4-05-2012, Metz, MacMillan VC, Bizet-Waxman Carmen Fantasy
Vadim Repin, Orch. National de Lorraine, Jacques Mercier
Vadim Repin : le train d’enfer d’un super-virtuose
Repin fit un « bœuf » avec Jacques Mercier à la tête de l’ONL, dans le Concerto de James Mac Millan (2009). Et là, on touchait à une autre dimension du soliste : sa technique funambulesque. Au détriment de la profondeur du sentiment ? Le compositeur laisse assez peu de place à la berceuse rythmée à l’écossaise et au souvenir lointain d’une ballade irlandaise, au bénéfice d’une virtuosité imbattable et qui ferait trembler les plus vaillants concertistes ! Car, toute la partie solistique – qu’il gardait sous les yeux bien qu’il la connût par cœur – fut menée comme un « cent mètres haies » violonistique, avec ses grimpées acrobatiques aux aigus, à l’image d’une course effrénée de la corde sol à la corde mi… et au-delà. Le chef avait fait appel aux biceps de l’orchestre dont les cuivres et les percussions annoncèrent la couleur dès l’introduction, fille adultérine de celle du Concerto de Ravel (!), et qui nous assène ses premiers accords aux décibels en surmultipliée. Toute la partition est truffée d’explosifs du même genre. Plus que spectaculaire, la surexpressivité déborde, allant jusqu’à la surexcitation, voire à l’extraversion. Depuis sa fière Albion, le compositeur, non sans vanité, a quand même piqué dans le néo-classicisme du XX e siècle et dans le laboratoire atonal tout en trempant dans la tonalité. Intelligemment écrite tout de même, l’œuvre leva les crépitants bravos, qui se renouvelèrent dans les variations sur Carmen de Waxman, superbement jouée par Repin que l’on découvrait dans le registre de la fantaisie.
Georges MASSON
May 8, 2012
Apr 23, 2012
21-04-2012
Spanish Premiere of the MacMillan Violin Concerto in Valladolid 20&21 April 2012
Vadim Repin - Orch Sinf.Castilla y Leon - Vasily Petrenko
Having missed the London Premiere of the MacMillan violin concerto in 2010, I had to go to the Spanish Premiere and hear it two nights in a row in Valladolid (it’s only one hour North of Madrid). The Auditorio Miguel Delibes built in 2007 has a seating capacity of over 1700, and it was nearly full on both nights.
First impression was the energy coming out of the music. I can guarantee you won’t fall asleep at this concert! I was impressed by the young but experienced conductor, Vasily Petrenko, whose left hand I found most expressive at shaping the music for the orchestra. This concerto demands soloist and conductor in excellent ‘athletico’ physical condition , and a violin ready for all the virtuosic challenges MacMillan put into this music he wrote for Vadim Repin: use of the whole fingerboard, high register, harmonics, double stops , left hand pizzicato etc..
Listen to the London interview with MacMillan and the interview with Vadim Repin about this concerto. You might also find interesting the range of percussion instruments used in this concerto.
See here the scoring and the Composer's notes.
In the first movement, ‘Dance’ the violin solo is involved straight away. ‘Strepitoso, extrovert, crazily to explosive’ are some of the MacMillan’s directions on the score.
The second movement, Larghetto ‘semplice ma con amore’, has more adjectives like ‘capriccioso, pleading, delicato, playfully and virtuosic’ to describe just what you hear.
I found the ‘estatico’ warm passage very beautiful and the ‘semplice, child like folksy dancing’ struck a chord as the tune came to me. MacMillan says it’s a tune from childhood. It’s known to Irish people as “Sì Bheag sì Mhor”
The third movement starts ‘ben marcato e ritmico’ with male voices saying German words “Eins, zwei, drei, vier… meine mutter tanz mit mir” (one, two, three, four, my mother is dancing with me) and later female voices continue with “Fünf, sechs, sieben...bist du hinter das blaue Glas gegangen?” (five, six, seven, did you go behind the blue glass?)
When I asked James MacMillan about the significance of these words in the music, he answered he did not know really, it just came to him like a dream. This last movement goes on ‘sempre precipitoso, continuous, forward moving’ etc… as noted in the score. As well as the violin cadenza, I enjoyed the powerful barking brass and percussions as the orchestra rose to a final booming chord.
