Jun. 1, 2006. 12:07 AM
By JOHN TERAUDS
CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC

Shostakovich works
 
Performed by Toronto Symphony Orchestra. With violinist Maxim Vengerov and conductor Andrey Boreyko. Tonight and Saturday at Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-593-4828.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra's celebration of the 100th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich's birth has been a revelation of the most wonderful sort.

The Russian composer, who lived through the darkest days of Soviet Union repression and European warfare, died at age 69 in 1975. He left behind a legacy of works as challenging for the performer as for the listener. But unlike countless other 20th century compositions, Shostakovich's music continues to make a deep, visceral connection.

Peter Oundjian, the symphony's music director, and his committee of programmers were truly inspired in matching up artists with each Shostakovich program they presented this season. That included breathtaking performances last night by 31-year-old Russian superstar violinist Maxim Vengerov and Russian-born conductor Andrey Boreyko, who is well known to audiences in Vancouver and Winnipeg.

Shostakovich demands everything from his interpreters: keen rhythmic sense coupled with long, smooth phrasing; sustained quiet passages and loud outbursts, both requiring great depth of tone.

The orchestra under Boreyko was thrilling in the long and emotionally charged Symphony No. 10, which dates from 1953. The players were in top form technically and tonally.

Even more spectacular was Vengerov's performance in the physically taxing Violin Concerto No. 1, from 1948. As the piece unfolded, his bow was a sword, a ray of sunlight, a feather and a lightning bolt. Whether playing pianissimo or at full double-stopped tilt, Vengerov's iron control was never in question.

Musicologists still argue over the true meaning of the St. Petersburg-born composer's music. During his career, he was both denounced (twice) and honoured by the Soviet state. But with performances such as last night's, the music penetrates so deeply that it needs no further explanation.

Catch it while you can.