Page 27 - The Strad (February 2020)
P. 27
Postcard from... LVIV
of both. By turns obstinate and
eet-
footed, Čepoveckis’s playing didn’t always
sit comfortably in the texture, instead
burning slightly against it.
he rst of two Ukrainian nalists,
Dmytro Udovychenko (b.1999)
T cut an unassuming gure on stage
that belied his deeply passionate playing.
After an account of the Stankovych that ¡3$0>-9' (831 ¡'đ '=+ 2-/9 '63='$0-9
exaggerated its twists and turns, he gave >!9 !>!8&'& )89; 68-A' (38 ,-9 -2;'29-;@ !2&
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that marked him out, to my ear at least, -2 ;,' 9'; >380U 1@;83 &3=@$,'203 ;330
as a clear front-runner. roughout, ;,-8& 68-A' (38 ,-9 &''6£@ 6!99-32!;' 6£!@-2+
his clean and springy shifting brought
a characterful elasticity to his sound,
and after a heart-stopping slow
movement, his athleticism in the nale
was almost breathtaking.
Fellow Ukrainian Kostiantyn Lukyniuk
(b.1999) began with an unrestrained
performance of the Brahms Concerto that
saw him drop his bow – and recover
quickly – shortly after his rst entry. ere
were exciting moments, but his intonation
was not always secure, and in quieter
passages especially I felt he was holding
back as a result, with the solo line coming
in and out of focus rather than tracing a
clear thread. is abstraction worked well,
though, in what was perhaps the most
elegantly quizzical performance of
Stankovych’s ‘Question without Answer’.
Lukyniuk studies in the US with Krysa,
and was the only student of a jury ‘PEOPLE ARE DYING EVERY DAY, BUT
member to make it to the nal. IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT WE SHOULD
Japanese violinist Daichi Nakamura
(b.1990) gave the opening lines of the ZaHS A 9,B# AfZ, ʞ r ˅) q
Stankovych a more self-consciously aH S; x HBʰ ʞ OLEH KRYSA
romantic treatment and, like Čepoveckis,
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OLEH KRYSA INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN COMPETITION
managed a tongue-in-cheek shift in tone
into the tango. He too played the
Shostakovich First Concerto, following an the Tchaikovsky Concerto that followed €8,000, to Udovychenko. e order here
almost gothic treatment of the opening it. In the nal movement, however, surprised me, as did the fact that
threnody with a scherzo and nale that, pent-up energy seemed to course through Nakamura scored lowest of the runners-
while glossy and technically assured, did the heel of her bow, which dug into the up. Although all six performances were
not allow the music’s humanity to break string to draw out a ery sound that blew highly accomplished, there was perhaps
through the glittery black surface. away any memories of a few small a slight dearth of truly amazing moments
Whereas Udovychenko’s stillness on technical blips in the compulsory work. and choosing a winner cannot have been
stage gave way to a performance of often In the end, it was Čepoveckis who took easy. Lukyniuk and Udovychenko,
startling intensity, Dutch violinist rst prize. e intensity and consistency meanwhile, were the rst Ukrainians in
Hawijch Anna Elia Elders (b.1998) did of his playing had clearly impressed the the short history of the competition to
not appear to relax into either the jury, who awarded the €10,000 second take home prizes – Krysa’s plan appears to
Stankovych or the rst two movements of prize to Lukyniuk and third prize, worth be working.
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