Press
13. 04. 2019
In the Orchestra’s Embrace
he encounter with an exceptional, well-rounded, strong artist personality was one of the intense experiences of the symphony concert of the Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra: Anika Vavic, a Serbian pianist, was the brilliant soloist in Sergei Prokofiev’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in C-major Op. 26.
The 43-year old has no need for airs and graces, she is far too masterful for that, both in her technique and interpretation. She plays the dense solo part, the cascading chords, the highly virtuoso passages with baffling ease, an almost philosophical concentration on the music. Occasionally, she seems to sink into the embrace of the orchestra led by Enrico Calesso, jointly conjuring shimmering surfaces and a musical opulence that seems flooded by sunlight.
General Music Director Calesso works closely with her, carefully observing Vavic's accentuations and forging total homogeneity. The first movement thunders and rolls, dances and jubilates, the second is allowed to stretch into shape as if awaking from a dream. The result is a dark, mysterious web of colors, with moments of delicious calm and powerful surging forward at other times.
A Shimmering Flood of Sound
The pianist is faced with hellish difficulty in the Allegro ma non troppo, with full-handed runs and glissandi - apparently Vavic is neither fazed nor strained, playing her solo part with incredible gentleness and roundness. To Prokofiev's shimmering, weightless flood of sound, which occasionally resembles a cineaste's fantasy, she adds two dream-like, intimate miniatures of enchanting beauty as encores, making the listener's pleasure more than perfect. [...]
Translation: Alexa Nieschlag