Four highly distinguished musicians from the capital city of the Republic of Kosovo, Pristina, proudly joined forces with the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra late last month for the "Thai-Kosovo Friendship Concert" at the Thailand Cultural Centre, in celebration of the momentous 10th anniversary of a fruitful bilateral agreement between the two countries.
Presented in association with B.Grimm and co-hosted by the Kosovo embassy -- represented at the event by Ms Ulpiana Lama, chief of mission -- the concert comprised a highly eclectic, varied programme which ranged from styles indigenous to the southeast European country to popular Italian opera.
Co-ordinated by the management of the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra, the troupe of visiting artists was fronted by their long-time principal conductor Toshio Yanagisawa, who has nurtured that orchestra to its current level of excellence since 2007. As a further token of the essentially collaborative nature of this friendship-based concert project, the KPO's own esteemed concertmaster Visar Kuçi shared leading responsibilities with the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra's concertmaster on this occasion, Chot Buasuwan.
This aspect of seat-sharing between newly acquainted professionals is always guaranteed to lend a welcome freshness to proceedings, and indeed a genuinely genial atmosphere was clearly palpable as Visar Kuçi tuned up and led the RBSO in the first half, exchanging roles with Chot Buasuwan for the second half.
Violin soloist Sihana Badivuku and top soprano Besa Llugiqi completed the illustrious line-up of performers, whilst the accomplished Kosovar composer Kreshnik Aliçkaj was also present to oversee and hear his powerful Symphony No.2 open this concert as the featured work.
Receiving its Thailand premiere, this challenging modernistic opus has been recorded by the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra and Toshio Yanagisawa, achieving critical acclaim at home and firmly establishing Aliçkaj (born in 1982) as a leading composer of the new generation there. In an extended one-movement structure, many traits of cutting-edge 20th- and 21st-century musical language were effectively combined with traditional Albanian modes and ethnically based combined rhythms.
Making a very happy debut with the RBSO, Japanese maestro Yanagisawa displayed an intimate knowledge of the score's intricate tapestry from the outset, drawing out from the orchestra myriad layers of texture which repeatedly built up to forceful climaxes of overwhelming, searing intensity. The overall impression was of a quite intoxicating mixture of Albanian folkloric expression and neo-classical precision -- certainly an imposing, emphatically profound expression of national identity.
The pace and atmosphere of proceedings then changed dramatically, as Sihana Badivuku enchanted the audience for the remainder of the first half with two tuneful standards from the violin virtuoso treasure trove, Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso by Camille Saint-Saëns and Tzigane - Concert Rhapsody by Maurice Ravel. Badivuku's tone was focused and endearingly sweet, with a strong technical facility based on the Russian school tradition, a result of her studies at the Moscow State Conservatory in her youth. Born in 1967, she has forged an impressive career at home and internationally, including as a guest artist for Spectrum Concerts Berlin in 2016 -- a concert series that took place in the Berlin Philharmonic Chamber Hall.
The great 19th-century soloist Pablo de Sarasate always comes to mind when hearing Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, his lush tone and formidable pyro-technical arsenal of multiple-stopping, artificial harmonics, rapid up-bow-staccato the inspiration for Saint-Saëns when he composed this gem in 1870. Badivuku emulated that great master well, managing all hurdles with confidence. Similarly in Ravel's fantastic gipsy-infused creation, here she did an admirable job in the extended opening tour-de-force violin solo, then realising each subsequent section with increasing assurance, whilst the neat interaction with orchestral entries -- not least those of harpist Ema Mitarai -- came off splendidly.
Following the intermission, the RBSO erupted with an energetic brilliance as Yanagisawa launched the entire orchestra tutti into Antonín Dvořák's rousing Slavonic Dance Op.72 No.7, functioning as a curtain-opening overture of sorts to the next soloist on the billing, the incredible soprano Besa Llugiqi.
With the stunningly charismatic stage presence of a true operatic prima donna, she first sang another famous favourite by Dvořák, Song To The Moon from his opera Rusalka. The orchestral accompaniment shone and glistened in this much quieter music, with her deliciously rounded phrases projecting effortlessly into the hall. One already had the impression that this voice is capable of unleashing immense volume and power, and this became audibly obvious in her second spotlight, Violetta's aria Estrano...Sempre Libera from Giusseppe Verdi's Italian opera La Traviata. Her glass-shattering portrayal of this ultimate diva character duly brought the house down.
By way of conclusion to this most enjoyable potpourri of a programme, the RBSO then transported the audience to yet another utterly different stylistic and geographic location -- the sun-drenched region of Andalusia in southern Spain. The Three-Cornered Hat Suite No.2 by Manuel de Falla is a three-movement feast of imaginative orchestration which often packs a mighty punch with its overt emulation of flamenco and other idioms associated with the hot and dry Iberian peninsula.
Yanagisawa had clearly prepared the orchestra with meticulous attention to the endless details in de Falla's sophisticated, compelling score. This was a highly polished, assured and exciting rendition, showing off the RBSO's currently high level of musicianship in the best possible light.
However, for a surprise encore, the entire company united on stage to bring the evening full circle and back to the overriding theme, with the evocative Albanian folk-tune Baresha leaving a big smile on the face of one and all.
