By John Keillor
Toronto National Post
17 April 2007

Maxim Vengerov’s rendition of Shostakovich’s first violin concerto “ached with agony, echoing Soviet history: a mouldering, pre-fab society, wrapped in razor wire.”

Maxim Vengerov is a young virtuoso of the violin, though on occasion he speaks like an elder statesman.

"It's scientifically proven that certain frequencies are bad for our minds," he says. "I'm triggered by the fact that people have to appreciate their choice of music as a vital one. It can be healing, and it puts us in different moods. That's why I advocate the music of Schubert, Bach and Mozart."

Vengerov is humbly earnest and gentle. He also has the appeal of a consummate romantic musician: young, handsome, successful, Russian and brilliant. However, at 32, Vengerov has accomplished too much to be preoccupied by youthful flash or edginess.

As a child living in Siberia, his hard work and talent got him accepted into the Moscow Conservatory. He subsequently studied in Lubeck, Jerusalem and London. And during his mid-teens, he won two Gramophone Awards for a Shostakovich recording that showcased his astounding technique and feel.

"With Shostakovich," says Vengerov, "what comes out is the composer's suffering. Everyone can relate to it. That's why people understand its personality."

His rendition of Shostakovich's first violin concerto ached with cynicized agony, echoing Soviet history: a mouldering, pre-fab society, wrapped in razor wire. It could have been a career-capping recording for any artist. But for Vengerov, this was just the beginning. Since then, he has pursued nuance rather than flair.

He'll be performing Shostakovich and Mozart at the Roy Thompson Hall tonight. Combining these composers in one program is a huge character leap: a courageous Soviet dissident and a politically obtuse Viennese brat.

"I've been gradually maturing toward Mozart, after studying Beethoven and the Baroque era. It took a long time to really grasp his music, though I wanted to get to Mozart sooner. Remember that our program's Mozart selections were written when he was a teenager, so I needed some of my own youth to reflect his work properly."

Mozart and Vengerov had similar childhoods, with lots of travel,

public acclaim and constant musical study. Vengerov's latest, all-Mozart recording is reflectively melancholic. It sounds as if he were tenderly communing with Wolfgang.

The disc lacks overt virtuosic fireworks, which is a bit disappointing because Vengerov plays one of the most coveted violins in existence: the Kreutzer Stradivarius, named after the virtuoso Beethoven dedicated his most famous fiddle sonata to. The bow Vengerov uses once belonged to Jascha Heifetz. It's natural to want to hear the equipment tested. But Vengerov is more interested in subtle evocations, using his superior violin to achieve sublime timbres.

"It is a deep-sounding instrument," he says, "I can imitate the sound of a viola or a cello if I want to."

This interest in musical colour goes beyond the capabilities of Vengerov's unique instrument: For tonight's concert, he will perform with the UBS Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, which has been his personal sound laboratory since 2005.

"It was important to me to be able to explore the orchestra for myself," he says, "and I'm pleased that we have not rushed our sound's development. All the details of the music have been worked out. I've worked hard with this group, so that we can all articulate together. We have a warm relationship, the ensemble and I, which operates more like a football team than an orchestra."

Luckily, regarding Shostakovich, Vengerov's pyrotechnic skills are sharper as ever. Toronto listeners can look forward to hearing both sides of this unique artist: the blistering technique of a child from the Soviet experiment, as well as the meditations of a burgeoning elder statesman in classical performance.

"The orchestra is young, like Mozart was when he wrote this material," says Vengerov, "so hopefully our spirit will prove authentic. I hope Mozart would have approved."