Kavakos Plays Mendelssohn (6 Sep 2013)

Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall

Conductor: Lan Shui

Violinist: Leonidas Kavakos

Programme:

Richard Wagner - Siegfried Idyll, Op.103

Felix Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64

Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No.1 in C major, Op.21

It seems that Richard Wagner's personal life is as interesting (or maybe even more) than his music. In a previous post, I wrote about a description of him from the concert booklet. This time, it was about his wife. 

'In a New York Times article Alan Ryan described Cosima, Richard Wagner's second wife, as "one of the 19th century's least likeable heroines, proverbial for her gawky appearance and her infinite selfishness. She was the daughter of Franz Liszt and at the age of 18 had married one of her father's pupils, the conductor Hans von Bulow, with whom she had two children. Not long into that marriage, Cosima accompanied her husband on a visit to discuss business with Wagner, and the two soon became lovers.

The affair between Cosima von Bulow and Richard Wagner was carried on in the full glare of the public, neither showing any signs of remorse. They had two daughters while Cosima was still living with von Bulow, but on 16 November 1868 Cosima left her husband (who didn't put up much of a fight, writing to his lost wife, "You have preferred to devote your life and the treasures of your mind and affection to one who is my superior and, far from blaming you, I approve your action") and, taking her four children, moved in with Wagner. Seven months later (on 11 June 1869) they had a son, and the couple married on 25 August 1870, a month after Cosima's divorce from von Bulow.'

Kavakos owns the 'Abergavenny' Stradivarius of 1724, and with it, he was able to coax a beautiful sound from the violin for Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor. The first movement's lyrical melody is one that sticks easily, with a very slight tinge of melancholy - somewhat different from Mendelssohn's usual youthful and exuberant style. And Kavakos, with all his years of experience and talent, played it with ease and in a very relaxed manner. The fast sections were all played accurately but yet not rushed, and the sound produced by his violin was simply magical.

I was slightly dissatisfied with his body expressions though; in a concert, the musician's body also conveys something important to the audience. Kavakos was just too... calm and unmoving. I wasn't expecting him to be dramatic (like Lang Lang and Li Yundi - these two sometimes go overboard), but just a little bit of movements would definitely be welcome and help to get the audience more into the mood. Maybe I should go grab a copy of his concerto recordings...