It has been a long and conspicuous silence. The last time that Maxim Vengerov
played his priceless Stradivarius in the UK was a contribution to a Maxim &
Friends concert at the Bath Festival last May. It was meant to have been
a full recital, until the recurrence of a troublesome shoulder injury. It
was the same injury that had already reduced a previous engagement with the
UBS Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra to a solitary Mozart concerto –
prompting a flurry of refunds and an apology from the Barbican in London.
Then things got more serious. After promising us the UK premiere of Benjamin
Yusupov’s unorthodox Viola Tango Rock Concerto, Vengerov
withdrew from the Proms in August, taking the piece with him. A recital at
the Wigmore Hall in October was quietly dropped. And around the world, the
Russian widely considered the planet’s finest violinist (he is certainly the
most highly paid, reportedly charging £20,000 per recital) has removed
himself from the winter and spring programmes of the Carnegie Hall, the
Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Budapest Festival. In fact, he hasn’t played
a single concert since June.
The good news is that the shoulder has now mended. “I feel sad about
disappointing audiences and particularly the concerts I had to cancel, which
were due to my shoulder injury,” he says. “I’ve stopped having treatment and
am now basically fine.”
However, the bad news for those who are used to hearing the 33-year-old work
his way through the standard violin repertoire with all his trademark
brilliance is that they may have to get used to a different maxim from
Maxim: a change is as good as a rest. “Having had the enforced rest, I took
on new things – my music school in Migdal [Israel] and my conducting. Rather
than disappointing audiences I would say that if I stop doing these other
projects now, I will be disappointing myself. From this point on, I have
decided to leave my violin to rest for some time, in order to give my
undivided attention to conducting.”
He insists that he doesn’t miss the applause. Nor does he want to go back to
“being on a wheel in a box, like a hamster. I have to get off that wheel to
see if I’m capable of doing other things. I will play again. But I can’t
tell you when that will be.”
And so when Vengerov returns to the UK next Friday for the Yehudi Menuhin
violin competition in Cardiff (he is a judge), it will be as a conductor,
accompanying another violin star (Joshua Bell) rather than taking centre
stage. It’s not injury that has led to the substitution – to Vengerov’s mild
irritation, this is still the official story – but simply the desire to try
new things.
Once again he says: “The violin is my mother tongue. I will always come back
to it, but have no plans to get back on the treadmill. There comes a time
when you need to stop flying all over the world. When the opportunity came
for me to conduct Josh at the Menuhin competition instead of playing, I was
really excited by the idea.”
Those with longish memories would be forgiven for suffering some déjà vu.
After all, 2005 was supposed to be Vengerov’s gap year from playing the
violin. “I had wanted to do so many things in my sabbatical year. But the
year I turned 30 was one of the busiest periods of my career. Apart from
working on the Tango Viola concerto and filming The South Bank
Show, I played more than 50 concerts. But in the quieter moments I began
to see what it might be like to have some time to think about what I want to
do and other musical challenges.” The success of the South Bank Showfilm,
Living the Dream,has also led him to work with its producers on a
second multimedia project, Maxim’s Musical Tales, which builds
on his enthusiasm for musical education.
He says it’s time for him to “give something back”. Conducting is one way of
doing that – partly because it follows the example of the inspirational
Mstislav Rostropovich, the cellist and conductor who died last year. “Slava
was an incredible example of a musician and human being. He had a profound
influence on my music and my life. Because of Slava – what he did for me – I
am very aware of passing on that parcel of knowledge and experience.”
Hence Vengerov has mostly conducted youth ensembles, such as the Verbier
players with whom he spent last year conducting Mozart. “It wasn't an easy
time, but it was a fantastic experience. Mozart was the one leading all of
us.”
He also admits that he never had the freedom to be a teenager or care-free
twentysomething. Working with the young Verbier musicians gave him some of
that back. “Things I’ve missed out on – like going out drinking and just
having fun. We practically became one big family.”
But he is adamant that his prodigious career – he was playing publicly in his
home town of Novosibirsk, Siberia, from the age of 5 – hasn’t led to burnout
and isn’t the reason why he is calling a prolonged time out. “Growing up in
Siberia, I was blessed,” he says. “It was a hard childhood and I had to make
this incredible transformation to the West [to Israel] – the dream of my
parents and many of their generation. But hardship was only one side of the
coin. Arriving from my financially underprivileged society, I saw the other
side and how much my experience had given me in terms of access to culture
and music. I had incredible support from my parents and saw how music gave
us a light out of the darkness. It allowed us to escape from everyday life.”
