01 April 2008

Abu Dhabi, UAE: The 5th Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival (ADMAF) continued its string of awe-inspiring performances on March 31st, by bringing the best of strings to stage in the form of violin prodigy Sarah Chang playing with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, and conducted, in part, by Karel Mark Chichon.

The Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival has built quite a reputation over the years, however, this fifth edition has been and continues to be, ground breaking with performances of absolute quality offered on a daily basis. This has allowed for the Festival, and along with it, Abu Dhabi, to draw ever-increasing attention, and reputation, as a place for culture and quality. This evening, Chang's riveting performance happened in the presence of journalists from France, the US, Germany and Italy and HE Zaki Nusseibeh, Vice President of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), the Korean Ambassador and the American Charge d'Affaires, among others.

The program of the 31st of March was an interesting addition to the star-studded line up of this year for many reasons: not only was Chang's presence a true privilege and thrill for festival-goers, it was the first classical performance this year of a chamber orchestra, with the unusual feature that half the program was conducted, with a conductor, and the second half was directed by a lead instrument setting the pace and direction for the orchestra.

With Maestro Karel Mark Chichon, Festival-goers discovered a new facet of the art of conducting: a passionate, vigorous take on conducting, as opposed to Jurowski's understated approach, or Sorokin's more "classical" form of performance. The evening began with Mozart's Divertimento in D, a wonderfully elegant work, which allowed the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and Chichon to express all of the joy, grace and mischief Mozart brought to this piece. The Allegro features the highly recognisable Mozart lightness and elegance, leaving place in the second movement for a flowing Andate, rendered perfectly by the orchestra. The third and last movement, a Presto, was a feat of artistry in its precise writing, served by Chichon's precise, yet impassioned and generous, conducting.  Amazingly, this work was composed by Mozart when he was just sixteen!

Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings (Op.48) followed: this is an extremely elaborate, intricate work by the Russian Master which echoed with Mozart perfectly, as parts of it were written in homage to him. Introduced by the violin to which the cellos respond, the piece builds up its recurring melody in a manner reminiscent of Mozart's playfulness and taste for simple, yet sophisticated, constructs. Maestro Chichon conducted the orchestra with passion, reliving the music along with the orchestra and the audience, delivering each musical surprise, each stop and start, to the delight of all. As the second movement, a waltz, gathered momentum, the lightness receded, as layers of intense feeling and meaning, ranging from majesty to urgency, arose, creating an elaborate piece performed with great skill and richness by the Orchestra.

A true romantic, both by character and the nature of his time, Tchaikovsky created the third movement, the Elegy, with great nostalgia and thoughtful retrospect. Chichon's passionate, sentimental conducting proved a perfect match! The musical flow was immensely sensual, breathing its emotions in subtle strokes that overwhelmed the audience. As the range of feelings expanded, the movement lent way to sorrow, and even some anguish, before leading to a silent halt delivered by the orchestra in perfect subtlety. The audience was dumbstruck.

Chichon's skill-full conducting opened the last movement with a sense of resurrection. The orchestra played with a mix of power and gentleness, breathing more and more vigour into Tchaikovsky's crescendo of the last movement, ending in a vertiginous melody, and a breathless audience. All present discovered one of Tchaikovsky's ingenious surprises as the music suddenly slowed down before returning to virtuosity and vertiginous energy with pizzicatos, allowing for the recurring theme to return yet again in a frenzy which is abruptly cut off, leaving the audience in delighted shock. The auditorium shook under the enthusiastic applause, saluting the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and Chichon, who returned to the stage, his face beaming with the passion he communicated so aptly to the orchestra and the audience.

The intense nature of the first part of the evening left the audience hungry for more magic on strings. As they would soon discover, the world-famous violin prodigy, Sarah Chang, would serve them generously.

The young Sarah Chang has attained a level of mastery in her art that most performers, even the very best in the world, can only hope and dream for. Her true talent is the ability to fully grasp the intentions and emotions in a given score, make it her own, and then interpret it with all her heart, soul and -in Chang's case- body.

Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" is probably one of the most famous pieces of the classical repertoire. Such acclaim is a mixed blessing, as it has been heard so often, sometimes in poor performances and mundane contexts, such as elevators and call-waiting music. Sarah Chang set the record straight in the Emirates Palace Auditorium with a magical, out-of-this-world performance, revealing to all present the genius of Antonio Vivaldi and giving festival-goers the sense that they never truly knew the "Four Seasons", as performed by Sarah Chang.