The audience was not disappointed and quickly acknowledged this Spanish Premiere with warm applause. Then Vadim Repin performed his favourite Paganini encore (‘Il carnevale di Venezia’) on both nights.
On the way out I was talking with a couple of people who had driven all the way from Barcelona (6 hours away) for this occasion. That’s dedication to music! They loved the concerto as well as the Rachmaninov Symphony (No2) in the second half of the concert.
I am glad I did not miss this exciting programme and wonderful performance by Vadim Repin.
Vadim Repin - Orch Sinf.Castilla y Leon - Vasily Petrenko
Having missed the London Premiere of the MacMillan violin concerto in 2010, I had to go to the Spanish Premiere and hear it two nights in a row in Valladolid (it’s only one hour North of Madrid). The Auditorio Miguel Delibes built in 2007 has a seating capacity of over 1700, and it was nearly full on both nights.
First impression was the energy coming out of the music. I can guarantee you won’t fall asleep at this concert! I was impressed by the young but experienced conductor, Vasily Petrenko, whose left hand I found most expressive at shaping the music for the orchestra. This concerto demands soloist and conductor in excellent ‘athletico’ physical condition , and a violin ready for all the virtuosic challenges MacMillan put into this music he wrote for Vadim Repin: use of the whole fingerboard, high register, harmonics, double stops , left hand pizzicato etc..
Listen to the London interview with MacMillan and the interview with Vadim Repin about this concerto. You might also find interesting the range of percussion instruments used in this concerto.
See here the scoring and the Composer's notes.
In the first movement, ‘Dance’ the violin solo is involved straight away. ‘Strepitoso, extrovert, crazily to explosive’ are some of the MacMillan’s directions on the score.
The second movement, Larghetto ‘semplice ma con amore’, has more adjectives like ‘capriccioso, pleading, delicato, playfully and virtuosic’ to describe just what you hear.
I found the ‘estatico’ warm passage very beautiful and the ‘semplice, child like folksy dancing’ struck a chord as the tune came to me. MacMillan says it’s a tune from childhood. It’s known to Irish people as “Sì Bheag sì Mhor”
The third movement starts ‘ben marcato e ritmico’ with male voices saying German words “Eins, zwei, drei, vier… meine mutter tanz mit mir” (one, two, three, four, my mother is dancing with me) and later female voices continue with “Fünf, sechs, sieben...bist du hinter das blaue Glas gegangen?” (five, six, seven, did you go behind the blue glass?)
When I asked James MacMillan about the significance of these words in the music, he answered he did not know really, it just came to him like a dream. This last movement goes on ‘sempre precipitoso, continuous, forward moving’ etc… as noted in the score. As well as the violin cadenza, I enjoyed the powerful barking brass and percussions as the orchestra rose to a final booming chord.
The audience was not disappointed and quickly acknowledged this Spanish Premiere with warm applause. Then Vadim Repin performed his favourite Paganini encore (‘Il carnevale di Venezia’) on both nights.
On the way out I was talking with a couple of people who had driven all the way from Barcelona (6 hours away) for this occasion. That’s dedication to music! They loved the concerto as well as the Rachmaninov Symphony (No2) in the second half of the concert.
I am glad I did not miss this exciting programme and wonderful performance by Vadim Repin.
Mar 29, 2012
29-03-2012
Montreal, Prokofiev VC 2, Repin, Montreal Symphony Orch., Nagano, 29-03-2012
Kent Nagano et l'OSM: le monde sans fin des nuances
(Québec) L'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal réunissait plus de 90 instrumentistes sous la direction de Kent Nagano à Louis-Fréchette mercredi soir. Mais c'est moins par leur nombre que par l'ampleur de l'échelle dynamique déployée sur scène que les exécutants et leur chef ont impressionné.
Avec l'entrée en scène du très habile et très musical Vadim Repin dans le 2e de Prokofiev, on assiste à la transformation du concerto en véritable dialogue. Le violoniste semble s'amuser à lancer continuellement des messages à ses partenaires, comme pour leur rappeler de mettre en évidence un détail, leur faire sentir un changement de tempo ou, en somme, leur faire saisir la folle variété des idées que le compositeur cherche à exprimer. Kent Nagano, d'un geste précis, ajuste à tout moment le relief de l'orchestre, de sorte que la sonorité du violon, belle, riche et soignée jusque dans l'extrême aigu, se découpe parfaitement au-dessus de la mêlée.
