Not content with being one of the world's leading violinists, Maxim Vengerov is now developing his career as a conductor and viola soloist. His concert with the English Chamber Orchestra saw him playing all three roles in concertos by Mozart and Mendelssohn. But for all his musical multitasking, the programme was about collaboration rather than self-promotion. The two Mozart concertos each showcased two string soloists: the Concertone for two violins, and the Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola (with Vengerov on viola).
You have got to be a brave musician to risk appearing alongside Vengerov in a concerto. His enormous sound and imposing charisma would dwarf all but the most characterful violinists. Yet both Stephanie Gonley and Philippe Mesin created genuine partnerships with him.
Gonley matched Vengerov's phrasing in the opening allegro of the Concertone, and Vengerov was equally sensitive to the subtlety of her playing in the second and third movements. The Sinfonia Concertante was even more impressive. Philippe Mesin (a pupil of Vengerov's) was outstanding, with a warmth and power of sound to rival his teacher. Their performance was brilliantly co-ordinated, with every detail of articulation in one part mirrored in the other. And such was their unity of purpose in the first movement cadenza, it sounded as if they were playing a single instrument. This was unashamedly big-band Mozart, and orchestra and soloists made the music sound richly romantic.
Vengerov's virtuosic individuality saved Mendelssohn's early D minor Violin Concerto. The piece was composed when he was in his early teens, and you can hear him experimenting (not always successfully) with classical and baroque models. There are some bizarre changes of harmony and weird structural ideas; the piece needs a completely committed performance, and Vengerov's brilliance almost made the concerto sound like a neglected masterpiece. He revelled in the over-abundant figuration of the solo part, and inspired focused playing from the ECO. The orchestra shone on their own in an unusually intense performance of Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, energetically led by Gonley.
