Maxim Vengerov

Monday 16 April 2018 7.30pm, Hall

Brahms Sonata No 1 in G major Brahms Violin Sonata No 2 in A major interval 20 minutes Brahms Scherzo in C minor (from the ‘F–A–E’ Sonata) Brahms Violin Sonata No 3 in D minor

Maxim Vengerov violin Polina Osetinskaya piano

Benjamin Ealovega Part of Barbican Presents 2017–18

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If anything limits your enjoyment please let us know The City of during your visit. Additional feedback can be given Corporation is the founder and online, as well as via feedback forms or the pods principal funder of located around the foyers. the Barbican Centre 2 inspired anddaunted him. Hewaited of Beethoven, whoselegacy simultaneously Brahms was alltoo aware of theshadow Russian pianistPolina Osetinskaya. sonatas, for whichheis joined by fine useinhistraversal of theBrahms and thatwillundoubtedly beputto sound, courtesy of his1727 Stradivari, renowned particularlyfor hisluscious present day: Maxim Vengerov. Heis Hall oneof thegreatest violinistsof the Tonight we welcome back to theBarbican Welcome

Available on iTunes, Soundcloud and the Barbican website Barbican the and Soundcloud iTunes, on Available ,Maxim Vengerov andNicoMuhly. Iestyn Davies, Joyce DiDonato, SirHarrisonBirtwistle, Sir JamesMacMillan, George Benjamin,Andrew Norman, artists from around theworld. Recent artists include for exclusive interviews andcontent from thebestclassical Stream ordownload ourBarbican ClassicalMusicpodcasts Barbican Classical MusicPodcasts Huw Humphreys, Head of Music,Barbican I hopeyou enjoy theconcert. friend of Brahms, JosephJoachim. the legendaryviolinistandclosefriend composer sonata thatwas designedfor called ‘F–A–E’Scherzo,partof a multi- Maxim andPolina alsoperform theso- the instrumentiseverywhere apparent. Concerto underhisbeltandeasewith had by thispointalready got theViolin Beethoven’s achievement inthegenre. He his FirstViolinSonata, somightywas until hewas inhisforties before writing

chamber works. Indeed,somelisteners who best-loved andmostfrequently played of his first of histhree violinsonatas –some of the composed theViolinConcerto, hebeganthe to himinnew ways. Inthesameyear thathe seems to have openedup the soulof theviolin the concerto apersonaltriumphfor Brahms, it Not onlywas theexperience of composing either indebted to orinhibited by Beethoven. in conception,butatnostage doesitsound Beethovenian scaleandislikewise symphonic The concerto isconceived onanambitious one passage, whichBrahms humblyaccepted. even suggested asubstantial re-composition of extensive improvements to thesolo part,and the compositionprocess –Joachim made adored virtuoso violinistJosephJoachim, during he made muchuseof hisfriend,theinternationally before attempting hisown ViolinConcerto, and waited until1878, whenhewas well into hisforties, Brahms scored nothing butdirect hits.True, he field inwhichBeethoven had excelled, here But whenitcameto writingfor soloviolin,another unlike thatof thegreat Beethoven quartets. authentic andatthesametimesufficiently texture andsoundthatwas both personally some have argued –to create akindof quartet composer struggling–not always successfully, claimed to have destroyed 20!)show the The three stringquartets thatsurvive (Brahms over other areas of Brahms’s creative output. Beethoven, andhecastanequallylongshadow his FirstSymphony. Thegiantinquestionwas why itwas taking himsolongto compose famously retorted whenafriendrashly asked a giantmarching behindyou?’ SoBrahms ‘Have you any ideahow hard itis,withsuch 3 Allegro molto moderato Adagio 2 troppo non ma 1 Vivace (1878–9) Gmajor, 1 in 78 No Op Sonata Violin Johannes Brahms time, thisisnot asonata for theviolin.Brahms for violinthatBrahms creates here. Atthesame there anything like thesustained of Beethoven, orfor thatmatter of Mozart,is more beautiful.Nowhere intheviolinsonatas creates inthesonata’s first movement iseven Op 96,alsoinGmajor, butifanything whathe last violinsonata, theprevailingly gentle,pastoral may have had attheback of hismindBeethoven’s When hebeganhisown Sonata No 1Brahms the First,andaboutatleastpartsof theThird. a caress’. Shecouldhave saidthesameabout Second sheremarked that‘thewholesonata is friend Elisabethvon Herzogenberg heard the of instrumental song.WhenBrahms’s close and more obviously Romantic outpourings find itmucheasierto love thesetender, intimate find theorchestral Brahms difficult to digest germinal rhythm, Da–de–Da, istransformed Adagio. Atits heart, thefirst movement’s A lonelierkindof songprevails inthe central such winningmelodicmaterial itisirresistible. on throughout thefirst movement; combined with protest. Thiskindof affectionate role reversal goes accepts therole of accompanist without ahintof it takes theviolin’s singingphrases andtheviolin with theviolin,untileventually, inasuddenhush, But soonthepianobeginsto intertwine sensuously pianist thataccompanies insimpleregular chords. beginning itisclearlytheviolinistthatsings, music thanegocentric‘star’ violinplaying. Atthe the two instruments.Nothing ismore fatal to this is thesenseof closepersonaldialoguebetween the FirstSonata’s openingmovement soexquisite Piano andViolin’.Oneof thethingsthatmakes of callingallthree of theseworks ‘Sonatas for reverts to thetraditional Classical-era practice (1833–97) cantabile writing writing