It is memories such as this that will inform a book that Vengerov is preparing
about the lessons he has learnt as a musician and how they can be applied to
other professions. “It’s a way to live your life.”
Vengerov is a former Unicef ambassador, and back when he was performing 80
concerts a year, some were always given in aid of charities. Now his other
great project is his music school for gifted musicians in Migdal, where he
has a house. “Migdal, near Tiberias, isn’t a wealthy community. Many
Israelis don’t even know where it is, though it’s mentioned in the Bible.”
Vengerov’s school has 25 violin students aged 4 to 12. Describing the
children, his eyes light up. “I want them to learn to dance – to become real
ambassadors of music.” He tells me about an overweight boy of 12. “He plays
brilliantly, but when he first came to us he was so miserable. Kids at his
school teased him. Now he has somewhere he can explore his passion for music
and his life has changed.”
Vengerov saves his personal news for last – he has a “lovely girlfriend”, the
trumpeter Alison Balsom, beloved of Classic FM and a regular fixture on the
British concert circuit. They met last year on a cruise with the English
Chamber Orchestra, and have just come back from a holiday in Israel. “Alison
has this wonderful down-to-earth Englishness. She’s very modest and
practical. I’ve gained so much from being with her. We don’t practise in the
same building but when she plays the trumpet, I close my eyes, and it sounds
like a violin or a singing voice. She’s a great soul – open to life and full
of life. She really inspires me.”
Officially, Vengerov is forbidden to ski in case he damages his hands. “But
Alison just took me to Gstaad. I started off on the bunny slope and ended up
skiing with her down the red run. It was frightening but I loved it. When I
was 30 I wanted to ride a Harley Davidson, now all I want to do is ski!”
Perhaps romance has played its part in Vengerov’s radical new life plan.
Either way, his workload isn’t going to drop. “I have to give 100 per cent
of myself to the school and to conducting. People who know me understand
that once I take on something, I do it to the absolute best of my ability.”
That said, his advice for the new generation of Vengerovs who will try their
luck in Cardiff is less driven: “Someone has to win, but music is not a
sport. Don’t think about the other musicians, just play the best you can –
from your heart.”
Essential cuts
Maxim Vengerov: Living the Dream
(DVD) Ken Howard’s absorbing documentary followed Vengerov throughout
his “first” gap year in 2005, when he learnt the tango and studied jazz.
Vengerov and Virtuosi
(EMI Classics) The perfect showpieces for the perfect Strad, including
three Brahms Hungarian Dances and the soulful Meditation from Massenet’s Thaïs.
Mozart Violin Concertos
(EMI Classics) After rehearsals on a kibbutz, inspiring results in
Mozart from Vengerov’s partnership with the UBS Verbier Festival Chamber
Orchestra.
Shostakovich Concertos
(Elatus) United on one disc, lacerating performances of Shostakovich’s
two scorching concertos, as conducted by the great Rostropovich.
Maxim Vengerov conducts the opening night concert of the Menuhin
Competition, St David’s Hall, Cardiff (www.menuhincompetition.org
029-2087 8444) on Friday. The competition continues until April 20 2008
£20,000 per recital? That's a big underestimation - he got that rate many years ago! Try triple/quadruple that...
Rachel, IOW,
I still believe had Maxim gotten rid of that infernal shoulder-rest & simply rested the violin on the collar-bone, thus freeing up the shoulder to move completely relaxed, he would never have suffered this shoulder injury. I've been there, done that & today, "sans" shoulder-rest, play painlessly.
Asher Wade, Jerusalem, Israel
Shoulder problems? Yes, I've been there, done that. However, we all know the basic rule: When it hurts, stop playing {because you're obviously doing something wrong}. But, when you're giving 80+ concerts and it hurts; well, many use the rule: The Show Must Go On, ...& pay the consequences later.
Asher Wade, Jerusalem, Israel
I think Maxim Vengerov should seriously consider the change he wishes to make. He is too young to appreciate the impact of violin playing on an ageing body but having a long gap may render him unable to return to his previous standard- and that would mean we may never hear him play again - a dreadful thought. Conducting, on the other hand, is more forgiving - there are many aged conductors; this is something he can do well into his 70s or 80s.
Marilyn Gilbert, Eastleigh, England