Tatarstan State Symphony Orchestra starts the season with Brahms
The State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan opened the next season to a full house on 13 September. Art director and head conductor Aleksandr Sladkovsky was behind the conductor's podium. The maestro invited famous violinist Nikolaj Znaider in the honour of the 52 nd concert season.
Do you like Brahms?
The concert programme consisting of two parts comprised of Brahms' compositions. Nikolaj Znaider was the soloist of the first part when The Violin Concerto in D major was performed. Znaider is a Dutch violinist of Polish origin who plays Guarneri's violin made in 1741 that used to belong to Fritz Kreisler. He is sought after as both a violinist and conductor.
The winner of International Jean Sibelius Violin and Queen Elisabeth Competitions, Znaider plays together with many noted conductors like Bahrenbäum, Maazel, Rostropovich, Dudamel and others.
Znaider also works with the Munich Philharmonic, Concertgebouw, Russian National Orchestra, regularly performs with London Symphony Orchestra. Since 2010, Nikolaj Znaider has been the major invited conductor of the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra. It is the work history of the musician with big stars, of course, whom Kazan citizens heard for the first time. Undoubtedly, it was great luck and shock.
Brahm's violin concert was full of tenderness – of both the soloist and conductor. The peculiar details the composer put in music sounded from Znaider's bow with special passion. It was all an impulse, a presentiment of upcoming clearing storm, a heavy rain that would wash all the unnecessary things away.
Brahms' famous concert that was in Kogan and Yehudi Menuhin's repertoire was performed elegantly and with emotions. When the orchestra kept silent for some time and only the soloist was heard, there was a wordless dialogue between him and the conductor – at the level of eyes, at the level of feelings, at almost a telepathic level.
And this violin concert opened new maestro Sladkovsky to spectators: who was a romantic, of course, which has been told many times, but a vulnerable musician who is not afraid of showing his naked soul in front of the audience while getting into music.
Overcoming
The second part of the concert was given to Symphony No. 1 in C minor. Brahms' had been writing it with pauses for 15 years. He wrote and felt ''his idol Beethoven's steps behind his back''. Brahms' first symphony is called ''Beethoven's tenth symphony'' for a reason.
Aleksandr Sladkosvky reread this composition of Brahms like a passionate poem with a spiritual context. The first part performed by the conductor was difficult philosophic thoughts of a person who as if had a road in front of him, he needs to cover it but is afraid.
But the tension that arose weakened a bit in the following parts as if the soul had asked to have a rest. And having gone through many trials, it got wings, it cheered, D minor changed into D major. And this very-very long final lasted for long. The maestro seemed to be repeating the lesson with us that needs to be remembered – a lesson to know how to be glad about the environment, just life where thunders certainly change with warm beams of sunlight.
And very maestro Sladkovsky whose emotions were running too high passed to the orchestra he conducted was the lyric hero of the symphony, this eternal romantic. As if he had lived several lives again, music burnt him. But he revived in the end like Fenix.
The spectators who visited the concert will, of course, say ''yes'' to the question asked by Françoise Sagan whether they liked Brahms.