3 Programme notes 4 kind –was very much onBrahms’s mind. leiser the climactic ‘Come,Ocomesoon’from deep down ontheviolin’sgrainy Gstring,recalls Wie Melodien first movement’s secondthemeiscloselyrelated to enduring amorous relationships withthem?The yet apparently incapableof forming any kindof enigmatic composer–sosusceptible to women, singing awaken somethinginthisstrangely visited himatThunthatsummer. DidHermine’s Brahms by thesoprano HermineSpieswhenshe grows ever softer’), both of whichwere sungfor Immer leiserwird meinSchlummer the sonata’: himself admitted, two songsinparticular ‘gowith with theprivate world of hisLieder. AsBrahms the three violinsonatas, andthemostconnected on Brahms’s spirit.TheSecondisthesunniestof place doesseemto have had aprofound effect sonata, eitherintone orinscale,thespiritof the there isnothing specifically ‘alpine’aboutthis Kleist had found temporary idyllicpeace. While famously theplace where therestless Heinrichvon for somany GermanRomantic writers, and beside theSwissresort of Lake Thun–inspiration summer of 1886 inaflower-bedecked chalet Brahms wrote hisSecondViolinSonata inthe Andante) (quasi grazioso 3 Allegretto –Vivace tranquillo 2 Andante 1 Allegro amabile (1886) Amajor, 2 in 100 No Op Sonata Violin Johannes Brahms In the form of aquotation from oneof hissongs. little ‘clue’asto themusic’s possiblemeaningin follows theexample of Schubertinplantinga a tranquil, ifwistfulclose.Inthefinale, Brahms with more liquidaccompaniment, leading to but thesoothing initialmelody returns, now funeral march, leading to ananguishedclimax, into whatsoundsvery muchlike aminor-key Regenlied …Clearly, love –atleast of anidealised Wie Melodien (‘Rain-song’) themelancholy , whilethefinale’s openingphrase, (‘Like Melodies’) and (‘Like Melodies’)and (‘My sleep (‘Mysleep Immer Immer returns to thefirst movement’s tender serenity. clouds before theadvancing sun,andtheend melancholic yearning isdispelledlike rain movement’s openingtheme.Eventually though, Brahms –to aliteral return of thesecond pervades thisfinale, leading –unusuallyfor First ViolinSonata thesame mooddelicately images of childhoodandyouth, andnow inthe image of falling, tricklingrain evokes nostalgic for different ways to incorporate alternative hard act to follow andwas always looking thrillingly rhythmic scherzosanespecially He found theexample of Beethoven’s elemental, triple-decker sandwicheffect withunusualskill. Violin Sonata’s central movement achieves this of slow movement andscherzo,buttheSecond He wasn’t thefirst composerto attempt afusion interval Programme notes ©Stephen Johnson turbulence initsminor-key secondtheme. a momentary vista of glamorous Romantic easygoing at first andintheend,butallowing After thiscomestheAllegretto grazioso finale: Brahms of legendthaninmusiclike this. playful –heisnever lessthe‘beerandbeard’ reminder thatBrahms canalsobedelightfully of theVivace (almostan afterthought) isa figure Robert Schumann.Thelasttiny return his youthful mentor and,alltoo briefly, father- Kinderszenen ghostly ‘Fürchtenmachen’ (‘Frightening’) from spooky, fleeting Vivace inaway thatrecalls the ardent Andante tranquillo alternates witha scherzo- orminuet-like dancemusic.Here an 20minutes (‘Scenesfrom Childhood’)by Programme note ©HarrietSmith endeared itto violinistsover thedecades. And it’sthatdramatic immediacy whichhas scherzos withthatkindof rhythmic drive.’ composer: ‘No-onebutBrahms was writing MacDonald observed inhisbiography of the a complete giveaway –asthelate Malcolm style of Brahms’s scherzowould have been aber einsam notes F–A–E(basedonJoachim’s motto The piecewas given unityby theuseof three challenge, given thediffering stylesof thethree. each movement, butitcan’thave beenmuchof a that Joachim would beleftto guess the authorof and finale; Brahms got thescherzo. Theideawas movement; Schumannprovided anintermezzo of Schumann,andwas entrusted withthefirst enthusiastic. Dietrichwas acompositionpupil conspirators, Brahms andAlbertDietrich,were a sonata for theviolinistJosephJoachim, hisco- Variations best –justthinkof themulti-authored involved tend to meanafractured reception at differing stylesandstandards of thecomposers though theideamightseemappealing, communal piecesof compositionrarely work: Rather like architecture designedby committee, 4 Presto agitato sentimento econ presto poco 3 Un Adagio 2 1 Allegro (1886–8) Dminor, 108 3 in Op No Sonata Violin Sonata) ‘F–A–E’ Cminor in Scherzo Johannes Brahms . Butwhen,in1853, Schumannproposed –Free butlonely).However, the Diabelli Diabelli Frei Frei (1853) (1853) opening melodyisoneof thoseBrahms tunes much more long-limbedthanitsprecursor. The movements instead of three, andmelodically itis words SecondSonata. Itislonger, withfour the summery, Alpine-fresh, love-song-without- composed. Thisisavery different work from composer’s state of mindatthetimethey were reading musicalworks asdirect records of their years later. Itprovides ausefulcautionagainst Lake Thun,thoughitwasn’t completed untiltwo begun duringthat1886 summerholiday at Like theSecondViolinSonata, theThird was comes akindof nocturnalintermezzo, marked instrumental Liedinallthesethree sonatas – After theheartfelt Adagio –themost seamless and thepianist’srighthandintertwine eerily. bass note on thepiano,above whichtheviolin meditation over along-sustained regularly pulsing sonata form, we have amysterious, nervous typical of thedevelopment sectioninClassical movement. Inplace of thedramatic ferment effective is the longpassage attheheartof the haunted landscapesinmusic,thisisit.Especially of thepainter CasparDavid Friedrich’stwilit, ever there was amusicalencapsulationof one deepen Romantically inthefirst movement –if in theSecondSonata’s central Andante–Vivace darker intone. Thehintsof nurseryghoststories repose before thenext flight begins.Itisalsomuch not somuchto rest asto apointof momentary that seemsto goonandunfolding, coming (from the the (from