The "Four Seasons" is not a literal work: it avoids the general and vague impressions one might entertain about this or that season. Instead, Vivaldi's masterpiece operates much as a painting -or a series of paintings- choosing various scenes linked to each season and embodying them in music. In a way, these are short stories told in music... and no better story teller could portray them in music than Sarah Chang.

Chang's incredibly soulful performance of Spring set the standard from the beginning: the first all-too-famous bars of music expressing the energy and agitation of spring were played with such vital - nearly primal - soul that the audience was riveted and breathless. Words fail to describe the extent to which Chang mesmerized the audience telling her stories of each season with communicative power, leading the orchestra with her commanding presence and performance.

Chang's virtuous Summer was a moment of pure perfection, subjecting all to the intense contrasts of numbing heat followed by roaring storms... Autumn was probably the most picturesque piece of musical story telling, with Italian Autumns of joyful and drunken harvesting giving way to a powerful hunting scene. Winter, too, was full of life and excitement with the reinvigorating cold biting the audience through Chang, after which all listening were invited in the reassuring safety of a warm interior, always through Vivaldi's and Chang's perfect match of talents.

The audience was in absolute awe, hit by the realization -or the rediscovery- that the Four Seasons is not a "nature-morte" about the seasons, but a powerful statement about life and death, and their intimate connection. Serving this life-affirming classic, Chang's absolute dedication to performance, allowed her whole body to be entwined with her Guarneri violin. In fact, Chang's relationship with her violin and the music she performs is so uniquely merged, giving a sense of "oneness" and absolute connection between her body, her soul and her instrument, that it was impossible to tell if she was dominated by the beauty of Vivaldi's music, or if her commanding performance was so masterfully designed to bring out the best of the Four Seasons. One thing is certain: as the hypnotized audience watched Chang sawing her violin, advancing and retreating on the stage in a fascinating connection with the primal forces at play in Vivaldi's notes, all present knew that they were witnessing a unique, unequalled performance.

Someone watching Chang without any sound would have felt the power and the genius of her performance through her expressions and movements, knowing that the music was speaking to the very core of her soul. When she played the very last notes of the Four Seasons, Chang's expression metamorphosed, as if she suddenly returned from a state of trance, offering the audience a radiant and charismatic smile, who then knew it was time to clap. And how! A roar of applause rose from an audience that sprang to a standing ovation, each festival-goer doing their best to convey the fascination and gratitude for Sarah Chang's absolute genius: "bravos", "encores", even whistles rang through the auditorium...

A graceful and generous performer, Sarah Chang gave an "encore"... Sarasate's "Zigeunerweisen" (Gypsy Airs) brought the magic and passion of gipsy sounds, full of soul and overwhelming joy and sadness to the audience: in the moments of sorrow, Chang quite simply made her violin cry, to paraphrase the French expression. In the moments of joy, absolute mischief and appetite for life came out of Sarah Chang's generosity. And generous she was, as this encore was not a polite gesture, or one of vanity: it was a true performance over the course of which Chang instantly cast a spell over the audience.

The audience responded by ever more thunderous, elated applause, as the Prodigy retreated from the stage. The festival goers simply could not get enough of Sarah Chang's talent, truly addicted to the passion she brought in and out of the music.

Sarah Chang, however acclaimed she may be, seemed to recognize that something very special was happening in the auditorium: something spontaneous and enthusiastic, to which she responded with yet another encore, pushing all present back into their seats in delighted expectation. She chose another very famous piece, J. S. Bach's "Air on a G String". Yet again, the audience discovered this famous piece at a whole new level, with all its serene, thoughtful soul coming to life and engulfing all present in emotion and delight. The audience shook the auditorium with applause of gratitude, admiration and sheer enthusiasm, offering a third standing ovation that lasted minutes.

As the lights went on in the auditorium, relative silence remained: many festival-goers were silent still possessed by Chang's mind-boggling performance. Those who chose to speak simply raved... Although the 5th Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival continues with two very demanding and acclaimed stars of the world of Arab Music, this was the last of western music performances... One could not have chosen a better note of conclusion, than this festival of strings.

-Ends-

© Press Release 2008