MUSIC
VIVALDI: THE NEW FOUR SEASONS
Nigel Kennedy ★★★★½
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne
January 30 & 31
Melbourne truly experienced four seasons in one day, and then some, as the multi-talented and gregarious Nigel Kennedy played the final glorious notes on a near three-hour performance.
Returning to the Arts Centre three years since his last tour here, Kennedy and his 11-piece orchestra performed The New Four Seasons plus dedications, straddling the baroque, Russian and Polish folk, as well as a unique and powerful take on the rock 'n' roll of Jimi Hendrix.
Featuring regular orchestra members Adam Czerwinski (percussion), Tomasz Kupiec (bass) and pianist Pawel Tomaszewski, Kennedy was also joined on stage by Sonja Schebeck (1st violin) and "my wonderful little sister" Erica Kennedy (2nd violin).
A quarter century after recording Vivaldi's The Four Seasons with the English Chamber Orchestra, this new acoustic, live version of the Italian composer's violin concerti comes with all of Kennedy's extraordinary skill, passion and on-stage banter. Dressed in a loose fitting black jacket; its right sleeve hacked off just below his elbow, the 60-year-old virtuoso playfully began the performance with guitarists Mario Lattuada and Juilan Buschberger before bursting into Spring with the full, joyous strength of the orchestra behind him.
After a warm summer day when the sun struggled to poke through the clouds, rain sprinkled the city and a stiff breeze blew down St Kilda Road as night fell, this was a moment to savour. Kennedy looks lost in the moment as he closes his eyes, busted bow hairs dancing merrily above his violin and all around him in complete, radiant harmony.
Motioning towards cellist Ezmi Pepper, Charlotte Fetherston on viola and Benjamin Ward on double bass, the 60-year-old bounces in his brightly coloured sneakers, drawing each player into the performance before returning to the place he looks most comfortable, his violin tucked under his chin, fingers working their magic.
Spring becomes Summer, but not before Kennedy takes a few moments to lean over the edge of the stage; asking a question here and there of audience members, smiling and leaning forward to bump hands, which he does often with those on stage throughout the night.
The New Four Seasons takes up the first part of the evening, mixed with other pieces including the delightfully upbeat Russian folk song Kalinka. During the night Kennedy paid tribute to Australian pianist, composer and conductor Alan Zavod, who died last year. There was also a tribute to Polish composer and jazz pianist Krzysztof Komeda, who scored many of Roman Polanski's early films; and another to members of the Red Army Choir tragically killed in a plane crash late last year.
The second half of the performance featured Kennedy's own compositions, dedications to fellow musicians including Jarek Smietana, Stephane Grappelli, Isaac Stern, Mark O'Connor and Yehudi Menuhin; the latter a violinist and composer born in America in 1916 to Belarusian Jews, who was an enormous influence on Kennedy.
Then Kennedy shifts gears. More folk songs, he cheekily asks the audience, before quickly deciding that's not going to happen. It's Crosstown Traffic by the late, great Jimi Hendrix and what a version the Orchestra of Life unleash. Blistering electric guitar, electric violins and drums pounding; it's a thrilling reminder of what's made Kennedy leap out from the crowd, spiky hair and all, for more than three decades.