Amber Read speaks to Maxim Vengerov
Amber Read: The Sibelius concerto is a cornerstone of the repertoire, and your performance is part of an all-Sibelius programme. You have surely performed the work countless times as well as recording it. What are the links between the concerto and Sibelius’s other works?
Maxim Vengerov: I’ve performed the concerto hundreds of times if not more. It is one of the great milestones for every violinist, and it has many similarities in spirit and in the score with the symphonies. For someone like me who has conducted those symphonies, I can easily recognise the style of Sibelius and can view his violin concerto from a different perspective, from the perspective of a conductor. You get a fuller experience and a better understanding of what the Sibelius Violin Concerto is: basically, this is a symphony with integrated violin solo line.
AR: How does your conducting influence your violin playing, and vice versa?
MV: I have always found conducting an inspiration. My mother was a choir conductor and when I visited my father’s rehearsals (he played oboe), I always sat in the first row where I could see the conductor. I was just three years old so I always admired conductors, that they could lead an orchestra, they could lead musical events and that they could conduct such great symphonies.
When I was 17 or 18, I started meeting great conductors like Rostropovich, Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti and Lorin Maazel, just to name a few. I learned so much from them and it was a privilege to be their student, especially with Rostropovich and Barenboim – I studied for many years and made many recordings with them. They set the bar; their level of music comprehension was extremely high. So for me to start conducting at the age of 26 was a normal evolution. I studied also for seven years with the conductor Yuri Simonov. He was my great mentor in conducting.
After having conducted so many symphonies, my approach to violin concertos has changed significantly, because I view these compositions no longer as purely violinistic pieces with a substantial orchestral part, but also vice versa – these are symphonies with an integral violin part. And if we talk about the concertos of Brahms, Sibelius, Beethoven and others, these concertos were written in a symphonic way. The violin has a substantial role, but the orchestra sometimes even leads. As a soloist it gives me a fuller, richer experience when I’m working with orchestras and conductors.
