(Sergey Malov)
Brilliant display by Sergey Malov. (Review by Michael Green)
A brilliant display by the soloist in Edward Elgar’s long
and complex violin concerto was the dominant feature of the penultimate concert
of the spring season of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, in the Durban City
Hall.
The violinist was Sergey Malov, who has in a short time
become an internationally known virtuoso.
The programme was labelled English Elegance, but Elgar was
the only English component. It is not easy to find great composers from England
so the Austrian master Joseph Haydn was drafted into the programme as a kind of
honorary Englishman, this because of his two immensely successful visits to
London 220 years ago.
An Italian composer made up the rest of the programme.
Appearing with the KZNPO were a Russian violinist (Sergey Malov, born in St
Petersburg 33 years ago) and a 72-year-old German conductor, Justus Frantz.
Elgar’s violin concerto, written in 1910, is not played very
often these days, partly because of its length; it runs for about 50 minutes
and is one of the longest of all concertos.
It has many spectacular flourishes for the solo violinist
and many beautiful expressive passages adorned in the score with Elgar’s
favourite instruction, nobilmente, nobly. Malov displayed a full range of
technical skills and a lovely rich, singing tone in the lyrical phrases. At the
end he was given a standing ovation by an excited audience.
Earlier the orchestra had produced a splendid performance of
one Haydn’s masterworks, the Symphony No. 102 in B flat major. This is one of
the 12 London Symphonies that Haydn wrote for first performance there. It is a
delightful work, ceaselessly energetic and highly original in many respects. Under
the direction of Justus Frantz’s controlled but vigorous conducting the members
of the orchestra showed every sign of enjoying the music as much as the
audience did.
The concert opened with something really unusual: an early 17th
century piece by the Venetian composer Giovanni Gabrieli for eight brass players
– horns, trumpets, trombones. The performers (all from the orchestra) stood in
the two galleries at the back of the stage. Very good. - - Michael Green
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