SYNERGY IN MUSIC 2014
Vadim Repin &
Russian Maestros
Victoria Concert Hall
Tuesday (28 October 2014 )
This review was published in The Straits Times on 30 October 2014
Synergy In Music is an annual concert presented by the
Russian energy giant Gazprom featuring Russian musicians as a gift of
friendship and cooperation between the world’s biggest nation and Singapore . This year’s offering saw a return of
renowned violin virtuoso Vadim Repin with five colleagues as equal partners in
chamber music.
The
over-two-hours long concert also showcased Victoria Concert Hall as a premier
chamber music venue, where just a small group of players could fill the
650-seat space with a glorious and full-toned sonority. There was a change in
the order of programme such that the most serious works were played first,
beginning with Prokofiev’s late Sonata
for two violins in C major.
That
there was little separating Repin and Tatiana Samouil was a credit to the
musicianship involved, both musicians finely attuned to its elusive idiom of
lyricism and dissonance. Their intonation was close to spotless and the
ensemble so tight as to be indivisible. Its sequence of four alternating slow
and fast movements resulted in the audience applauding prematurely after the
lively 2nd movement.
Next
was Beethoven’s String Trio in C
minor (Op.9 No.3) which bristled in its moments of con brio (with life) and breathed longeurs that looked forward to his later quartets. Samouil,
violist Igor Naidin (member of the famous Borodin Quartet) and cellist Alexander
Buzlov gave a well-judged reading that captured the young German’s preening
ambition and subtle humour, ending with a quiet cadence when one was expecting
fireworks.
The
first half closed emphatically with Repin and violist Andrey Usov in the
well-known Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia,
which comprised a series of very short variations played over a ground bass.
Again, two became one in a veritable feast of counterpoint. 75 minutes had
elapsed almost imperceptibly.
Cellist
Evgeny Rumyantsev joined the group in the second half, which belonged to
Tchaikovsky’s String Sextet, better
known as Souvenir of Florence. Its
chamber ensemble version even rivals his Serenade
for Strings in popularity and wealth of good tunes. The overall sunny and
cheerful disposition also makes it unusual for a composer known for his morose
and tragic musings.
Here
Repin clearly assumed the role of leader and soloist, playing the main melodies
while being accompanied by his five partners. He did so with a natural flair
and gusto. The only hint of melancholy came in the slow movement, where he and
cellist Buzlov shared the spotlight and their intertwined voices became an
impassioned love duet.
The
last two movements showcased fast playing, but the unity as a group was never
in doubt as the heat of the moment rose in tandem with the tempo of the music.
Finishing on a febrile high, the appreciative audience was rewarded with a
built-in encore, Variations on Carnival
of Venice. Repin was the troubadour, crafting an arsenal of nifty tricks on
his instrument accompanied by pizzicato strings, before walking off the stage
as if saying, “Till the next time”.
