Faust and Melnikov’s Ottawa Debut
August 5, 2010
Hi there everyone!
To echo the sentiments of my fellow bloggers, I too have been experiencing some ”technical” difficulties. I have a blog which should’ve been posted last weekend on Stewart Goodyear, in which I introduce myself as a latecomer into the Chamberfest blogging game lol So I will attempt to recover that one soon and get it posted. But to re-introduce myself, I am very excited to finally be joining in on the conversation. Originally from the East Coast, this is my first time at Ottawa’s world renowned chamberfest. How lucky we are to have such world-class talent such a short drive, bus ride, bike ride or walk away. Phenomenal way to spend a couple of weeks during such a glorious summer!
I just returned from an evening concert presented by the outstanding violin and piano duo, Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov. Before tonight, I was unfamiliar with the pair, so here are links to their bios on the chamber fest website, beginning with Faust:
http://www.chamberfest.com/dotnetnuke/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=LqfD6qo62b0%3d&tabid=58
http://www.chamberfest.com/dotnetnuke/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=54WVIEmiFw4%3d&tabid=58
Their collaboration tonight was absolutely outstanding as they wowed the audience with two Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano, Sonata No.4 and Sonata No. 10, and concluded after the intermission with Busoni’s Sonata No.2. Melnikov appeared to be suffering from back pain this evening as he was seen grabbing his back during the performance, and for the second half, switched from a piano bench to a pile of two chairs with high backs. This gave him the opportunity to rest if he had a spare bar, which did not happen often. I would say the pain in no way hindered his performance. He somehow found the strength to play through the pain, and powerfully at that.
Watching a duo perform Beethoven sonatas was at first quite a contrast to my concert-going experience with Stewart Goodyear last week; however, as the first piece got going, I was increasingly impressed by each consecutive bar. I grew up playing sonatas on the piano, so the piano was my frame of reference for this performance. It was as if the sonata were being played with four hands on the keys. The level of communication between Faust and Melnikov was so strong and yet so subtle. From where I was sitting, she seemed to be positioned beside him, in such a way that she was not in his sight line. Very rarely did they glance at one another, except for the occasional nod to begin a movement. The conversation and the chemistry between the two of them was captivating and does justice to their blurb in the program which states; ”Having mesmerized European audiences with their brilliant performances…this dynamic duo makes its highly anticipated debut.” Their music-making is a beautiful, organic event to witness. The music just flows between the two of them so flawlessly.
Dominion-Chalmers was packed to the rafters this evening, with an audience consisting people 50 and over, but there was of course a smattering of younger folk like myself and even some kids behind me. The audience went wild after each performance and graciously invited them back for 2 curtain calls to conclude. Ottawa was on their feet for this pair, so I feel I can confidently name it an overwhelmingly successful debut.
If you did not have a chance to check out this concert, it was recorded by the CBC and will be broadcast at two separate dates in August; once on Julie Nesrallah’s Tempo, and the other (I think) on In Concert with Bill Richardson. Be sure to have your ears peeled for these broadcasts. They are a duo not to be missed!
