One of the joys of a lover of classical music in Toronto is to be able to hear great Russian artists at the peak of their form. And all this thanks to the outstanding impresario Svetlana Dvoretska from Show One Productions. […]

Last night S. The butler surpassed musical expectations by organizing a new concert of Russian violin conductor Vladimir Spivakov and his «Moscow Virtuosi». They were joined by two capitalist artists, each of whom made their Canadian debut: the Abkhazian-Russian soprano Hibla Gerzmava and the 14-year-old Israeli cellist Daniel Akta. Roy Thomson Hall was full, albeit without a full house; the concert was attended by a large number of enthusiastic Russian-speaking spectators, which could be heard with their rhythmic applause – a typical feature of the Russian public. It was an excellent musical evening.

The last time Toronto residents heard Spivakov was three years ago during his solo concert with Olga Kern, winner of the Van Clyburn competition. Now he has returned to Toronto with 29 musicians from his chamber orchestra «Moscow Virtuosi», which he founded in 1979. As part of their current North American tour they have already visited Boston, Washington DC, Chicago and New York, and will then travel to Los Angeles and San Francisco. One programme will be performed in all 7 concerts of the tour. I have listened to this group several times already, and each time it was unforgettable.

Mozart’s Divertissement Concerto No. 1 in D Major opened with a very lively and surprisingly romantic reading – I must say I did not expect such a stylistically original interpretation. However, the next work was in line with my expectations: The Chamber Symphony in C Minor, op. 110a, by Dmitry Shostakovich is a sad and long-lasting work «dedicated to the memory of the victims of fascism and war». Moments of incredible beauty and flashes of tearing pain, rhythms of folk dancing followed by sharp, disturbing harmonies are the real Shostakovich! I will not forget the amazing solo passages divinely played by the concertmaster and the first cello for a long time.

Then the first guest soloist of the concert – phenomenal 14-year-old Israeli cellist Daniel Akta, who performed Brucha’s Kol Nidrei, Opus 47 – came on stage. What an incredible talent! Super virtuoso technique these days does not surprise anyone, but Daniel also has an incredible musicality in everything she does, extracting the most refined, warmest, caressing, singing sound from her instrument. I really liked her unbridled joy of music, so obvious on her face. It was an unspeakable pleasure to listen to her. Then she performed Concert Polonaise, Opus 14, by the Czech composer David Popper – a highly romantic and cheerful work with a rhythm typical of a polonaise. The act gave the audience a great mood and received deafening applause.

The second section was dedicated to the soprano Hibla Gerzmav. As far as I know, her home theatre is the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow, but she also sings a lot in the west: in Covent Garden, Munich and New York. The last I heard of her was in the part of Donna Anna in Met, where she also sang Antonia in Hoffman’s Tales and Liu in Turandot. Gerzmava has a deep spinto, beautiful, smooth and rich, with an impressive upper range and mobility. Her voice has great directivity and her charisma is incredible. […]

After the official programme, the audience did not want to let her go. They were rewarded with the sweet-sounding «O mio babbino caro» and an even bigger gift – the exquisite «Morgen» by Richard Strauss, in which the soprano accompanied the violin solo performed by Maestro! As a true artist, Spivakov took every pause and gave us the sentimental nail of the programme in the form of this chic song, with H. Gerzmav in all its glory. Everyone went home happy.

Author: Joseph Soe

Translation: Svetlana Simonova