Bath recital review

The injury Maxim Vengerov sustained - in his bath one report had it - had been well publicised and, in the event, the concert was not broadcast live as planned on Radio 3.It has been recorded, though, for future transmission. The intended programme was not possible and we had, instead, contributions from two rising young musicians, violinist Jack Liebeck and cellist Adrian Brendel.
 
Liebeck gave a polished account of Elgar's Violin Sonata Op 82 which showed us the brooding introspection so characteristic of Elgar, hinting at passion never fully displayed. Liebeck has a fine technique and he will find more in this music than he showed us here. His partner at the piano, Katya Apekisheva, gave a warm sympathetic performance which caught Elgar's mood with sensitivity and feeling.
 
The Beethoven Cello Sonata in B Minor is a substantial piece and among the best of his early work in this form. With Tim Horton partnering him on the piano, Brendel (Alfred's son) produced a warm dark sound at the opening Adagio, leading on to a spirited lively Allegro with a bouncy Rondo to finish. It was a highly accomplished performance from both players of a challenging significant work.
 
Vengerov opened with a Mozart Adagio in E, partnered by Igor Levitt, which was quite ravishing, the sound exquisite and the combination exactly right - it just didn't last long enough. Then, at the end, we had six miniatures - bonnes bouches - Massenet's Meditation from Thais, dreamy and floating, Kreisler's Liebesfreund and Liebeslied, witty and full of technical fireworks, as we would expect, a quite superb performance of Rachmaninov's Vocalise, dedicated by Vengerov to the late irreplaceable Rostropovich, haunting and deeply moving and two Hungarian dances by Brahms, full of dazzling gypsy rhythms and equally dazzling technical virtuosity. Miniatures they may have been, but what a player and what supreme artistry, enhanced by his engagingly witty introductions.