Definitive Performance of Brahms Violin Concerto

Marin Symphony Feb 2, 2010
Mozart Requiem
Brahms Violin Concerto
Marin Symphony Chorus-Stephen McKersie Chorus Master
Marin Symphony
Alasdair Neale Conductor
Vadim Gluzman, Violin
Marin Center Veteran Memorial Auditorium

It is very rare that one attends a concert and hears a definitive performance of a musical warhorse. Such was true of the Brahms Violin Concerto with Vadim Gluzman and Alasdair Neale with the Marin Symphony on February 2 at the Marin Center Veteran Memorial Auditorium. Of all the performances of the Violin Concerto I have heard (including Heifetz, Milstein, Oistrakh, and a host of other great and seasoned violinists) Gluzman’s was the most elegant. This great work was meticulously performed with such a beautiful and captivating execution, I was literally on the edge of my seat with his cadenza and climactic moments of the concerto. The collaboration with Alisdair Neale was uncanny, as both violinist and conductor and orchestra were perfectly in sync,something that is not that very usual. Gluzman’s tone was exceptional and it somewhat reminded me of the beautiful tone of Erica Morini whose Brahms’ I heard more than 30 years ago. Hopefully a recording of this magnificent rendition will be recorded so many more listeners will be afforded the experience of such a definitive and captivating performance.
The first half of the concert was devoted to the Mozart Requiem, superbly performed by the Marin Symphony Chorus (Stephen McKersie , Chorus Master) and the Marin Symphony with Alasdair Neale. The Requiem is a powerful yet introspective work and it was executed with the grandeur that the work deserves.
All in all this concert was a truly memorable event. I wish that a follow-up for a future concert with the Marin Symphony would be Gluzman playing the Beethoven Concerto and the Marin Chorus singing the Berlioz Requiem.