Dalene Anticipates a Major Anniversary

Violinist Johan Dalene (photograph by Mats Bäcker, courtesy of the San Francisco Symphony)

Last night Davies Symphony Hall hosted the second program in the Shenson Spotlight Series. Many readers probably know by now that the title refers to the fact that the series consists entirely of debut performances, providing emerging talents with “a place in the spotlight.” Last night the spotlight was directed at Swedish-Norwegian violinist Johan Dalene, accompanied at the piano by Sahun Sam Hong.

Dalene is only 22 years old. So he can probably be forgiven if he was unaware that his program anticipated a significant 40th anniversary this year. In October of 1983, violinist Gidon Kremer and pianist Keith Jarrett walked into a recording studio in Basel, Switzerland. Their session was devoted to making a recording of the version of Arvo Pärt’s “Fratres” for violin and piano. That recording became the first track of an ECM New Series album, released in 1984, devoted entirely to Pärt’s music, and entitled Tabula Rasa.

The rest, as they say, is history. The album was a great success, marking the beginning of a major commitment by producer Manfred Eicher to present the largest release of recordings devoted to the many dimensions of Pärt’s approaches to composition. Last night’s recital marked Dalene’s first concert tour in the United States, extending through the spring of this year. Whether or not he realized that he would be marking a significant twentieth-century event can be speculated by the reader. Whatever the case, last night’s performance sent a chill down my spine, not only for the perceptive interpretation being presented but also as a reminder of my having purchased the Tabula Rasa CD.

Dalene began the program with a reflection on his own Scandinavian roots. He performed Edvard Grieg’s Opus 45 (third) violin sonata in C minor. I went through the better part of my life totally ignorant of this sonata. More recently it has came to receive what I now feel is well-deserved attention. Indeed, it was performed during the second concert of last year’s Spotlight Series, the violin recital given by Randall Goosby, who happened to be the soloist on the very first program of the current San Francisco Symphony subscription series. As a result, my familiarity with this music has now come up to speed; and last night’s account by Dalene and Hong was definitely an engaging one.

More familiar in my memory was the final selection on the program, Maurice Ravel’s second violin sonata in G major. This has become best known for its middle “Blues” movement, which may well have been a reflection on the friendship he formed with George Gershwin. Indeed, Ravel performed this music during his visit to New York in 1928, accompanying violinist Joseph Szigeti. Gershwin was in the audience, along with Fritz Kreisler, Edgard Varèse, and Béla Bartók! Dalene may not have had such a “high grade” audience last night, but he definitely had an appreciative one. The music may have been familiar, but his account was freshly energetic.

Interestingly enough, he decided to maintain his “French connection” for his encore. Unless I am mistaken, he selected a short nocturne for violin and piano, which was one of the few instrumental compositions by Lili Boulanger. This concluded the evening with a sustained episode of quietude, leaving all of us in the audience to dwell on the many delights of the program we had just experienced.