5 Programme notes 6 finales of thefirst two sonatas, here hefaces up hint of agrand Beethovenian summationinthe winds. Ifhehad delighted inavoiding theslightest restraining ‘unpoco’(‘alittle’)isthrown to the minor-key Presto agitato –Brahms’s typical the shadows. Butnow they explode inthefurious prevailed; demonicelementshave remained in So far, mystery andRomantic suggestiveness have Elgar inparticularrelishing musiclike this. yet it’sallbeautifullymannered. Onecanimagine a hintof Schumann’s ‘fantastical’ tone here, and ‘Un pocopresto econsentimento’. There’s just Programme note ©Stephen Johnson could hardly have contrived amore rousing finale. sonatas asacycle inconcert,butifhedid, Brahms considered performing thethree violin first timeinthesesonatas. Itisn’tknown whether and pianosoundinglike truevirtuososfor the minor modeultimately prevails, withboth violin the Maiden’Quartet. Asin theSchubert,dark rhythms of thefinale of Schubert’s‘Deathand this movement, almostlike theobsessive tarantella of theopeningtheme power through somuchof neither doestheenergy relent. Thedrivingtriplets to thechallenge.While control never wavers, Benjamin Ealovega of Ippolitov-Ivanov, where hehad studiedwithYuri a Diplomaof Excellence from theMoscow Institute Festival Orchestra. InJune2014 hegraduated with appointed thefirst ChiefConductor of theGstaad his attention to conductingandin2010 was the late Mstislav Rostropovich, andturned In 2007hefollowed inthefootsteps of hismentor, Year awards. others, Grammy and Melodiya, Teldec andEMI,earningamong extensively for high-profile labelsincluding recording attheage of 10, andwent onto record Turchaninova andZakharBron, made hisfirst ages 10 and15 respectively, studiedwithGalina and CarlFleschinternational competitionsat solo violinistattheage of 5,won theWieniawski He was bornin1974 andbeganhiscareer asa soloists. a conductor andisoneof themostin-demand Vengerov alsoenjoys international acclaim as violinists, Grammy award-winner Maxim Universally hailedasoneof theworld’s finest Maxim Vengerov Maxim Vengerov About the performers violin Gramophone Artist of the Artistof the currently Ambassador andvisitingProfessor teaching positionsaround theworld. Heis particular passionandhehasheldvarious Teaching andnurturingyoung talent isa in Paris. Philharmonic Orchestra andatthePhilharmonie well asholdingresidencies withtheMonte Carlo Filarmonica dellaScalaunderRiccardo Chailly, as He opensthe2018/19 seasonof theOrchestra China andtheUSA. Music Festival. Healsogives recitals inEurope, concerto, and thepremiere of QigangChen’snew violin Hall withtheMontreal Symphony Orchestra Highlights thisseasonincludereturns to Carnegie orchestras. Munich PhilharmonicandMelbourneSymphony engagements includedtheRTÉ Orchestra Dublin, Artist-in-Residence. Furtherguestconducting Symphony Orchestra, withwhichhewas also conducted theseasonfinale of theQueensland season of theSydney Symphony Orchestra and Last seasonhereturned to Australia to openthe year programme of opera conducting. Simonov, andhethenenrolled inafurthertwo- of 1727. Maxim Vengerov plays theex-Kreutzer Stradivari Ambassador by UNICEF. to beappointed International Goodwill In 1997 hebecamethefirst classicalmusician the Royal Collegeof Music. became thePolonsky VisitingProfessor of Violinat in Switzerland(IMMA)andSeptember 2016 of theInternational MenuhinMusicAcademy La joiedelasouffrance , at the Beijing , attheBeijing

