Russian ’Celloist’s Recital Enthusiastically Received

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29247, 4 July 1960, Page 15

Russian ’Celloist’s Recital Enthusiastically Received

To have heard Mstislav Rostropovich playing the violoncello on Saturday evening will remain for a long time, a most treasured memory for each member of the audience which attended the Majestic Theatre. Bravos, fe'etstamping and whistling broke out after the first item—a rare enough occurrence anywhere—but at the end of the concert the scene Was more reminiscent of Floyd Patterson’s reception a week or two ago than the end of a dignified recital of some very lovely music. Dignity is perhaps the wrong word, in the circumstances. This was a performance marked by intensity and power. Rostropovich and his partner are interpreters to whom every note, motif, phrase, sentence, and movement matters. From each they extract the most meaningful essence. Even the slightest of ideas is imbued with dramatic instinct and no opportunity is lost to underline the composer’s thought with that sort of galvanism we ascribe to authority and genius.

The fact that the pianist’s name was not given on the printed programme is surely the most culpable sin of omission encountered for a long time. We would go so far as to say that Alexander Dedyukhin’s contribution in the two sonatas heard was on exactly the same plane of excellence as Mr Rostropovich’s and of no less musical significance.

From the first phrase of Brahm’s Second Sonata the impression of extraordinary rhythmic strength and tense excitement was abroad. This was an impassioned and deeply moving reading of a beautiful composition. The ensemble of four hands and two minds was. as. throughout the evening, quite incredible. It was soon evident that one of the ’cellist’s penchants was the quite sudden change to a pianissimo sotto voce tone. Sonata in D minor, Opus 40 by Shostakovich, a work as endearing as it is new, offered further evidence to support the claim that its* composer stands pre-eminent among Russian composers today. This warm, human music explores widely diverse moods with compelling confidence. It is not a flashy sonata although it does exploit adventurously the resources of both ’cello and piano. Placed between the intense and lyrical first and third movements, the scherzo is a breathlessly exciting affair. Only a few glissandi in harmonics offered temporary relief and it was not surprising to observe that hair, if not skin, had been flying. The finale, so characteristic of Shostakovich, is delicious. A tune, rather like Baa Baa Black Sheep, spends most of the time provoking disagreement between the players as to which key it is in. The final denouement brought forth a furore of applause.

Of Mstislav Rostropovich’s extraordinary technical endowments, there was. ample evidence in his performances of the C Minor Suite by Bach and Falla’s Suite based on the Seven Popular Songs. There was nothing academic in the baroque work, but it was a valid, living recreation of sounds which must have been well-nigh inaccessible in Bach’s day. Mr Rostropovich’s mastery of the finger-board is complete; his bowing arm is more of a miracle of co-ordination than any sputnik, -and when these are aUied to a mature, uninhibited musical imagination, it is not difficult to realise why this comparatively remote music came easily to the ear. The Spanish Songs made a most satisfying ending to a perfectly balanced programme. The delicacy of Cancion, the relaxed beauty of Nana, the pungent percussiveness of Polo and the ever-popular Jota were tossed off with that confident and passionate exhilaration which had marked both artists’ work throughout. The encore epidemic continues, but to complain at being given the opportunity to hear Popper’s Dance of the Elves, under these conditions, is superfluous. It was a fascinating exhibition of digital sorcery.

Mr Rostropovich is a master. Like David Oistrach, he has the good fortune to work with a brilliant accompanist. Mr Dedyukhin’s grasp of structural matters in the sonatas and his ability to colour the tone in accordance with the soloist’s desires is a great gift. But he. too, is unfailingly accurate in all that he does. A keen sense of balance only serves to give his moments of assertiveness greater effect.

To both of these fine artists we can only extend thanks for an outstanding presentation of truly great music. —J A JI.