The great Maxim Vengerov, one of the world's most renowned violinists of the moment, is not someone you get to see perform live every day. But you could during the Musica Mundi School concert hall during the Musica Mundi Festival 2025, where Vengerov serves as 'Goodwill Ambassador' for this talented youth institution.
You immediately understand it was a success from the simple fact that they gave no fewer than four (4) encores, though that generosity also came from the enormous enthusiasm of the young students present who cheered the musicians as if it were a pop festival. It's infectious and that translates into the performance too, at least in my personal impression. It loosens up the musicians a bit, but be careful because that can sometimes lead to a slip-up or a slight pitch impurity... Even the 'greats of the earth' are not immune to mistakes, but we're not going to judge a concert on that. The professionalism, the ease with which it's played, the harmony between violin and piano, and especially the musical storytelling, the substance you get to hear: that's what matters and it matters tonight.
Right from the first notes of Schubert's Sonatina No. 3 D408, you're swept up in those so characteristic Schubert melodies, the violin and piano sing and goosebumps and even a lump in your throat take hold of you. Yes, that's how it should be. In some way, the pianist touches you even more than the violinist. That's also the case in Brahms' Sonata No. 3 Opus 108. It becomes a grand, powerful performance, deployed with great subtlety. At times the decibels overwhelm the listener and that will resonate throughout the half-hour intermission. Yes, Brahms apparently had it emotionally rough when he committed this sonata to paper.
Even more melancholy and cutting internal conflict comes with Shostakovich's Violin Sonata Opus 134. Where the first movement, the andante, comes across as somewhat searching, in the second movement, the allegretto, you get wild frenzy, and in the third movement, variations on a theme, you hear despair and helplessness. Where are we heading? What awaits us? Can this go on? A typical story for a composer who wrote during the difficult years of the Soviet Union and tried to keep all spirits satisfied with work full of accusations. He managed it anyway, and so did the duo this evening, who rightfully received a standing ovation, prolonged applause, and thanked the audience with four encores. It got late, but who says or writes that it wasn't worth it? Exactly, nobody.
