JOSEF SZIGETI

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21774, 13 October 1932, Page 10

JOSEF SZIGETI

A SUPERB ARTIST OVATION AT FIRST RECITAL Dunedin lias in the past been privileged to hoar violinists whose qualifications have made them world-famous figures, and whose reputations have extended over many years of advancement in their art, but surely no musician with more undeniable claims to virtuosity has visited this city than Josef Szigeti, whose supreme artistry was enthusiastically acclaimed by a packed audience in the Town Hall Concert Chamber last evening, when the first concert of the famous violinist’s Dunedin season was presented. To compare Szigeti with any other violinist who has performed in this city would be futile, for in him are combined the most striking attributes of all the great masters of the instrument, namely, extraordinary brilliance of technique, unsurpassed tone no matter whether his subject be grave or gay, florid or simple, an interpretative sense which amounts to more than genius, and the glorious facility of being able to ascend above the plane of purely expert musicianship and impart into his playing that wealth of soul which stamps him as one of the greatest violinists of the age. In him can be detected the master musician whose whole being is devoted to the expression of the inspirations of the great composers and who, during such time, is as one apart, consecrating himself to the task of conveying to his hearers the ethereal beauty of the works of the geniuses of music. Coming to New Zealand almost unknown Josef Szigeti has, during the short time in which he has been touring the Dominion, established for himself an undisputed position in the loftiest eminence of public appreciation, and, as the wonderful ovations accorded him by a delighted audience last evening gave signah proof, each succeeding recital will undoubtedly consolidate that position to such an extent that at the conclusion of the tour his conquest will be complete. To every member of last night’s audience the. concert will ever remain as one of the most impressive musical feasts in memory. The opening half* of the programme was of such a calibre that had the concert ended there the audience could not but have left assured that it had heard a truly great recital, for each of the three first numbers on the programme was a massive work in itself. The first composition played by Szigeti. was “La Follia” (Variations serieuses), by Corelli, in which the composer had taken a simple Portuguese dancq and embellished it with 23 variations. At the first note the audience sat entranced by the wonderful purity of tone, which maintained its richness of quality no matter what form the variations took, either stately or brilliant, vigorous or placid. The interpretative ability and the (lawlessness of technique exhibited by the violinist throughout the composition Were phenomenal, but the most arresting characteristic of the performance was undoubtedly the crystalline perfection of tone, which roused the audience to a great pitch of enthusiasm. Then came Bach’s Sonata in G minor, for violin only, one of the noblest violin sonatas ever written. To _ say that this performance was a triumph of virtuosity would be understating the case, for it was an example of genius fired by the sublimity of a vehicle of expression the glories of which are disclosed to but a few. The lovely adagio movement which opens the sonata was played with exquisite tone and feeling, the following fugal movement being a truly remarkable exhibition of brilliant bowing and stopping accompanied by a depth of interpretative shading that gave u striking insight into the artistic qualifications of the violinist. The restrained and graceful sioiliano was followed by a glittering presto in which the violinist reached amazing heights of technical brilliance and artistic interpretation. f it was a memorable performance and was followed by a tremendous ovation. After a very brief interval the third of the major works of the e Y? n * n s' Mozart’s Concerto in D major, No. 4, with Joachim's cadenzas, was performed. In common with most of Mozart’s compositions this concerto is remarkable for the delicacy and daintiness of its conception and the great beauty of its melodies. Here again, Szigeti showed his complete mastery of his subject. The long allegro movement which opens the concerto was played with a virility and grace that overcame the innumerable technical and interpretative difficulties bristling in the movenient as if they did not exist, the flowing andante being a revelation of exqmsiteiy sweet tone and artistic- expression. The scintillating rondo, capped by the three cadenzas by Joachim, was a further exhibition of flawless execution and perfect tone control, the conclusion of the performance being received with such a demon st nit ion of enthusiasm on the part oi the audience that the violinist played a cbarming minuet by Exaudet as an encore. The second half of the programme was composed of a bracket of three modern numbers, commencing with the Hebrew melody “Nigun,” from Baal Shem, by Ernst Bloch. The distinctively Jewish character of the composition was given most artistic expression, whilst the violinist’s tone was impeccable. Kreislers arrangement of “ Sicilienne and Rigaudon,” by Francoeur, was a delightful number, contrasting strongly in form with the previous composition. The dainty ana twinkling sicilienne was followed by the spirited rigaudon, which was played at tremendous speed, stopping and bowing alike being amazingly agile. Ihe wellknown Kreisler arrangement of de Dallas “ Snanish Dance,” which was played with infinite grace and beauty of intonation,, brought the programme proper to a conclusion, but the audience was not satisfied to allow the violinist to depart until he had presented no fewer than five encores. A Debussy waltz was followed by Friedman’s arrangement of a caprice by Paganini. a Slavonic Dance by Dvorak, ihe Flight of the Bumble Bee ” by RimskyKorsakov, and Tartini’s Variations, the audience according the artist a wonderful ovation at the close of the performance. The accompaniments played by Prince Nikita Magaloff were characterised by a depth of artistry and flawlessness of execution that revealed a pianist of unusually high qualifications. He was always in perfect sympathy with the and ms performance was always a delight in itselt, the most difficult compositions being encompassed with an ease that argued a brilliant future for this young artist. Josef Szigeti’.s second concert will be presented this evening.