Richard Boisvert
Kent Nagano et l'OSM: le monde sans fin des nuances
(Québec) L'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal réunissait plus de 90 instrumentistes sous la direction de Kent Nagano à Louis-Fréchette mercredi soir. Mais c'est moins par leur nombre que par l'ampleur de l'échelle dynamique déployée sur scène que les exécutants et leur chef ont impressionné.
Avec l'entrée en scène du très habile et très musical Vadim Repin dans le 2e de Prokofiev, on assiste à la transformation du concerto en véritable dialogue. Le violoniste semble s'amuser à lancer continuellement des messages à ses partenaires, comme pour leur rappeler de mettre en évidence un détail, leur faire sentir un changement de tempo ou, en somme, leur faire saisir la folle variété des idées que le compositeur cherche à exprimer. Kent Nagano, d'un geste précis, ajuste à tout moment le relief de l'orchestre, de sorte que la sonorité du violon, belle, riche et soignée jusque dans l'extrême aigu, se découpe parfaitement au-dessus de la mêlée.
Richard Boisvert
Mar 20, 2012
20-03-2012
Boston Recital - Vadim Repin/ItamarGolan - 18 March 2012
Repin and Golan prove equal partners with evening of inspired music-making
Russian violinist Vadim Repin and his keyboard counterpart, Itamar Golan, turned out a substantial program Sunday evening at Jordan Hall, a presentation of Maestro Artist Management.
Repin has the name, and it was his reputation that filled the hall with a largely Russian audience, which was clearly aware of his prodigious showmanship. But he was matched onstage by the intense and talented Golan. The repertory—sonatas by Janáček, Ravel and Grieg, Chausson’s Poème, Op. 25, and the Ravel Tzigane—largely focused on music-making, and not violin pyrotechnics—added to the collaborative feeling.
Janáček’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, written in 1914, mirrors the turmoil the composer was experiencing in his war-torn homeland. Beautiful melodies appear wistfully, then disappear in a cacophony of crashing chords and slurred phrases. In the first movement, marked Con moto, Repin and Golan were in two separate musical worlds. Golan, seemingly the more astute chamber musician, appeared more comfortable. Repin played like a concerto artist: some pizzicato accents were off the beat, as if he were waiting for an orchestra to catch up with him. An alluring melody up the scale in the violin in the fourth movement characterized the turbulent work. Repin carved it gracefully out of nowhere; just as quickly, it vanished, with an arpeggiated figure of intensity from the pianist.
Ravel’s Violin Sonata in G Major suited the players better. The work is a blues, with the unusual progression from G major to B-flat then to F-natural, but not in an orderly fashion. Pitches alter from the violin to the piano left hand, then to the right hand, in an sequence that creates the feel of the blues, but with the tension of atonality. Here, especially in the Moderato second movement, Repin showed his stuff, as slurring accents transformed quickly into martelé passages to accent the staccato interludes. In the third movement Perpetuum mobile, Repin sketched out a sax-like line that Golan could interact with, particularly in the right hand, with chords that retraced earlier ideas. Interaction was intense, and carefully executed.
The Grieg Sonata, Opus 13, no. 2, also in G major, has its own roots origins, but in Nordic folk material, not American blues. Repin played this and the entire second half of the program from memory, and seemed more at ease. A Lento opening gives this sonata an introspective feel: Repin, standing stock-still on the stage, delivered it with a sure tone. He has all the fingering techniques of great violinists, but it’s his bowing that sets him apart: consistent and confident, with even tension maintained from frog to tip. For this sonata, that created a firm baseline for Golan to introduce the contrapuntal material, some piano, some with almost overwhelming forte.
Chausson’s Poème, Opus 25, perhaps his greatest work, was written for orchestra, but its piano reduction loses little in translation. It is built around the violinist’s sweeping melodic fantasies, but Golan’s capturing of orchestral colors—pedaled expertly, and showing a prodigious left-hand—brought it to life. With Ravel’s Tzigane, it was Repin’s turn to shape the music, capping the evening with a display of double pizzicato showmanship.
Keith Powers
Repin and Golan prove equal partners with evening of inspired music-making
Russian violinist Vadim Repin and his keyboard counterpart, Itamar Golan, turned out a substantial program Sunday evening at Jordan Hall, a presentation of Maestro Artist Management.
