Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) — 04.11.2004

A TRULY MEMORABLE NIGHT WITH REPIN AND FAMED RUSSIAN ORCHESTRA, Lawrence A. Johnson

With the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach festooned with American and Russian flags on election eve, conductor Yuri Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra opened the Concert Association of Florida's season with rich and majestic performances of both countries' national anthems. It made for a serendipitous ode to democracy at a time of national political ferment.

No other Russian ensemble and few orchestras in the world boast the storied history and distinguished musical traditions of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. Created in 1882 by a decree of Czar Alexander, the Philharmonic was honed to a sharp ensemble edge and gleaming muscle under the 50-year tenure of legendary conductor Evgeny Mravinsky.

Under its current artistic director and principal conductor Temirkanov, the orchestra remains an instrument of remarkable firepower, virtuosity and polished precision. The corporate sound is largely consistent: dark burnished strings that turn on a dime, heaven-storming brass and athletic woodwinds. A single horn blooper almost came as a relief: The Russian musicians were human after all.

Prokofiev's Classical Symphony was listed as Monday's curtain raiser, but was replaced without comment by four excerpts from the composer's anarchic opera The Love for Three Oranges. Temirkanov drew a full-metal performance that underlined the clangorous brass riffs and biting sarcasm. The popular March was punched across with a weight and aggressive impact that made the subversive element unmistakable.

The fact that Vadim Repin opted to perform Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 rather than the flashier Second Concerto is testament to the Siberian violinist's artistic integrity. Though not without its virtuosic moments, the First Concerto is a more subdued interior piece, with a dreamlike introspection alternating with bursts of bravura.

From the pastel pianissimos of the opening statement, Repin conveyed the withdrawn romantic essence of the piece with astonishing control, delicacy and poetic elegance. Nothing sounded forced or effortful, and the violinist's even production, sensitive bowing and flawless passagework were put entirely at the service of the music.

The rapid-fire passages were rendered with fluent articulation and natural virtuosity. With the finale's blend of nocturnal lyricism and jocular energy kept in seamless accord, Repin floated the hushed solo line at the coda on a feather-light thread of tone. Temirkanov's eloquent and beautifully layered support was on the same level, making for a truly memorable performance.

The Dvorak centennial season continued with Temirkanov leading his players in the Czech composer's Symphony No. 8. The conductor scrupulously balanced textures, and the unanimity of string ensemble and burst of brassy adrenaline in the acceleration of the final bars was thrilling.

Yet Temirkanov's was a very Russian take on Dvorak. Apart from the finale where he loosened his grip a bit, the conductor's fleet tempos and chilly objectivism sacrificed an essential warmth and charm, making for a polished but heartless result.

Conductor and orchestra were back in top form with two encores from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker. The elegantly lilting flutes in the Dance of the Mirlitons was as impressive as the blazing whirlwind rendition of the Trepak.