Maxim Vengerov at Cadogan Hall
(Picture: handout)Google the name “Maxim Vengerov” and the results are littered with variations on the phrase “greatest living string player”. All meaningless hyperbole, of course, but it’s an indication of the Russian-born Israeli violinist’s standing. He’s been making a stir since he was a teenager; now approaching 50, he’s had his ups and downs, notably a decade or so ago, when injury led him to disappear from the concert stage and recording studio for several years.
Since his return, he has taken up conducting as well as playing the violin; sometimes he does both simultaneously, but not in this Maxim Vengerov Gala. Instead he stuck to playing his fiddle, a Stradivarius from 1727, which, under his fingers, still yields the sumptuous array of sounds that made his reputation. The concert was part of a UK tour with the Romanian National Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Sergey Smbatyan, not in the Premier League of European orchestras, but clearly a serious outfit.
