23 Feb 2008 - MPO, Feng Ning, Matthias BamertThe night really belonged to Feng Ning, who made his coruscating DFP debut in KL with Paganini's most famous Violin Concerto No 1, complete with the virtuosic Emile Sauret cadenza. The first of six violin concertos that were published, is notorious for its fiendish technically difficulties. Staggering feats of virtuosity is needed to play this concerto but to make it sound like a "mini-opera" for violin and orchestra despite the extreme technical hurdles [e.g. large arpeggio leaps, running parallel double-stops (like thirds, sixths and tenths), spiccato and ricochet bowings and the notorious double harmonic notes] was really proof that this is a major violinist & talent (who won the 2006 Paganini contest) is just embarking on his journey to the very top echelon of violinists currently performing. Given the typical rhythmic applause and a standing ovation that is only reserved for artists like Leonidas Kavakos here, he proceeded to play Paganini's God Save the King Variations Op.9 as an encore.
Feng Ning is not only flawless in his execution (pearl-like intonation with a sweet tone which is never under stress), but he plays with a daredevil-like intensity, which reminds me of Michael Rabin's manner in the 2 versions of that very same Paganini concerto from a 6-CD box set from EMI (my favourite CD version of the said piece!). He also performs with an expressive intensity of varying tonal colour (e.g. repeated phrases are played on different strings and subtle glissandi that also shade his fabulous playing).
The pieces that flanked the Paganini were Rossini's Il signor bruschino Overture - played with a lack of colour and wit and almost no famous crescendi at all. Poor orchestral playing (much maligned horn section were as usual - out of tune!) plagued Holst's The Planets and flat choral singing from the National Choir in Neptune was also apparent (almost a semitone out!). However, some movements (like Mars and Jupiter) were quite well played nevertheless. As mentioned above, the MPO and Bamert were much earth-bound but Feng Ning is certainly one of the brightest violinists performing in the sub-30 age category. Perhaps he could be persuaded to play either the Vieuxtemps Fifth Violin Concerto or Wieniawski's fiendishly difficult First Concerto for his next visit here?
5 comments:
Useful review, Lee. I'll look out for him. I sort-of assume nowadays that any violinist under the age of 30 years old can play Paganini flawlessly (it used not to be like that; listen to old recordings of Jan Kubelik!) But the phrase that pleased me in your review was "daredevil-like intensity". If Paganini came back and played the piece, one feels he would ham it up, play it for all it was worth, milk the crowd, etc. The music needs an element of showmanship -- even vulgarity -- and that is what so many executants miss (apart from Michael Rabin). The slow movement should speak like a crowd-pleasing Italian tenor singing in a provincial Italian opera house -- top notes held on to loud, swooning and sobbing in the sentimental passages, drowning everyone in the dramatic passages. And audiences, I feel, should urge the performer on, not sit silently and reverentially as if this were one of the late Beethoven string quartets.
Hi Harry - thanks for your comments. Yes - there was daredevil-like intensity - really no-holds barred approach, much like Kavakos. The technique is a means to an end - a technique that is fine and does not draw attention to itself but serves the music. However, if one does not have a good technique - then I'd not enjoy any Paganini VC 1 performance. I actually had seen 3 Paganini VC 1's here. This is the best so far.
The second movement was lyrical and had operatic intensity as well.
Cheers - Lee
The other 2 performances I heard of the Paganini was by Patricia Shih and Marie-Elisabeth Lott. Both were inferior (in the daredevil-ry aspect) to Feng Ning.
My pianist friend (Winston) with whom I performed Vitali's Chaconne (arr. by Charlier) in 1986 watched the Feng Ning concert today. I was having a bad migrane - otherwise, I'd gone to see today's concert. His encore today was Paganini's Duo Merveille.
Winston's jaw was on the ground for the whole of Feng Ning's concert.
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