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SUNDAY AFTERNOONS OF MUSIC
AARON ROSAND/ ROBERT KOENIG
BRAHMS/CHAUSSON/SARASATE/BENJAMIN/
GLAZUNOV/HUBAY (9-16-07)
By Lawrence Budmen
When some of the world’s most distinguished musicians are part of the audience for a music event in South Florida, something special is happening. On September 16 Sunday Afternoons of Music opened its 27th season with an exciting recital by Aaron Rosand, the last of the great violinists from the 19th century Russian romantic tradition. Among those on hand (in the nearly capacity crowd at the UM Gusman Concert Hall) were the four members of the Amernet String Quartet and violinists Ida Haendel (a legend in her own right) and Elmar Olivera, Tchaikovsky Competition winner and new faculty member at Boca Raton’s Lynn University School of Music.
The Rosand sound remains indelible – dark, richly burnished tone with an inner core of molten lava. His deeply probing musicianship makes each piece something special. A Rosand performance never sounds like the work of any other violinist. At 80 his playing remains impressive. If he were a thirty something player, he would be considered a real comer. Few artists can continue to produce such passionate, intricately woven music making at this late stage in their career. It was great to see many music students from local colleges in the audience. Rosand’s performance was a vivid demonstration of undiminished artistry and technical longevity.
The opening chords of Brahms’ Scherzo in C minor were crisp and brusque, Rosand’s quick dexterity in full play. In the opening Allegro Amabile of Brahms’ Sonata No.2 in A Major, the cleanly articulated, singing line (with every note perfectly placed) was striking. Rosand’s finely chiseled simplicity of phrase was a revelation in the lovely Andante Tranquillo. A briefly out of sync sequence with accompanist Robert Koenig in the Allegretto Grazioso finale could not obscure the dark hued warmth of Rosand’s playing. Indeed Koenig was an ideal collaborator. His pianism was always elegant, musical, and finely nuanced. Joseph Joachim’s transcriptions of Brahms’ Hungarian Dances Nos. 2 and 4 were a terrific finale for the concert’s first half. Unleashing Gypsy violinistic fireworks galore, Rosand’s double stops were astounding!
Ernest Chausson’s Poeme has become a Rosand signature piece. His evocative, purely articulated, ultra romantic performance was magical. Rosand’s creamy, singing line and high voltage intensity sent this gorgeous vignette into luminous musical orbit. Only the absence of Chausson’s richly colored orchestration detracted from this stellar rendition.
Rosand brought humid Mediterranean aura and haunting color to Pablo de Sarasate’s Malaguena. How wonderful it was to hear Sir Arthur Benjamin’s Jamaican Rumba again (in violist William Primrose’s dare devil arrangement). Once a Jascha Heifetz staple, this 1938 vignette was tossed off with irresistible verve by Rosand, the triple stops brilliantly essayed. The violinist’s own transcription of Glazunov’s Meditation sang with searing lyricism and mystical rapture. The Gypsy inflected bravura of Jeno Hubay’s Heure Kati offered razzle dazzle fiddling at lightning speed for a super finale.
In response to repeated standing ovations and cheers, Rosand brought poignant, moving elegance to Nathan Milstein’s transcription of Chopin’s elegiac Nocturne in C-sharp minor. What would a Rosand recital be without some music by Fritz Kreisler? Rosand’s version of Schon Rosmarin was utterly enchanting. His schmaltzy bravura recalled the way Mischa Elman and Kreisler himself played this music. A wonderful piece of Old Vienna to conclude an electrically charged afternoon of fine music making!
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