Ordinarily I’m not a fan of flashy violin music, but this has to be one of the smartest, most brilliantly executed recitals to come along in many a year. Pavel Sporcl already made a considerable impression in his sensational coupling of Dvorák and Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos, but even more than on that memorable outing, he seizes the virtuoso bull by its horns and not only plays the living daylights out of all of this music, but he ennobles virtually very bar in the process. In the first place, he’s not afraid to play the version of the Caprices with Schumann’s additional piano accompaniments, a wonderful idea that not only shows him a true collaborator with his excellent accompanist, Petr Jiríkovský, but that also casts a completely different light on the music than we usually experience. The need to interact with a partner rather than simply blast through each number reveals just how much good music Paganini wrote into these little gems. It also was a fine idea to begin the program with Caprice No. 5, saving the others for later in the program where they make a delightful little five-movement divertissement before the big conclusion: a stunning traversal of I Palpiti (variations on the aria “Di tanti palpiti” from Rossini’s Tancredi).
It’s very interesting to compare Sporcl’s conception of Paganini’s Cantabile in D to Maxim Vengerov’s on his recent, also excellent recital of violin showpieces. Sporcl is slower, his tone firmer, the tempo steadier. Good as Vengerov is, his is a more conventionally “Romantic” view, whereas Sporcl reveals a depth of lyric beauty in the melody itself that Vengerov’s more attention-getting gestures fail to capture. The same observation holds true of the Sonata in E minor Op. 12, which sounds far richer in content than its mere four minutes’ length would lead you to suspect. Even such virtuoso barn-burners as the Le Streghe variations and the Perpetual Motion Op. 11 seem unusually substantive, not just because Sporcl hits all of the notes (and does he ever!), but because he’s obviously thought about what he wants to express beyond the physical exhilaration of getting through them. In this he reminds me somewhat of Milstein, another thoughtful virtuoso.
Dead center in this recital Sporcl offers an especially brilliant treat: jazz/classical “fusion” composer David N. Baker’s Ethnic Variations on a Theme of Paganini. Not only does this marvelous work take the famous Paganini 24th Caprice through a riotous variety of pop and contemporary music styles, but it does so in a way that is so in keeping with the spirit of the composer as evidenced by the other music on the disc that there’s no sense of stylistic incongruity at all–merely a refreshing contrast.
It’s also worth mentioning the really beautiful recorded sound, which captures Sporcl’s generously glowing timbre and wide dynamic range with great naturalness and keeps him in just balance with his partner. It’s remarkable how he gets through the thickets of notes in Paganini’s two variation sets, or the wilder Caprices, while preserving such a full-bodied tone at both extremes of his range. Intelligence, musicality, and virtuosity–Sporcl has it all, and he also might make you think twice about any reservations you may be harboring about Paganini the composer. I can’t think of a higher compliment than that. [1/14/2005]
