United Kingdom Beethoven, Bartók, Ravel, Franck: Leonidas Kavakos (violin), Enrico Pace (piano). Wigmore Hall, London, 22.2.2023. (CS)
Beethoven – Violin Sonata No.1 in D, Op.12 No.1
Bartók – Violin Sonata No.2, BB85
Ravel – Violin Sonata No.2 in G
Franck – Sonata in A for violin and piano
In some methods, on the web page this seemed like an ‘old-fashioned’ type of live performance programme: a Classical ‘warm-up’, two trendy sandwich-fillers, and a Romantic war-horse to conclude. Eras and types spanned. But, there was nothing routine about this Wigmore Hall recital. In their unshowy however communicative method, Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos and Italian pianist Enrico Pace made every of the works carried out communicate with an assured individuality, and the night was thought-provoking and immensely satisfying in equal measure.
Though I’ve heard Kavakos carry out on the orchestral stage many occasions, this was the primary time I’d encountered his taking part in within the recital corridor. He attracts an intense sound from his ‘Willemotte’ Stradivarius (1734) nevertheless it’s additionally sensitively graded. His bowing motion is silky and right here the phrasing appeared innate and pure but in addition finely nuanced, projecting the music’s arguments convincingly. Though usually undemonstrative in method, at occasions he turned his physique and violin to the capability viewers, seemingly rapt and drawn instinctively to share his music instantly. Pace’s efficiency was, for me, a revelation. The readability and definition was gorgeous. Even probably the most advanced textures and episodes of surging energy had been crystalline. His timbre was lovely, his legato melodies seductively easy. And, he appeared intuitively conscious of Kavakos’s interpretative judgements within the second. The lid of Wigmore Hall’s Steinway was raised however the stability between the duo was ever good.
That stability was evident from the primary, within the first of Beethoven’s ten violin sonatas, Op.12 No.1 in D. As with Mozart’s sonatas, revealed as ‘for piano and violin’, the 2 devices are equal companions and Kavakos and Pace – who recorded the whole sonatas collectively in 2012 on the Decca label – had been totally ‘in tune’, in each sense of the phrase. There was immense consideration to element, as Beethoven put his motifs below the microscope, surveying them from infinite angles, but in addition a spaciousness and beauty. The opening chords of the Allegro con brio bristled with vigour, however subsequently violin and piano civilly exchanged their arguments; there was air between bow and string as Kavakos ready Beethoven’s sforzandos, and the piano sound was shiny and vibrant. The harmonic twists within the improvement part had been persuasively articulated – this was actual musical drama – and Pace’s vigorous runs had been stunningly easy. The various moods of the Tema con variazioni. Andante con moto had been cogently evoked, Kavakos’s projection subtly modulated – at occasions highly effective and intensely targeted, then extra genteel and relaxed. The Rondo. Allegro had a carefree skip in its lithe step, however the duo didn’t neglect the dramatic pressure inherent within the music.
A efficiency of Bartók’s Violin Sonata No.2 (1922) that was each deeply expressive and intellectually persuasive adopted. Both musicians displayed a wonderful sense of the work’s structure, and their pacing was such that the music appeared to develop organically to fill its ‘space’. In a 1924 letter to his live performance agent, Bartók wrote, ‘The violin part of the two violin sonatas … is extraordinarily difficult, and it is only a violinist of the top class who has any chance of learning them’. The Second Sonata is not only difficult for the violinist, it calls for quite a lot of audiences too: it’s not simple to know its knotty arguments or respect its typically aggressive discourse. But, whereas the violin’s searing glissandos and percussive pizzicatos packed a punch equal to the piano’s pounding, Kavakos and Pace discovered refined shades throughout the Sonata’s disputatious rhetoric; motifs had been finely etched, typically with shocking delicacy which solely served to reinforce the dramatic pressure. And, the ending was pure poetry: stillness and quietude after all of the troubled restlessness.
The unassuming virtuosity which enabled the duo to disclose a sure ‘beauty’ in Bartók’s gritty timbres and biting dissonances, allowed them to refute Ravel’s declare, in ‘An Autobiographical Sketch’, that his Violin Sonata No.2 in G was an train in ‘incongruity’, the violin and piano being within the composer’s opinion, ‘essentially incompatible. Far from balancing their contrasts, the Sonata reveals their incompatibility’. Here, it was the teamwork which astounded as Kavakos and Pace discovered an infinite vary of timbres, taking part in with true refinement. The opening of the Allegretto had a stunning otherworldliness, Pace conjuring an ethereal world of pastoral fantasy, Kavakos’s strains trickling like water with lovely fluidity. Glossy E-string power contrasted with preciousness, even frailty, because the duo receded to a real pianissimo. The variety of Kavakos’s bowing articulations was spectacular – what a beguiling sautillé – however so was the sheen and lyrical energy of the climax. Classicism and modernism actually had been built-in right here. A cheekily louche high quality tinted the opening of the second motion, Blues. Moderato, although the sound was all the time clear and purposeful. The violin’s pizzicatos had been authoritative, the piano someday droll. The imagery conjured put me in thoughts of Chopin. And, they made mild work of the incessant racing of the Perpetuum cell. Allegro which had a glowing tactility that exploded like a firework on the shut.
And, so, on to Franck’s Violin Sonata in A. Once once more I appreciated Pace’s class and spaciousness at the beginning of the Allegretto ben moderato. Kavakos formed the violin’s arcing phrases with actual tenderness, drawing forth tonal contrasts between the lower-string meanderings and the hovering E-string melodies, and making the left-hand vibrato work onerous to craft the tensions and releases, all of the whereas a prevailing calm classicism prevailed. This motion had each grace and stature, as did the Allegro which adopted segue. For as soon as the tempo was not too urgent or reckless, so one may really hear the voicings within the piano’s livid foraging – once more testifying to Pace’s ability and readability. And, Kavakos judged the rises and falls of expressive pressure brilliantly, retreating into thriller at occasions then swelling again with sweetness and lyricism. The transition into the coda was very good and the duo actually flew in the direction of the climactic shut. Kavakos didn’t overly indulge the ‘fantasy’ component of the Recitativo-Fantasia. Ben moderato – there was much less rubato and freedom than is commonly the case – however the ending was superbly dreamy and excellent because it slipped segue into the Allegretto poco mosso, the tempo of which was pretty swift, although the phrasing established an air of tranquility. The duo roved by the harmonic shadows persuasively and made theatre of the return of Franck’s superb theme.
This was not flamboyant taking part in: each musicians put on their virtuosity evenly. But, neither was it introspective. The viewers at Wigmore Hall had been resoundingly appreciative. The relaxed geniality of the second motion of Schubert’s ‘Grand Duo’ D574 made for an ideal encore.
Claire Seymour