SOLO VIOLIN RECITAL
Shlomo Mintz (Violin)
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Concert Hall
Wednesday (31 January 2018 )
This review was published in The Straits Times on 2 February 2017 with the title "The luxury of Ysaÿe's six Sonatas at one sitting".
For
violinists and violin fanciers, there are three pinnacles of the solo
repertoire. J.S.Bach's six unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas,
and Paganini's 24 Caprices are well-loved and established monuments. The
six Sonatas (Op.27) of Belgian violinist-composer Eugène Ysaÿe
(1858-1931), dedicated to eminent violin virtuosos of his time, have gained a
strong foothold helped by excellent complete recordings by the likes of
Leonidas Kavakos, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Alina Ibragimova and Yang Tianwa.
Live
performances of Ysaÿe (above) are often limited to single sonatas, or shorter
single-movement sonatas (notably Sonata Nos.3 and 6) as encores.
However to hear all six sonatas in a single sitting was a rare and unusual
luxury, so amply illustrated by Russia-born Israeli violinist Shlomo Mintz.
Mintz is presently the Artist-in-Residence of the Singapore International
Violin Competition 2018 and Ong Teng Cheong Professor of Music.
Those
who remember his Deutsche Grammophon recordings of solo Bach and Paganini will
be pleased that he has lost none of the phenomenal technique, tonal lustre and
impeccable musicianship that distinguished those albums. Without pomp or
ceremony, Mintz emerged from the wings and played as if his entire existence
depended on it.
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| Dedicatees of Ysaÿe's sonatas were an illustrious bunch. Top: Szigeti, Thibaud & Enesco Bottom: Kreisler, Crickboom & Quiroga |
J.S.Bach
was the inspiration for the first two Sonatas, both in four movements. Sonata
No.1 in G minor was dedicated to the Hungarian Joseph Szigeti after hearing
him play Bach's Sonata No.1, also in the same key. Sonata No.2
was written for Frenchman Jacques Thibaud, filled with in-jokes of the
fiddlers' trade.
The
1st movement, entitled Obession, began with the unmistakable opening
of the Preludio from Bach's Partita No.3 before morphing into
brutal slashing as indicated in the score. The medieval chant Dies Irae
(portending the Day of Judgement) was quoted in all movements, sounding more
frenzied with each turn. The fugal movements were very well voiced, contrasting
with the diabolical hairpin turns and twists of the fast movements. The furious
finale, called Les Furies, seemed to say it all.
Even
after the exhausting encore-like Sonata No.3 “Ballade” written for the
Romanian Georges Enesco, there was no recourse for an intermission. Mintz just
carried on, harnessing a second wind for Sonata No.4, a pastiche of
Baroque traditions. Specially gifted to that notorious fabricator of old
Viennese waltzes, Fritz Kreisler, he amply demonstrated that the violin could
really dance.
Of
a more earthy variety was the Danse Rustique that concluded Sonata
No.5, a work for fellow compatriot Mathieu Crickboom that luxuriated in
long-held drones, produced by skillful multiple stopping. Time seemed to pass
so quickly that before long, Sonata No.6, crafted for Spaniard Manuel
Quiroga, heralded the end of Mintz's 70-minute test of musical, physical and
spiritual endurance.
There
was a false start, but he shrugged it off, beginning over without mincing or
missing a note till its a glorious end. His encore was most apt, Bach's Preludio
from Partita No.3 now heard in its entirety. Needless to say, that was
glorious too.
Shlomo
Mintz will hold violin, viola and chamber music masterclasses on 3 & 7 February
at the Conservatory Orchestral Hall, and conduct the Finals (Mozart concertos)
of the Singapore International Violin Competition with the Conservatory
Orchestra on 5 & 6 February at Victoria Concert Hall.
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| Post concert: Shlomo Mintz meets with members of the SIVC jury: (From L) Kam Ning, Viktor Tretyakov, Mintz, Silvia Marcovici, Qian Zhou and Boris Kuschnir. |
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