The
American violinist Gil Shaham had been in
town for two concerts with the Philharmonia
under David Zinman. In between those events
he gave an extended recital at the Wigmore
Hall. On paper, the program looked fascinating,
especially as it seemed that one would also
have the rare chance to hear the brilliant
young Tasmanian violinist Adele Anthony, whom
I remember well from my visits to the Aspen
Music Festival and who is married to Gil Shaham.
Sadly, the whole concert turned out to be
a fascinating Shaham-Show and more the kind
of insider event for young violinists – there
were at least two large orchestra string sections
in the audience - than a musically fully rewarding
evening for public consumption.
Never
mind, it all started with a bang: the rarely
performed Sonata for Violins in Unison in
D, Op. 115 by Sergei Prokofiev. I had never
come across this work before and was flabbergasted.
Of course, violin ensembles are nowadays not
that common any longer – even the world premiere,
given by the violin class of the Moscow State
Conservatoire, took place 17 years after Prokofiev’s
death on the 10th March 1960. Having 12 violinists
led by Gil Shaham, but without Adele Anthony,
on the stage of the Wigmore Hall is unusual.
The first impression of their sound was just
magic – a big fanfare. The work in itself
is modest and its melodies are monophonic.
It belongs to Prokofiev’s classicist compositions;
the first movement `moderato´ mirrors in its
structure the classical Viennese tradition;
the second movement `Andante dolce´ imprints
Russian folk themes, while the last movement
`Con brio´ reminds one of the finale of his
G minor violin concerto. The idea for this
piece is based on Soviet violin ensembles,
which used to play solo compositions by Bach
and others at festive occasions at the Bolshoi
Theatre. The members of the Philharmonia showed
a lot of spirit, but where certainly not always
in unison. I would have preferred the New
York based excellent Sejon Soloists, with
whom Shaham has a close relationship.
Bach’s
Partita No.2 in D minor BWV1004 for solo violin
followed. Somehow, I expected Adele Anthony
as the soloist, but on came Gil Shaham again.
His playing was certainly extraordinarily
beautiful, and contemporary in style with
lots of vibrato. Despite this he produced
a pianissimo sound, where necessary, I have
rarely heard – Maxim Vengerov, excepted. Exactly
a week before this concert Vengerov played
the same work at the Barbican Hall – in a
near historically correct performance - with
slightly deeper tuning, no vibrato at all
and using a baroque bow. Every note had been
clearly audible without any resonance, whereas
Gil Shaham’s playing produced so much resonance
that the Chiaconne sounded like an orchestra
with the clarity of Vengerov’s historical
interpretation all but gone. As much as I
admire Gil Shaham, in this case the Partita
did not convince me.
After
the interval Shaham gave us various styles
and moods from works composed in the recent
past - either for four violins with (or without)
a double bass, or for 12 violins with double
bass. All the works were arranged by Julian
Milone, who had not been given any biographical
note in the program, but to judge from the
listing of the members of the Philharmonia
he belongs to the second violin section. First
came Paganini’s Caprice No.9 in E. Op.1 for
four violins including (for the first time)
Adele Anthony, a witty and sparkling arrangement,
which showed off all four players, followed
by "Sweet Georgia Brown"(1925) by
Ben Bernie/Maceo Pinkard/Kenneth Casey Sr.
standing for the jazz-violin style of Stéphane
Grappeli as well as Gershwin’s "Summer
Time". Here, the same four players including
a double bass took part, but it was already
Adele Anthony’s last appearance.
Next
came a four movement tango suite by Astor
Piazzolla for the original 12 violinists and
double bass, led by Gil Shaham – passionate
and even sinister and atmospheric, but also
pompous and too thickly orchestrated. With
"En coulisses" Julian Milone contributed
a world premier, an ironic piece, which should
have had the players back stage tuning and
practicing famous concertos and than coming
on to the platform. Instead, everything happened
there and, conducted by the composer, it all
sounded a little bit like controlled chaos
finishing with a gentle valse triste. The
two final orchestrations, yet another fantasy
on themes from Bizet’s "Carmen",
also by Milone, and the Csárdás
by the Italian Vittorio Monti (1868-1922),
gave the players a lot to do, but both pieces
were heavy handed and unsatisfactory. A Shostakovich
encore brought the concert to an end. The
violinists on stage and in the audience enjoyed
themselves – and it was fun. Only the former
arts minister David Mellor arrived late and
left early – he is obviously not a fiddle
player.
Hans-Theodor
Wohlfahrt
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