Virtuosity is the name of the game for this solo recital recording by Maxim Vengerov. Here, virtuosity reigns in both substance–incredibly demanding compositions that would challenge any player–and style: Vengerov’s huge, lush sound is matched by a technique second to none. But the other overarching theme is Bach and his indelible influence on the solo violin repertoire: Bach directly inspired both the Ysaÿe and Shchedrin sonatas, and his shadow looms large over the whole album.
Three of Eugène Ysaÿe’s devilishly difficult solo sonatas are the main course in this feast. Each sonata is dedicated to one of the leading violinists of the composer’s day. No. 2 was written for Jacques Thibaud and quotes heavily from Bach’s E major Partita; the impassioned single-movement Third Sonata, titled “Ballade”, was dedicated to Georges Enescu; the lilting and charming No. 4 was written for Kreisler; and the Sonata No. 6, which features a sensuous habanera in its middle portion, was written for Manuel Quiroga. As you might expect, Vengerov moves through these pieces with suavity and astounding ease.
For many listeners the newly composed Shchedrin Echo Sonata (and the same composer’s Balalaika bonbon) will be the unknown quantity. Not surprisingly, Shchedrin puts the violinist through his paces in Echo’s showy displays of technique, which calls for mastery of just about every standard bowing and left-hand skill within its 15-and-a-half-minute confine. But there’s a dark mood at work in this sonata: a relentless, almost aggressive spirit dominates, with narrow spears of light penetrating through from time to time.
Balalaika is an old-fashioned, extravagant lollipop, but it winks at the audience, too. As the plucked instrument of the title might suggest, it’s played entirely pizzicato. (Think Kreisler via a Red Army Chorus extravaganza, and you’ll get the idea.) Unlike the rest of this studio-made album, Balalaika was recorded live at a Barbican Hall recital, and so we hear the accompanying chuckles and applause from the audience.
Bach himself appears only once on this program, in the form of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor (originally for organ). The piece is thought perhaps to be an adaptation of an A minor sonata for violin. You might expect to have heard one of the actual solo sonatas or partitas instead, but the word on the street is that Vengerov will be presenting the complete set in concert in the not-too-distant future (and we can only hope that a recording would not be far behind). So this Vengerov Bach, in all its playing-with-abandon glory, is a tantalizing taste of what may lie ahead. The sound is full and vibrant.
