This 23 May 2009 concert was probably the third performance of the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 1 in the DFP Hall. The two previous performances were given by Vadim Repin and Ilya Gringolts - very stupendous interpretations given by 2 distinguished Russian artists.
Prefaced by Lindberg's Arena (I did not find much to enjoy in this piece - relative to the same composer's Clarinet Concerto), Isabelle Faust's interpretation was much "cooler" than that of Repin and Gringolts. It was less brooding and had less "angst". Nevertheless, it was a very fine and technically assured performance - which unfortunately lacked the last ounce of "Russian-ness".
After the concert, we heard a premiere performance of Borodin's Second Symphony. It was an innovative piece of concert programming that the DFP Hall and conductor Hannu Lintu must take equal credit for. Unfortunately, Borodin's Second Symphony is not as memorable as Rachmaninov's Second and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphonies.
Nevertheless, this was an excellent piece of concert programming. Maybe I could put in a request for Arensky's Variations on a theme of Tchaikovsky and Gliere's The Red Poppy Suite in future Russian-themed concerts.
No comments:
Post a Comment