VIAF 2023

Dejan Bogdanovich and pianist Gabriele Vianello

A day after the extremely successful opening concert the VIAF’s journey of chamber music concerts started with a recital by violinist Dejan Bogdanovich and pianist Gabriele Vianello, two virtuoso performers who presented a concert of very fine violin and piano duos.

The concert opened with Ysaye’s version of the Locatelli’s F minor Sonata, nicknamed ‘At the Tomb’ because of its sombre mood. Bogdanovich introduced the first movement with a haunting melody played with a beautiful, rounded tone that was supported by the piano. Between them Ysaye and Locatelli did not spare the violinist introducing all kinds of trills, arpeggios and wide skips in their writing, though passages of pure lyricism are not lacking. Bogdanovich combines technical mastery with an exceptional charm and elegance of musicianship and a tone of great beauty and expressiveness, secure even in the highest positions. Equally fluent was the piano playing of Vianello.

Much sunnier and more lyrical was Brahms’ second sonata for violin and piano. Brahms wrote this work in relaxed circumstances during a summer holiday at Lake Thun in Switzerland. It is the work of a very experienced composer with emphasis on the thematic material which is very coherent throughout the three movements, a point that both the violinist and the pianist brought through to the listeners. A warm tone and graceful phrasing marked all three movements of the sonata. Violin and piano carried out a constant dialogue, echoing themes and answering phrases and finding lots of subtleties in the music. While the slower passages were beautifully lyrical and rich in tone the fast passages were fleet and powerfully shaped. Bogdanovich’s warm tone exploited the special richness of the G string in the Rondo. that found lots of subtleties in the music.

This was followed by Ysaye’s Poème élégiaque in D minor portraying love and death getting its inspiration from the story of Romeo and Juliet. Originally written for violin and orchestra the arrangement for violin and piano performed on Saturday at the Aula Mgr Farrugia retained the powerful orchestra texture of the original. It called for a virtuoso pianis as well as a virtuoso violinist. The performance was rich in texture, lyrical passages of deep emotion alternated with outbursts from the two performers.

The last item on the programme was a bravura concert piece for the violin by Wieniaski: his Polonaise in D major, a work that exploits all the resources of the instrument. Although it is not a long work it is epic in character. It immediately sprang to life and had a real sense of direction. Between them violinist and pianist gave a very intense performance, its forward motion full of changing colours and dynamics.