Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote just one violin concerto. Written in 1878, it was considered too difficult to perform because of its 33-minute length and its fast pace.
Guest soloist Lun Li barely broke a sweat Sunday in a beautiful and brilliant performance of the Russian composer’s Violin Concerto in D major with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra at the Collins Center for the Arts under the baton of Music Director and Conductor Lucas Richman.
It was only the second time the award-winning artist had performed it with a full orchestra and Li caressed the music to life at a breakneck speed. Less talented violinists allegedly have slowed down the tempo, something Li said in a pre-concert talk with Richman that he would not do.
Not well received during Tchaikovsky’s lifetime, the concerto now is considered a masterpiece and “one of the treasures of the repertoire for violin,” according to the program notes. Li brought it to life with intense passion and fine precision.
In his 20s, Li is an up-and-coming star in classical music circles. He came to the BSO through the Young Concert Artists organization, which is devoted to “discovering and launching the careers of extraordinary young musicians from all over the world.”
A native of Shanghai, Li won first prize in the group’s 2021 Susan Wadsworth International Auditions. He also is the violin chair for the organization and tours internationally performing chamber music.
Li holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the Juilliard School in New York City. He is currently pursuing an Artistic Diploma at Juilliard where he serves as teaching assistant to Catherine Cho.
Li plays a 1735 Stradivarius violin, on loan from Japan’s Nippon Music Foundation. The tonal quality of the instrument was superb Sunday as the young musician and the orchestra masterfully conquered the demanding concerto, which has three movements, with the first lasting 20 minutes. The violinist and his instrument seemed to merge Sunday afternoon and become one being that captured all of the composer’s intentions.
Richman and the talented violinist appeared to have bonded nicely in Li’s first trip to Maine. Li even sat with the audience for the second half of the concert after he performed. Guest soloists who play before intermission often head out of town as the concertgoers retake their seats.
In addition to Sunday’s concert, Li performed Friday afternoon at Wabanaki Health and Wellness in downtown Bangor when the symphony celebrated the loan of its grand piano to the organization. The BSO recently moved from the Bangor Arts Exchange, which is closing, to the Camden National Bank building on Exchange Street in Bangor.
The symphony began Sunday’s program with the overture to Hector Berlioz’s “Beatrice et Benedict,” an opera based on William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” and ended with Cesar Franck’s Symphony in D minor. Both were excellent but it is Li’s virtuoso performance of the “unplayable” Tchaikovsky concerto that concert goers will remember for a long, long time.
Sunday’s concert will be available for streaming Friday through Dec. 6 at watch.bangorsymphony.org.
