Once again I was mesmerised by Victor’s recent performances that show a mastery of sound and colour allied to his intelligent musicianship and passionate involvement. A Sonatina by Vella was enough to show immediately his control of sound and his sense of rhythmic energy as he plunged into this little known work with a conviction and involvement that was totally convincing. But it was in the first sonata by Rachmaninov that he showed off his total mastery.
A sense of architecture and sumptuous sounds that transformed this long misunderstood work into a tone poem of quite extraordinary originality.
The second sonata ,since Horowitz’s performances in the 80’s,has become part of the standard repertoire for aspiring young virtuosi. But the first has long been in it’s shadow and only now is being fully appreciated thanks to performances of the calibre of Alexandre Kantorow recently in Paris and now Victor Maslov in London.
Read Christopher Axworthy’s commentary on the virtuous virtuoso virtually, in recital on 4 June 2021.
