Concert: Márta Ábrahám violin, Klára Würtz piano
APELDOORN – The best concerts come into life when artists do not cover their personality with their technique but step out and give themselves.
This honesty characterized the performance of the two Hungarian virtuosos, the violinist Márta Ábrahám and the pianist Klára Würtz.
The two of them had a different approach to the first piece, Vitali’s Chaconne. Würtz is an even-tempered pianist with springy touch and transparent sound production. The high-spirited Márta Ábrahám is just the opposite. The violinist threw herself into the music with such an overwhelming energy as if her life depended on it. Vitali’s mathematically structured chaconne thus gained a slightly excessive romantic sounding. The musical material was able to carry that intensity and the performance actually became more authentic in the interpretation of the artist.
However, the real beauty of the concert was the ultimate blend of the two counterpoles, the apollonic pianist and the dionysic violinist.
The melancholy of the G-string theme of the Adagio in the Third Sonata of Brahms was highly inspired and rich in colors.
It comes as natural that a duo of such background cannot leave Bartók out of the programme. The moderato indication of the 1st Rhapsody inambigously refers only to the tempo; the musical events are dotted with folkloristic elements and inflexible rhythms which demand an extremely lively performance. It was simply excellent…
The performance of the Hungarian Dances by Brahms was enthralling…
It was followed by a genuine gypsy piece: the Tzigane by the French-Basque origin composer Ravel. The introduction is a violin solo in the highest register of the G string (again!) which creates a magenta-colored alto sound and an athmosphere which foreshadows the historic and moral authenticity of the piece.
The encore, the Basque Caprice of Sarasate was splendid just like the whole concert; heated, fiery rhythms and lofty, blazing tunes topped off the evening.
Maarten Mestrom
De Stentor
May 2001