Stunning Suwanai and brilliant Briger

The most eagerly awaited concert in 2019 at DFP was that of Akiko Suwanai playing the Brahms Violin Concerto under Alexander Briger. It was held under the auspices of the Japanese Embassy, and Tun Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali were among the honoured guests present at the sold-out concert.

After a brief speech by the Japanese ambassador to Malaysia Dr Makio Miyagawa, maestro Alexander Briger launched the concert with Mozart's Così fan tutte Overture. Opening with a grand and resplendent C major chord, Briger gave a sparkling account of the overture which had fine contrasts between the sinuous and reedy oboe solo by guest principal Bernice Lee and the syncopated and the lyrical sections which followed.

Briger then gave a magnificent account of Haydn's Symphony No 104 for the classically conceived first half of the concert. The opening Adagio was imposing, whilst the following Allegro was suitably commanding and symphonic. The elegant Andante second movement was ideally paced to allow its theme and variations to unfold gracefully and naturally.

The Minuet, taken at dignified pace for the lopsided third beat accent to register, contrasted well with the exquisitely played Trio by the MPO woodwind players. Briger's presentation of the playful folk-like main theme of the Finale contrasted well with the darker moments of the extended development section.

This was big-band Haydn with a very full sound and Briger and the MPO showed it is possible to play Haydn in this grand manner. I was reminded of a similarly sumptuous performance of this symphony which I heard at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Herbert von Karajan in June 1981.

In the Romantic half of the concert post-interval, we heard a stunning account of the Brahms Violin Concerto from Akiko Suwanai and Briger. Unlike the previous swift and soloist-led account of the Brahms by Kolja Blacher at DFP, this interpretation was fully grandiose and symphonic. Conducting the concerto (and the whole concert) from memory, Briger led the MPO on a magnificently played tutti before Suwanai made her powerful entrance, bringing an impressive fervour to the dramatic opening statement.

Briger and Suwanai handled the frequent Brahmsian mood changes and transitions very deftly, slipping inexorably from raw power in the solo line and driving passion from the orchestra into moments of intimacy and lyricism. Suwanai's interpretation of Joachim's mercurial cadenza towards the end of first movement was truly breathtaking, filling the entire concert hall with her unmatched sonority and virtuosity on the iconic 1714 ex-Dolphin Stradivarius violin that once belonged to Jascha Heifetz.

The second movement's opening oboe solo was lovingly-shaped by principal oboist Simon Emes with his typical elegant tone, before Suwanai and the orchestra expounded on the more impassioned central section material. The reprise of the opening oboe at the recapitulation with the high-lying interweaving descant lines from Suwanai was just heavenly.

Taking a tempo that was a touch nimbler than usual, Suwanai imbued the bucolic Hungarian dance infused-finale with high spirits, verve and joy. Briger, working hand in hand with Suwanai, relished the quirky rhythmic drive with its offbeat accents and gypsy flair, which led to a thoroughly enthralling conclusion to one of the very best Brahms Violin Concerto performances that has been heard at the DFP Hall since its opening.

In the concluding piece, Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs), Suwanai's interpretation did not however evoke memories of Joshua Bell's superb recent performance in KL. In the opening Moderato section, Suwanai's technique remains irreproachable. Two minor bones of contention were the odd and wide "wobble-vibrato" that Suwanai imparts to two double stops of F and A flat in bars 14 and 22. The "wobble-vibrato" coincidentally also exists on her Philips CD of the same piece.

What seemed to be lacking in her interpretation of the Lento and Un poco piu lento sections, was the element of improvisation. However, Suwanai dispatched the final swift Allegro molto vivace section with its running semiquavers and left-hand pizzicato brilliantly, eliciting warm applause all round. Suwanai proffered the audience a lovely encore in the shape of Bach's calm Andante from the Solo Sonata No 2 in A minor BWV 1003.

Briger and Suwanai are two excellent top-rated artists who graced this wonderful evening. It is my fervent hope that I can attend their concerts again in Kuala Lumpur in the very near future.