Last night (Tuesday) at the Old Church I had the great fortune to attend one of the most mind-blowing performances I’ve ever seen. The violinist was the Oregon Symphony’s (and Arnica Quartet’s) own Shin-young Kwon, and she played, in one concert, all of the six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27 by the great violin virtuoso Eugene Ysaÿe. All. Six. And it was, in a word, amazing.
As a feat of sheer memory, it was astounding. As a feat of virtuosity, it was astounding. As a feat of stamina, it was astounding. And as a seamless arc of superior musicianship, it was awe-inspiring. As violinist Greg Ewer said afterward, “Who else in the world does this?” And the answer, so far as I know, is no one. Earlier this year, violinist Jennifer Koh played all of Bach’s solo sonatas and partitas in one concert, and Soovin Kim played all 24 Paganini caprices in recital on tour in years past, but I’ve not heard of a violinist touring today who has done all six Ysaÿe sonatas in one sitting in concert.
Generally, I’m not a huge fan of complete-ist concerts. Quartets play all of the Bartok quartets in a concert (with lengthened intermission), and cellists play all of the Bach suites in marathon concerts, or all of the Beethoven sonatas. But there is an advantage of hearing all of a set of works side by side. You hear the prevailing similarities that bind all of the pieces, and also the differences. For me, it was realizing the remarkable style and fluency with which Ysaÿe wrote these six wonderful pieces. Through the way he wrote for the violin, it becomes more evident how he viewed the instrument, and how his own idiosyncratic technique influenced how he wrote for the violin.
As I was listening to one sonata after another, I began to think about how Ysaÿe treated the violin as compared to Paganini. Both were extraordinary virtuosos. But whereas Paganini was simply on a quest to push the boundaries of what was possible on the violin, Ysaÿe sought to put those possibilities to actual musical use. I liken it to figure skating. There are skaters who simply skate to do quads in all of their iterations, and then there are those who spend the extra energy that would go into landing a quad into a more fluid, artistic presentation.
In any event, when a concertgoer finds themselves thinking such thoughts at a recital, it’s not because they’re bored. It is because they are inspired, stimulated, and intrigued by what is happening on stage. It’s the highest compliment that can be paid to a performer, and it’s what happened to me last night as I listened to Ms. Kwon’s playing last night. Bravo!
