Ilya Gringolts sprinkles some Hollywood dust in Düsseldorf

Violinist Ilya Gringolts joined Alpesh Chauhan and the Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra (DSO) for a trip down memory lane. Their season finale was a celebration of the musical landscape in 1926, the year the orchestra’s home, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, first opened its doors to the public as a planetarium, and the prowess of the orchestra’s talent one hundred years later. An additional thirteen extra brass players joining the ranks had the potential to quite literally raise the roof.

The programme

Ilya Gringolts plays Korngold

Stepping onto the stage for his Düsseldorf debut, Ilya Gringolts’ rich, expressive tone in Korngold’s Violin Concerto flooded the hall. Robust orchestra accompaniment did initially prove challenging, but who in the Romance could not fail to fall for Korngold’s sumptuous harmonies as the violin soared, time and time again. Playing of such intensity, especially when up high, conjured a beautiful stillness matched perfectly by the vibraphone.

His decision to adopt a Heifetz setup by using three gut strings – the G, D and A – was particularly effective in crystal-clear harmonics and brought not only an artistic honesty to the performance, but a nod to the great violin master himself who had premiered the concerto in 1946.

A ferocious, cheeky, Rodeo-inspired Finale full of Heifetz-requested virtuosity found the violin slipping effortlessly between moods. Swirling flutes like a Wizard of Oz tornado and brass oozing Hollywood glamour likewise brought the house down. Four curtain calls later, Gringolts relented, offering a very intimate Imitazione delle campane by Johann Paul Westhof. Surely a return visit is on the cards after that delicious final resolution.

Ilya Gringolts Heifetz setup — If you look closely, you can see Gringolts’ three gut strings, the G, D & A, on his 1718 ‘ex- Prové’ Stradivarius | © Clare Varney

Celebrating the centenary of Tonhalle, Düsseldorf

Sandwiching the concerto were three huge orchestral numbers taking us back to the Tonhalle’s opening a century ago. The first, Leoš Janáček’s Sinfonietta (1926) which the DSO last performed in 1982 under Bernhard Klee. Wonderfully opaque violins, harp twitters, and a huge tuba pedal grounding luscious string melodies abounded. But it all felt a little safe, especially in the opening brass fanfare. Chauhan’s discussion in a pre-concert chat about the difficulties of playing together in the cavernous dome now became clear. Complex and irregular phrasing sometimes became lost in the mêlée. Perhaps a lighter texture might have helped to navigate a cleaner path through Janáček’s dense and incredibly tricky score.

Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra brass — Thirteen additional brass standing in the choir for Janáček’s *Sinfonietta* | © Susanne Diesner

Also from this moment in history, Respighi’s two hugely programmatic tone poems: Fountains (1916) and Pines of Rome (1924). All felt much more relaxed as sensuous clarinet swirls and flute melodies in the Fountains initially stopped all in their tracks. Chauhan’s very animated presence on stage, full of long sweeping lines, inspired gargantuan climaxes which faded away in the distance to the sound of chiming bells.

In contrast, Respighi’s tour of various Roman locations, each famed for their ‘umbrella-like’ pine trees, offered a shimmering, glitzy world. And one where the clever use of silence could be interpreted as an opportunity for lower strings and muted horns to make sense of recent battlefield horrors at this time. Respighi’s luscious harmonic language and a lone offstage trumpet provided much needed hope before the wistful clarinet again stopped all in his tracks. Nine offstage trumpets, now high in the gallery, plus the organ filled the dome. The ground didn’t quite shake under my feet. Perhaps next time.