We witnessed art and - up to a point - music teaching at its best at the concert given by Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica. Ten years ago Latvian violinist Kremer founded his ensemble for several reasons, one being his aim to pass on his knowledge to young musicians from the three Baltic countries.
Although all the players appear to be below the age of thirty (or are perhaps even under twenty-five), this group is not a youth orchestra. On the contrary, it is an ensemble of unusually competent players, with Kremer's influence in clear evidence. Kremer is not a showman; at his concerts he focuses on the music and on his violin. This discipline is mirrored by the group: they are all dressed in black - the gentlemen, as Kremer, in shirts without restricting jackets - and they don't strive to demonstrate how much they enjoy themselves. Like Kremer, they get on with the job and what a wonderful job they do.
Kremer does not conduct in the traditional sense and he does not even lead the group with customary leading devices. His guidance is clear but unobtrusive; his approach appears to be that of a master gently encouraging his able disciples.
Kremer was the soloist in Arvo Pärt's Passacaglia and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. posth. Originally written for violin and piano (for the semi-final of the Hannover International Violin Competition in 2003), Pärt's Passaglia was performed here in its latest (early 2007) version, for solo violin with string orchestra and vibraphone. Instead of the piano pedal sustaining long accompanying notes, we heard beautiful sostenuto string chords aided by the vibraphone. In less competent hands, the solo violin part could sound as an exercise for improving violin technique. Kremer created atmospheric music with such violin virtuosity, which made the part sound natural and easy. His interpretation of the short final cadenza (consisting solely of quaver notes) was a masterclass in phrasing music. And how sorrowful and beautiful it was: as if a Fiddler on the Roof was playing behind a Chagall window.
Mendelssohn was thirteen when he composed his D minor violin concerto for his violin teacher. In capable hands, the piece is an utter joy to listen to. Kremer's hands were more than capable: the noble melodies, the springing dance rhythms and the virtuoso runs were treated with gentleness but were full of life. Kremer never makes an ugly sound on his violin: a loud note is measured to a soft one but it is still a noble violin sound. In modern pieces (as in the Piazzolla encore after the concert) he creates modern sounds as required by the composer, but they are still violin sounds. His passionate playing is still defined by the violin. Kremer is the ultimate violinist.
I was not looking forward to Victor Kissine's orchestral arrangement of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 12 in E flat major, Op. 127, as I thought that surely Beethoven knew best. But the Kremerata Baltica's performance, this time led from the leader's chair by Kremer, won me over in no time. I was amazed by the disciplined trills of all the upper strings (as it is hard enough to co-ordinate trills, even just between quartet members) and by the group's ability to sustain end-of-movement rests without the audience clapping into them. The distribution of solos and orchestral sections in the slow movement added an extra dimension to the piece. In this performance there was real distinction between melody and rhythm, the latter provided by a larger rhythm section than in a regular string quartet. In spite of its amazingly lively speed, the final fast movement was pastoral and graceful. Not even the fortissimo notes were harsh.
Kremer let his group alone for the Tchaikovsky piece - Souvenir de Florence, Op.70 - which is composed for a string sextet but here received a full-blooded string orchestra treatment. The players changed round, different leaders emerged. Discipline and virtuosity was again the main characteristic of the performance, which elicited passionate approval from the audience.
Kremer and vibraphone player Andrei Pushkarev (who played in the opening Pärt composition) returned for a highly charged encore: Fuga a misterio by Astor Piazzolla, apparently arranged for vibraphone, solo violin and string orchestra by Pushkarev. Kremer and his band relished the jazzy rhythms, as did we in the audience. It was just a pity that they did not announce what their encore was: on conclusion of this magnificent concert, half of the audience was asking the other half what they heard.
By Agnes Kory
Visit Kremerata Baltica's home page here.
Read recent concert reviews, including a recital by Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Wagner Rarities at the Royal Opera House, here.