The Ghent Festivities, 2022 edition, are over. After two years of corona restrictions, there was nothing holding back the revelers, who flooded into the city in droves, especially in the evenings. The Ghent Festivities are a grand public celebration and at the same time a ten-day cultural festival where virtually every genre of music and theater is featured. Unique in Europe, because many performances by often well-known artists on the major squares are completely free.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the festivities, numerous classical concerts also take place. Choirs, small ensembles, piano recitals, chamber music, song evenings, and more. Here's a selection from the dozens of classical concerts and recitals. Brief impressions of seven concerts. Two concerts in the Protestant Rabotka Church, two concerts at special venues, two piano recitals in the Miry concert hall, and as an outlier, a performance of Bulgarian a cappella singing in St. James Church.

Protestant Rabotka Church: Schumann Song Evening

The Protestant Rabotka Church is a modest house of prayer where only the stained-glass windows remind us of God's presence. White walls that bring us to reflection. On July 16, songs by Robert and Clara Schumann are on the program. From Robert the cycle "Frauenliebe und Leben" and from Clara "Six Songs" op. 13. Soprano Jolien De Gendt sings with Elisaveta Vasileva on piano. The generous acoustics of this bare church are difficult to reconcile with the intimacy of the songs, yet the singer manages remarkably well in these circumstances with her vocal production, phrasing, and articulation.

Jolien De Gendt is a coloratura soprano, a soprano with bravura, made for bel canto, to let phrases and sounds flow in a hall. A sparkling voice, tingling vibrato. I wonder if there isn't too much brilliance to it. Doesn't this voice shine too brightly for these intimate songs? Yet the subtle melancholy in De Gendt's voice comes through. With whispering diction, she gives a gripping rendition of poems by Heine and Rückert. You can see that she doesn't just sing but also lives with the text through her intense gaze. Pianist Vasileva is her anchor in the deep emotions of the song cycle. Subtle touch, perfect timing, she is the quiet strength behind De Gendt's voice. Soprano Jolien De Gendt, by the way, is no ordinary soprano. At this recital too, she was a last-minute replacement. Throughout her entire career, she has stepped in more often than she has had engagements scheduled. That adds even more luster to her recital.

Protestant Rabotka Church: Solo Recital Anton Skakun [violin]

The following evening I'm in the same church for a solo recital by Ukrainian violinist Anton Skakun. Works for solo violin by Bach, Paganini, and Ysaÿe. As a violinist, I know what that means. In Bach's solo sonatas, the violin is not merely a melodic instrument. A carefully wrought polyphonic score in which the violinist plays more double stops than single notes. Playing the organ on the violin. Skakun delivers a solid and conscientious interpretation.

Paganini shows us that the violin is more than a simple stringed instrument. On a violin you can not only bow, but also pluck and even whistle. The variations on the theme of Paisiello is a real tour de force where sometimes more plucking than bowing occurs, pizzicato with fingers from both hands, alternating with the whistle tones of the harmonics. Skakun fills this house of the Lord with Paganini's diabolical sounds.

Anton Skakun is not a showman but a craftsman who occasionally wipes the sweat from his face with a towel lying nearby. He has also brought something from his own beleaguered homeland. For a while now we know that Ukraine is also in Europe and Western Ukraine was also historically part of Central Europe. The caprice by Myroslav Skoryk is a skillful piece, an echo from the Central European tradition of Bartók and all that followed from it. As a playful finale, Skakun plays an arrangement for solo violin of some tango etudes by Astor Piazzola. They showcase the versatility of this upright virtuoso once more.

Anton Skakun has been in Belgium for about ten years, plays concertmaster of the Brussels Philharmonic. "Would every member of the first violin section be able to play like this?", I ask him afterwards. He smiles graciously and thanks me for the compliment.

Schumann Song Evening

• WHO": Jolien De Gendt [soprano], Elisaveta Vasileva [piano]
• WHAT": Ghent Festivities: Concert Jolien De Gendt & Elisaveta Vasileva
• WHERE: Protestant Rabot Church
• WHEN: Saturday, July 16, 2022 at 7:30 PM

Solo Recital by Anton Skakun

• WHO: Anton Skakun [violin]
• WHAT: Ghent Festival: Concert Anton Skakun
• WHERE: Protestant Rabot Church
• WHEN: Sunday, July 17, 2022 at 7:00 PM