Cape Town, South Africa – Violin Recital: Wolfgang David (violin) and Francois du Toit (piano) for Cape Town Concert Series. In Baxter Concert Hall.
The Austrian violinist Wolfgang David enchants the most wonderful sounds from his 270 year old Guarneri del Gesu violin on which he plays. This very valuable instrument belongs to the Austrian National Bank who has loaned it to David. It sounds like a bank with insight in investments and culture.
Before the start of the concert I noticed that the concert hall was not as full as usual. Obviously many concert goers did not turn up for the concert. I came to the conclusion that the uninteresting second half of the program was the reason for this. The beautiful Nigun of Ernest Bloch, the Melody of Christoph Willibald Gluck (Kreiler’s transcription of the ballet Orpheus and Euridice), the Havanaise of Saint-Saens which sounds pale without the luscious sounds of the orchestra, Kreisler’s Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta which starts like restaurant music but ends wilder and Wieniawski’s Polonaise Brillante are not drawing cards for a reasonable sophisticated audience.
David and Francois du Toit played like angels but the music was too unimportant to have a striking power or to reach one’s soul.
The first half of the program was a completely different story. After a charming rendering of the equally charming violin sonata in G major K301 by Mozart, Cesar Franck’s imposing violin sonata in A major was the main course.
In this the two artists were moving and stirred one deeply.
The wonderful sounds – great, warm and beautifully pure – which the violinist projected were supported by Francois du Toit’s equally great piano sounds and virtuosity. In the exciting sections of the sonata the sounds gushed over one like waves. I have heard this sonata with more rhythmic subtlety and spontaneity, but never with more continuing intensity or stronger rhythmic flow.