SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

SEEN AND HEARD UK CONCERT

Vivaldi/Respighi, Enescu and Mozart: Tai Murray (violin), Gilles Vonsattel (piano), Wigmore Hall, London, 1.3.2010 (BBr)

 

Vivaldi, arranged by Respighi: Violin Sonata in D

Georges Enescu: Violin Sonata No.3 in A minor, dans le caractère populaire roumain, op.25 (1926)

Mozart: Violin Sonata in A, K305

 

I had the pleasure of hearing Tai Murray during the weekend of Proms Chamber Music concerts last year and I was very impressed so the chance to hear her again, giving her Wigmore Hall debut, was mouth watering, to say the least. With a fascinating programme, and a fine duo partner, this was a show to anticipate with relish.

Starting with ersatz baroque music, this version, by Respghi, of Vivaldi had both feet planted firmly in the late romantic sound world of the early 20^th century, Murray played the piece in true romantic style, with a big sound, and generously full bowing. Poor Vivaldi, if only he could have had an idea of what his successors would do to him! Despite this, it’s a very enjoyable version, a chamber compliment to the many orchestral arrangements of Stokowski, Henry Wood and the rest. Murray brought out the humour of the piece very well but on occasion when playing on the E string, or playing semiquaver passages she made a slightly unpleasant, and harsh, sound. I checked on the recording on the BBC iPlayer and although it wasn’t as noticeable on the broadcast, it was still there.

Although this stridency didn’t happen often it continued throughout the recital. Enescu’s 3^rd Sonata is unique in the repertoire, for it is haunted by the spirit of a gypsy player and it’s written with the feeling of total freedom; it really is one of those works where it appears that the performers are making the music up as they go along. It’s a very difficult piece to bring off successfully and Ms Murray, although playing all the notes, failed to invoke the spirit of the gypsy and she imbued the music with far too much classical grace. Making a gorgeous sound isn’t what matters here, capturing the spirit of the music is paramount. I have never heard a live performance which gets anywhere near the heart of the matter so Ms Murray need not worry about her performance. It takes a very mature artist to get his special music right. Ms Murray can be proud of how far she has come in her interpretation of this work.

The Mozart which ended the show was nice but lacked style, Ms Murray being far too romantic for such a winsome work. Overall, this was a very pleasant show, with fine playing from both Ms Murray and her partner Gilles Vonsattel but they both need to  scale down their attitude slightly towards the music of the classical period and be more discreet and gentle.

 

Bob Briggs