(Suzanne Martens)
New work by
a South African composer was the highlight of this concert in the KZNPO’s
spring season. (Review by Michael Green)
Thomas
Rajna, who will be 84 in December, was born in Hungary but moved to a
university post in Cape Town in 1970 and has lived there ever since. In his
younger days he was a concert pianist of distinction, and in recent years he
has become an internationally recognised composer.
His most
recent work, his Violin Concerto, was written in 2007 but was given its first
performance only two
years ago, the soloist being the Stellenbosch violinist Suzanne Martens. Her
interpretation can therefore be considered the authoritative one, and certainly
her performance with the KZNPO in the Durban City Hall was outstanding in every
respect.
This
five-movement concerto is, of course, modern in style, difficult at a first
hearing but not impossible. Parts of it are vaguely indicative of the composer’s eastern European
heritage - one listener thought the second movement reminded him of Fiddler on the Roof! – and other
sections are fast and furious. The heart of the concerto is undoubtedly the
slow movement, Lento, which has a long singing melody for the solo violin.
Suzanne
Martens handled all this with great composure and skill, and she was rewarded
with prolonged applause at the end. The orchestra, conducted by Naum Rousine,
resident conductor with the KZNPO, was an excellent partner throughout,
particularly in the many strongly rhythmical passages.
The solo
violinist reappeared after the interval in Beethoven’s Romance in F major, in
which she conveyed accurately the calm repose of this beautiful piece.
Mendelssohn
made up the rest of the programme, the Hebrides
Overture (Fingal’s Cave) and the
Symphony No. 4 (the “Italian”). The orchestra’s playing was precise and brisk,
and much to the pleasure of the audience. - Michael Green