New York Philharmonic – Riccardo Muti, Conductor; Vadim Repin, Violin. January 20, 2007.

Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Second Tier Center, Seat AA109 ($60).

Program
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 (1878) by Tchaikovsky (1840-93).
Symphony No. 3 in C minor, “Le Poeme divin” (“The Divine Poem”), Op. 43 (1902-04) by Scriabin (1872-1915).

We saw Vadim Repin several years ago, and it was one of the more memorable experiences. After one of the strings on his violin snapped during the program, he calmly exchanged his violin with a member of the orchestra and continued playing. At a break in the solo part, he reached into his pocket and took out a set of strings so a fresh one could be put on (and tuned, by Di Cecco). When ready, violins were exchanged again, and Repin continued as if nothing had happened. The audience was awed and some couldn’t help but clap. I had a similar experience as a member of an orchestra during a performance. I sat out the rest of the piece. All that, and he played very well.

We didn’t expect similar fireworks tonight, and none was delivered. Actually we were thinking of not going to the concert. It was a cold and blustery night, which ended up being a long cold snap that hasn’t broken yet as I write this, in an otherwise warmish winter. Also, Anne was to get on a plane to Hong Kong the next day.

Repin plays the 1736 Guarneri del Gesu “von Szerdahely” violin, and the violin’s tone is more brilliant than I would expect. And the singing tone it produces is simply splendid. Nonetheless, the instrument did get swamped by the reduced orchestra during some of the louder orchestra passages. The cadenza of the first movement (Allegro moderato – Moderato assai) was technically challenging, which Repin tackled with ease. However, the harmonics sounded as if the violin was a bit out of tune. He didn’t have to retune though, so maybe it was my ears. The audience applauded after the first movement, which is understandable. After a short interlude called the second movement (Canzonetta, Andante), the piece launched into a lively Finale (Allegro vivacissimo). The piece was played a bit freer than usual. Overall the performance was enjoyable, but I was a bit disappointed as my expectations were very high, broken string notwithstanding.

The Scriabin symphony was of typical “Russian” length at 50 minutes, and consisted of three movements played without pause: Lento – Struggles (Allegro), Sensual Pleasures (Lento – Vivo), and Divine Play (Allegro – Vivo – Allegro). The work is supposedly to reflect Scriabin’s interest in mysticism and disclose his view of a specific philosophical meaning (quoting from the Program Notes). I didn’t get it.

The first movement began with the brass sections, and didn’t sound like a struggle to me despite my effort to listen for it. There was this 5-note motif that kept appearing. The second movement indeed had a mystic sound to it with the interplay between the violins and a “percolating” flute. The solo violin was a bit weak tonight, though. The last movement had French horns recalling the theme of the first movement.

This was the first time we saw Muti. I couldn’t tell how good he was since I was trying to understand the music itself.

The reviewer for New York Times thoroughly enjoyed the program.