Repin has the name, and it was his reputation that filled the hall with a largely Russian audience, which was clearly aware of his prodigious showmanship. But he was matched onstage by the intense and talented Golan. The repertory—sonatas by Janáček, Ravel and Grieg, Chausson’s Poème, Op. 25, and the Ravel Tzigane—largely focused on music-making, and not violin pyrotechnics—added to the collaborative feeling.
Janáček’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, written in 1914, mirrors the turmoil the composer was experiencing in his war-torn homeland. Beautiful melodies appear wistfully, then disappear in a cacophony of crashing chords and slurred phrases. In the first movement, marked Con moto, Repin and Golan were in two separate musical worlds. Golan, seemingly the more astute chamber musician, appeared more comfortable. Repin played like a concerto artist: some pizzicato accents were off the beat, as if he were waiting for an orchestra to catch up with him. An alluring melody up the scale in the violin in the fourth movement characterized the turbulent work. Repin carved it gracefully out of nowhere; just as quickly, it vanished, with an arpeggiated figure of intensity from the pianist.
Ravel’s Violin Sonata in G Major suited the players better. The work is a blues, with the unusual progression from G major to B-flat then to F-natural, but not in an orderly fashion. Pitches alter from the violin to the piano left hand, then to the right hand, in an sequence that creates the feel of the blues, but with the tension of atonality. Here, especially in the Moderato second movement, Repin showed his stuff, as slurring accents transformed quickly into martelé passages to accent the staccato interludes. In the third movement Perpetuum mobile, Repin sketched out a sax-like line that Golan could interact with, particularly in the right hand, with chords that retraced earlier ideas. Interaction was intense, and carefully executed.
The Grieg Sonata, Opus 13, no. 2, also in G major, has its own roots origins, but in Nordic folk material, not American blues. Repin played this and the entire second half of the program from memory, and seemed more at ease. A Lento opening gives this sonata an introspective feel: Repin, standing stock-still on the stage, delivered it with a sure tone. He has all the fingering techniques of great violinists, but it’s his bowing that sets him apart: consistent and confident, with even tension maintained from frog to tip. For this sonata, that created a firm baseline for Golan to introduce the contrapuntal material, some piano, some with almost overwhelming forte.
Chausson’s Poème, Opus 25, perhaps his greatest work, was written for orchestra, but its piano reduction loses little in translation. It is built around the violinist’s sweeping melodic fantasies, but Golan’s capturing of orchestral colors—pedaled expertly, and showing a prodigious left-hand—brought it to life. With Ravel’s Tzigane, it was Repin’s turn to shape the music, capping the evening with a display of double pizzicato showmanship.
Keith Powers
Feb 8, 2012
7-02-2012
Berg VC à Bruxelles, le 5 Février 2012
Vadim Repin, Brussels Philharmonic, Michel Tabachnik
Succès pour Berg et Debussy
Concert passionnant à Bozar. Tabachnik à la barre, Repin en soliste.
Imagine-t-on que le "Concerto pour violon" d’Alban Berg et le "Martyre de saint Sébastien" de Debussy puissent attirer la foule ? Ce fut pourtant le cas dimanche soir malgré les conditions climatiques que l’on sait.
D’abord pour l’extraordinaire aisance de l’orchestre dans Berg : une partition difficile qui, sous la direction de Michel Tabachnik, semblait totalement intériorisée, de telle sorte que Vadim Repin - qui donnait cette œuvre pour la première fois en public - se trouva enveloppé, littéralement, d’une fraternelle sécurité, opulence sonore en sus.
Martine D. Mergeay
Vadim Repin, Brussels Philharmonic, Michel Tabachnik
Succès pour Berg et Debussy
Concert passionnant à Bozar. Tabachnik à la barre, Repin en soliste.
Imagine-t-on que le "Concerto pour violon" d’Alban Berg et le "Martyre de saint Sébastien" de Debussy puissent attirer la foule ? Ce fut pourtant le cas dimanche soir malgré les conditions climatiques que l’on sait.
D’abord pour l’extraordinaire aisance de l’orchestre dans Berg : une partition difficile qui, sous la direction de Michel Tabachnik, semblait totalement intériorisée, de telle sorte que Vadim Repin - qui donnait cette œuvre pour la première fois en public - se trouva enveloppé, littéralement, d’une fraternelle sécurité, opulence sonore en sus.
Martine D. Mergeay
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