United Kingdom Brahms: Igor Levit (piano), Johan Dalene (violin), Julia Hagen (cello). Wigmore Hall, London, 16.12.2022. (JC)
Brahms – Violin Sonata No.3 in D minor, Op.108
Schubert – Piano Trio in B-flat main, Op.99
When it involves drawing fashionable help, Igor Levit and his associates’ skills far outweigh the RMT Union’s. Despite Overground and National Rail strikes grinding the nation to a halt final Friday and emptying Regent Street of its Christmas buyers, Wigmore Hall was crammed to the brim with pleasure in anticipation of the German celebrity and his protégés. Levit, a uncommon combination of tremendous virtuoso, social butterfly and beneficiant spirit, had determined to take a again seat on this night of German chamber music, and permit two younger skills — violinist Johan Dalene and cellist Julia Hagen — to step into the limelight.
The goal of showcasing expertise on this live performance is obvious in its programming; it comprises solely two main items — Brahms’s Third Violin Sonata and Schubert’s First Piano Trio — the collective period of which is shorter than the typical recital, with solely the actual fact of their German romantic lineage connecting them collectively. They are enticing live performance items containing many earworms, however other than that there didn’t appear a lot of an overarching live performance programme for the night.
Nevertheless, each are hardly items by which the piano accompanies the string devices; each require nice collaborative effort and unity of musical concepts to make the music come alive. In that respect, I assumed it was moderately unlucky that Levit determined to retreat right into a extra subdued stance within the Brahms whilst Dalene performed with nice ardour. There was an important number of tone in Dalene’s sound, however Levit didn’t appear to reply, being moderately cautious of overpowering the violin. Instead, there gave the impression to be an excessive amount of pedal within the piano for the articulation — which is commonly intricately tied with expression in Brahms’s music — to come back by means of.
Dalene, however, conveyed unwavering confidence, unafraid to play with out music, focusing extra on projecting his sound to the viewers even when it meant breaking the fourth wall; oftentimes I observed he flipped a number of pages directly after some intense enjoying, as if he had forgotten the music was there. The temporary second motion, containing probably Brahms’s most stunning melody, was made much more heart-wrenching by Dalene’s sound, which had a really human high quality in its richness. The approach he poured his coronary heart out whereas enjoying made the efficiency breathtakingly stunning.
The scherzo third motion was flawless note-wise however gave the impression to be slightly on the protected aspect, sadly at the price of sounding sprightly. There was a way of slight disparity in musical concepts; Dalene wished to go quicker, however Levit appeared to choose stability. The musical creativeness which Dalene had saved inside him to the brim sadly was not given their full due on this misalignment. However, Levit appeared to come back alive within the frenzied and virtuosic fourth motion, by which the quick tempo allowed him to settle comfortably in his personal stride, contradictory as this will sound. When he did determine to hitch in on the motion moderately than sit apart passively, the music did appear to come back alive. Levit’s nice sense of syncopation created an thrilling drive, and the sonata completed with fairly a flourish. Nevertheless, Levit appeared visibly worn out when taking a bow.
The addition of cellist Julia Hagen within the second half injected extra dynamism into the music-making. Schubert’s First Piano Trio in B-flat main is a piece on a a lot bigger scale than the Brahms Violin Sonata, however requires a lighter contact and humorous feeling, which appeared to go well with Levit far more. The first motion was charged with adrenaline and pleasure, and a way of rapport between the three gamers weren’t solely written throughout their faces, but in addition rippled all through the viewers beneath; it appeared like numerous enjoyable. The nice sense of rhythm in all three gamers additionally contributed to the energetic drive of the music. As within the Brahms, Levit allowed every particular person participant their time to shine every time that they had a solo; not like the Brahms, it labored nicely right here as a result of it infused the buoyant music with a way of showmanship which made the efficiency much more pleasant.
The efficiency of the second motion had its stunning moments, particularly within the duet between the 2 string devices over a lilting piano, however it appeared to barely lack a way of the broader image which allowed the music to slide into a way of repetitiveness. The Scherzo, nonetheless, was a delight to take heed to, and I marvelled at Igor’s remarkably gentle contact on the keyboard. The Rondo closing motion was an important appeal, and the performers actually loved themselves with all of the shocking turns and playful modifications in temper so attribute of Schubert when he’s in a superb temper, thus ending the night in a satisfying and joyous B-flat main.
This was a live performance that bought higher and higher because the night progressed, however I did be aware, regardless of with the ability to preserve a excessive degree of vitality and professionalism in his enjoying, how drained Levit appeared when taking the curtain calls. Perhaps all this concertising with an unfathomably giant repertoire has taken its toll, stopping him from committing to the efficiency with as a lot vitality and keenness because the youthful performers he introduced with him on stage had.
Jeremy Chan