An early Saint Nicholas gift: Elli Choi...
Yes, she is only 23.
Yes, she studied at the Juilliard School New York.
Yes, she performed in Carnegie Hall, in the Berlin Philharmonie, in the Tonhalle Zürich, in the Rudolfinum Prague, in Salzburg, in Dubai and Beijing.
Yes, she won first place in the Wieniawski-Lipinsky International Competition in Lubin.
Yes, in the Elisabeth Competition 2024 she only had to give way to the two 'greats', Udovyshenko and Joshua Brown.
Yes, she was in our country for two prestigious concerts: the Gala concert for the 75th anniversary of the founding of NATO with the Grand Harmonie Orchestra of the Royal Music Corps of the Guides, conducted by Yves Segers, and a charity concert organized by Lions Club Sint-Niklaas City to combat child poverty and support children living in poverty.
For this recital, Liebrecht Vanbeckevoort was called upon, always equally inspired. Such a good choice, so that a full Collegekerk could enjoy a dream of a recital, which gave the encore of Fauré "Après un rêve" a very real meaning.
The programme, nicely presented by Katelijne Boon, worthy winner of the Grand Language Prize Martine Tanghe, contained nothing but 'highlights': the demanding 'Chaconne in d' by Bach, the Violin Sonata by Richard Strauss, whose second movement, 'Andante cantabile', perhaps contains the most beautiful melody in music history, a Polyphonic Étude on 'The last rose of summer' by the legendary successor to Paganini, Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, the impressive Violin Sonata by Brahms which became one gripping dialogue, full of balance and passion, and a Concert Fantasie on 'Porgy and Bess' by Igor Frolov. Not just an illustrious unknown, this professor at the Moscow Tschaikovsky Conservatory, who graduated from the class of David Oistrach. From a modest beginning with a new cadenza for the Violin Concerto no. 5 by Mozart, his compositional activity rose steeply with works and arrangements for one or two violins and piano for among others Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin. His 'In memoriam of David Oistrach' was a required piece at the Tschaikovsky Violin Competition.
Bravura, virtuosity and musicality, right up the alley of both Elli Choi and Liebrecht Vanbeckevoort. With seemingly 'effortless ease' they made their way through this heavy programme. They complemented each other perfectly. Thus we heard an even more accomplished Elli Choi than when she had to contend at Bozar with Sibelius against the sound richness of the brass players of the Guides. No soloist can imagine a more reliable, more dependable support than the ever attentive accompaniment by Liebrecht, who is already thinking of his Concert Series 'Classical Lives 2025' in Knokke.
