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, written originally for the piano.
The conductor and the instrumentalists seized the many opportunities in this work to demonstrate their virtuosic prowess.
Actually, I prefer the adjective virtuoso. - Michael Green
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