7 About the performers 8 Evgeny Evtyukhov under MarinaWolf. the Leningrad (now St Petersburg) Conservatoire she switched pathsandwent to studymusicat halls andstanding ovations. Attheage of 13 tours throughout theformer USSRto packed became hermanager, sheundertook frequent Conservatoire. Together withherfather, who the Central Schoolof Musicof theMoscow the VilniusConservatoire. Ayear later sheentered first concertattheage of 6attheGreat Hallof She beganperforming attheage of 5,givingher mature artist. child prodigy, before makinghernameasa Polina Osetinskaya first cameto attention asa Polina Osetinskaya Polina Osetinskaya piano of record labels. Polina Osetinskaya hasrecorded for awiderange Martynov, Georgs Pele Valentin Silvestrov, LeonidDesyatnikov, Vladimir works. Shehasfrequently performed piecesby works by contemporary composers withstandard unorthodox soloprogrammes whichjuxtapose She hasaparticularinterest increating a bestseller. 2008 autobiography She hasreceived ’sTriumph award andher festivals. of theWhite NightsandtheDecember Chopin Festival inMiamiand,Russia,theStars Brussels, theMainlyMozartFestival, Frédéric appearances includetheWallonie Festival in Tortelier andThomasSanderling.Festival Andrey Boreyko, Gerd Albrecht, Yan Pascal conductors SauliusSondeckis,Vassily Sinaisky, Her onstage partnershave includedthe and theNew RussiaOrchestra, amongothers. Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi the St Petersburg Philharmonic,State Academic Opera, theAcademic Symphony Orchestra of Orchestra, Orchestra of Weimar National She hasappeared withtheTokyo Philharmonic while stillastudent,beganto tour oncemore. Conservatoire underVera Gornostayeva and, She subsequentlystudiedattheMoscow Farewell, Sadness - cis andPavel Karmanov. , became , became