Yehudi Menuhin (1916 - 1999) said of him: “Simply the best, the most perfect violinist I have ever heard.” Having heard him as well over two recent weekends, I can see what Sir Yehudi meant.
The young Russian violinist, Vadim Repin, was accompanied by the NZSO in concert playing the Sibelius Concerto D minor, op. 47, and the Beethoven Concerto D major, op. 61. And yes, he was brilliant.

The conductor as well deserves a mention. Susanna Mälkki, originally a Finnish-born cellist, has very quickly become a much sought after artist on the international conducting circuit. For some reason conducting seems to be a male-dominated career, so it was quite a novelty to have a woman doing the honours - and doing it so enthusiastically well. And as always, our national symphony orchestra lived up to its excellent international reputation and played quite superbly under her baton.

An interesting thing that relates these two concerti to each other is that both were unpopular when premièred - the Sibelius in 1903, and the Beethoven almost a century earlier in 1806.

For the former, the première was disastrous largely because Sibelius, apparently in desperate need of some ready cash, brought it forward a month. The substitute soloist just wasn't up to it and Sibelius hastily withdrew the score. It was not until the 1930s when renowned violinist Jascha Heifetz (1900 - 1987) dusted it off and showed the world what it had been missing. The rest, as it is said, is history. Anything Sibelius has me thinking of the scenery of Finland, and this was no exception, there being a profound extent of Nature's influence in all his compositions and to which Sibelius made countless references: “Nature is coming to life: that life which I so love, . . . whose essence shall pervade everything I compose.” It was played with such skill and beauty that it seemed I had gone far further than a visit to the Town Hall.

Although the Beethoven Concerto was written in haste back in 1806 and unenthusiastic reviews called the thematic material commonplace, confused, wearisome and too repetitious, an evolutionary process was applied through the subsequent addition of cadenzas written by Joachim, David, Kreisler and many other celebrated violinists. Its first performance was by Franz Clement for whom it was written, but Clement was something of a clown and performed the Concerto by sight-reading (though there is some dispute about this) with an unrehearsed orchestra, dividing up the work to insert a sonata of his own after the first movement, playing his sonata with the violin up-side-down, and on only one string.

Somewhat more conventional with its rendition, the recent performance by Vadim Repin of Beethoven’s work had a packed auditorium giving the longest and loudest applause, including a lapse in restraint following the incredible Kreisler Cadenza towards the end of the first movement. The clapping was acknowledged by a slight nod of the head as Vadim Repin paused only momentarily before continuing with the rest of the piece. It was breath-taking, spell-binding and exhilarating.

Certainly Vadim Repin has been compared with his illustrous predecessors like Menuhin, Stern and Oistrach. But his incredible technique, infallible exactness and his tone that seems to come from nowhere do distinguish him indisputable. Sensibility, elegance and subtlety, as well as profundity, generosity and tenderness: there aren’t enough adjectives to describe this grand master of the violin. He’s now playing on the famous ‘Ruby’, the magnificent Stradivarius of Sarasate, who has played Lalo’s ‘Symphonie Espagnol’ on it. ‘I have it on loan from the Stradivarius Society in Chicago. It’s brilliant and many-coloured in the upper register, sonorous and generous in the lower. It’s a wonderful compromise between the natural brilliance of a Strad and the sensual power of a Guarneri!’
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So this is a violinist I have on my little list of “must go to hear” whenever I find his name appearing as guest of some orchestra. He and my other favourite, the Taiwanese-American virtuosa, Cho-Liang Lin (Jimmy). They are both quite amazing.