Gran Teatro della Fenice

Venezia 20 aprile

Collegamenti:

- Teatro la Fenice

For a violinist, the programme for this concert looked, quite simply, stupendous: Bach and Massenet (with just these two I would have come!) The atmosphere was one of slight panic, and I couldn’t help noticing the feeling of last-minuteness that surrounded everything. However, despite this school-concert play-what-you-know idea, it started well, with a few speeches of thanks etc and the audience eager for the music to begin. Our host, Claudia Cardinale, was introduced and interestingly was chosen according to the programme for her ability to “symbolize the struggle of Mediterranean women to affirm women’s rights”. She did a good job, but they didn’t let the poor woman leave the stage and was left sometimes awkwardly waiting round. The very famous “Méditation” by Massenet, on the other hand, was disappointing for me. Mirkovic’s tuning was a little rough in places and the tone was less than smooth throughout, suggesting little time had been taken to prepare. Towards the end I realised that nerves may have got the better of him as he showed excellent control in the reprise and the performance generally improved throughout, with some very enjoyable lower-pitched G-string moments. Mirkovic went on to excel in the Franck, being a more dramatic and vibrant piece, again with lovely sul-G passages and a moving ending.

And then…onto the Rachmaninov; what a treat from the Fenice: a fantastic programme choice! The cellist, Rodin from Russia, was masterful and stupendous to watch. There was a real sense that he and Morozova (piano) were playing ensemble and my, did she work hard, playing in more than her fair share of pieces throughout the evening. The Rachmaninov trio, dominated by Morozova was again enjoyable, whilst being dramatically eerie. Rodin and Mirkovic played often in unison and throughout such passages Rodin thoroughly outshone the Croat (one of the UNESCO Artists for Peace of the evening).

“Panis Angelicus”, for me an overplayed, over-sentimental piece, was satisfactory without being stunning but I think once again required more practice, with Kateb’s plucking being a bit too cumbersome at times. Nacoski’s vocal, however, was strong if not a little too strong.

And then came the best part of the evening: a wonderful choir from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - “Sveta Zlata Meglenska Choir”. Their voices hit me right at the back of my neck, being so pure and a constant delight to listen to. The first two pieces by Skalovski (unknown to me) were bewitching, crisp and so accurate showing excellent light and shade. The final two (again by an otherwise unknown composer: Shuplevski) really showed excellent technique on the part of the huge leaps in pitch and the final piece was so exciting, cheeky and playful, that  the audience demanded, with its reams of applause, to hear it again. This choir of humble young women seemed so overjoyed to be singing there and from a woman’s point of view, the outfits weren’t half bad either!

The interval was a real let-down: no music to hear and then the speeches started…the poor Brussels Chamber Orchestra were left to sit there waiting to play whilst we sat through speeches in various eastern-European languages.

After a little too much speeching for my liking, this, in my opinion, the more skilful half, commenced with what I fondly call the “Bach Double”. Guttman was super as was the orchestra itself and the piece sizzled with excitement, giving the well-known Bach goose bumps. A fantastic Bach sound and a pleasing plodding rhythm, and a piece that made me desperately want to join in; what an excellent programme choice!

Giordano’s “Nemico della Patria” followed, which was again a good piece and over too soon. UNESCO’s second Artist for Peace of the evening performed this, Trajanov, and having never heard him before I was bowled over by his voice. The tone was crystal clear with not too much vibrato and his top note was executed very successfully. Credit should also be given to the Brussels Chamber Orchestra and its leader all of whom followed extremely attentively and expressively.

Morozova re-entered the stage, requiring not only a change of set, but a change of dress for the Mendelssohn; again an absolute tour-de-force. She was stunning, as was Guttman during some extremely difficult fast passages and incredible double stopping. Quite rightly, they were the first to receive enough applause to warrant re-entering the stage after one round: the audience and they themselves knew that it had been good.

After this we returned from both a very eclectic programme and company of musicians from all over Europe to homeland Italy, and Puccini sung by Terranova. He made the dramatic story of the piece very believable but it seemed to me as though he sang from his brain. His bravado shone through when he looked around for a bit too long on his all-too-showy top note but overall I was able to forget this and enjoy the music.

Before the stirring final piece, an act of kindness was made which for me summed up the theme of the evening and its questionable disorganisation; the double bassist of the orchestra offered the double bass soloist, Masciadri, his stool. Following this Masciadri, to the audience’s delight (and despite being Uruguayan) made a small speech in Italian, quickly charming the crowd with stories of British Airway’s incompetence at delivering his double bass on time. So, we were all already a bit soft on him and expecting him to struggle a little as he was not playing his own instrument but I was by no means ready for the performance which followed. Bottesini’s “Grand duo concertante” was delightful. Once again, Mirkovic was out-performed but this time he at least put up a fight. The violinist showed real good form but no-one could out-play a showman such as Masciadri, giving winks to the audience and straining very conspicuously when the going got tough. Both soloists played virtuostically but Mirkovic was simply more successful at playing the role. Overall, it was a fantastic ending to a super programme.

I do have to wonder however, as much as I agree with the cause, do I think tonight has helped world peace? I believe music is a wonderful thing but an aid to stop wars, I am doubtful. According to the programme and the French-Jewish novelist Marek Halter’s words, “Nothing is more effective than music to make guns fall silent”. I beg to differ. On the other hand, UNESCO can keep putting on concerts like that at the Fenice: as far as I’m concerned it was unmissable and worth a thousand concerts by the Fenice Orchestra.

Gran Teatro della Fenice

Venezia 20 aprile