There are several young, American-trained violinists on the concert circuit at the moment, and it takes more than a dazzling technique to stand out. In Gil Shaham's case it is the huge, generous tone that he draws from the instrument that impresses above all. It's a formidable sound, liberally applied, yet offset by a daringly tiny, superbly controlled pianissimo for which his bow seems barely to touch the string.
This was very much a programme of two halves, with the "serious" stuff before the interval and several frothy party pieces afterwards, a showcase for Shaham's nonchalant brilliance. We had to be content with just two extended works, JS Bach's Sonata No 3 in E and Prokofiev's gargantuan First Sonata.
Shaham's intention to give an unfashionably unauthentic reading of the Bach was evident in the first few notes of the concert. The opening phrase was bold and loud, played with plenty of vibrato. Violin and keyboard are equal partners in this work, and by the second of the four movements Shaham was demonstrating that he could also provide a restrained yet lively accompaniment to Akira Eguchi's neat piano melodies.
Prokofiev's F minor Sonata is on a completely different scale. This chamber work remains one of his bleakest, most profound and most revealing scores. Shaham has the technique and style to perform it well; most importantly, he knows how to make a phrase sound angry or impassioned without letting his sound get ugly or restricted. His remarkable dynamic range was fully explored, from the subdued semiquaver runs that Prokofiev described as "a wind in a graveyard", to the rich, broad forte of the first-movement melody. Yet although this was a full-blooded reading with plenty of feeling, Shaham doesn't seem able just yet to touch the dark heart of the work. His performance was involving, but left behind a sense of depths unexplored.
The second half began with Bartok's Rhapsody No 2, based on eastern European folk tunes, a spirited work which had Shaham stamping and almost dancing as he played. The rest of the programme got progressively easier for the listener as it got more difficult for the soloist, ending with that old violin chestnut, a fantasy on Carmen (in this case, excerpts from three different pieces glued seamlessly together), that drew the desired ovation from the audience. But if Shaham is going to be a truly great recital artist he'll have to rely on musicianship rather than on pure display.
***** Unmissable **** Recommended *** Enjoyable ** Mediocre * Terrible
