James MacMillan: Violin Concerto (NY Premiere)
New York, Isaac Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall (March 1st, 2011)
Vadim Repin (Violin)
The Philadelphia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
As his (MacMillan) Violin Concerto was in memory of his mother, one hardly expected a Berlioz-style delight. Yet from the first notes, soloist Vadim Repin played a fervent, exciting, strange, virtual three-movement perpetual motion of string gymnastics. For the first movement, “Dance”, Mr. Repin was ferocious, fierce, never once taking his bow off the strings. It was not a robotic cadenza, but a work of personal energy, emotion, vying with the large orchestra, exploding with rhythmic sforzandi. We were breathless, Mr. Repin seemed perfectly cool.
The second movement, “Song”, was suitably reverent, but never morbid, rising up to a Barber-like crescendo and climax that actually worked.
The final movement was suitably pyrotechnical, but was filled with enigmas, beginning when the players recited German digits (“Eins! Drei!...”) followed later by a Third-Reich-style march. Mr. MacMillan obviously adores orchestral eccentricity, and his effects were as puzzling as they were beautiful. Piano and piccolo together, the violin singing in the upper ranges while the brass growled or barked in their lowest ranges. Myriads of rhythms (the movement is called “Song And Dance”), and further explosive punctuation from the Philadelphia Orchestra.
More than a tour de force, this was a celebration of violin playing itself.
Harry Rolnick
