BY WENDY ZHANG
Ray Chen and Julien Quentin
Musica Viva National Tour
Sydney Recital Hall, 27 August
Prior to attending Ray Chen and Julien Quentin’s Sydney concert, I had heard of Ray and his music only through social media – his hilarious videos with TwoSet Violin, and playing violin to passengers during a flight delay. While they were entertaining to watch, I did not associate him with the image of a serious, high-brow classical musician. This concert, however, changed my perception of him completely, and exceeded my expectations on every level – from the choice of program to the collaboration between the duo, and the refreshingly modern interpretation of the pieces.
The program opened with the famous Chaconne for Violin and Continuo in G minor. Chaconne was written by an unknown composer and discovered almost 150 years later. As was highlighted in the pre-concert talk, it was difficult to know what the composer intended for the piece, which allowed for greater liberty of individual performers to interpret and play it. Ray and Julien’s interpretation of this piece was certainly very contemporary compared to some of the earlier recordings. They started the piece with a slow tempo, then got faster and playful with the triplets in the violin. Eventually, the duo erupted into a very fast and emotional section. It was hard to move my eyes away from Ray and Julien, as I was immersed in the atmosphere they created.
The second piece – Franck’s Sonata in A major for Violin and Piano, was dedicated to the Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe for his wedding. There were four movements, and the second was particularly unusual as it was the Allegro movement – ordinarily the tempo of opening movements. Julien started the second movement with a fast running passage, which was followed by the violin as if they were having a dialogue. The change between major and minor added to the colour of the movement. The dynamics of the duo were apparent – Ray’s energetic and vibrant personality shone through not only from his music, but his whole body movement (feet tapping front and then back) and intense facial expressions; Julien, on the other hand, was much more calm and controlled in his performance. They complemented each other perfectly and it was evident in their performance. This movement ended with the duo playing a fast descending scale, and they played every single note in sync – such a powerful ending that the entire audience started clapping even though it was not the end of the whole work.
After the interval, the program continued with Ysaÿe’s Sonata for Solo Violin in D minor, before Australian composer Matthew Hindson stepped on stage to introduce his newly commissioned piece Violin Sonata No. 1 Dark Matter.
According to Matthew, this piece was dedicated to his late father. He explained the name Dark Matter was a metaphor for life, as 80 per cent of universe is made up of dark matter. Matthew then welcomed Ray and Julien back onto the stage to perform this piece. They opened the first movement with a simple and beautiful melody – reflective and contemplative, like a memoir of the composer’s childhood with his dad. The second movement was from the beginning much more dissonant – the piano played loud, tense chords accompanied by the violin’s running passages. It was an interesting contrast between instruments, which apparently reflected the tormented spirit of the composer before his dad passed away. The music then picked up in tempo, and the piano and violin played so tightly together that they seemed to become one instrument. It was one of the best contemporary Australian pieces which I had been able to appreciate, understand, and connect with on first hearing. And, I wasn’t the only one loving this piece – judging by the thunderous applause after the piece ended. Matthew literally ran onto stage and hugged both performers, and it was evident that the performance was a success from the composer’s perspective.
At the end of the concert, Ray and Julien gave an encore performance of Kreisler’s Syncopation from Ray’s new The Golden Age album. It was a lovely piece that reminded me of Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer, ending the concert on a light-hearted and cheerful note. For me, it signalled the golden age of this group of contemporary musicians who use digital platforms and social media to connect to their fans, but shine equally brilliantly on stage.
READ NEXT: Our very own writer Celine Chong was the page-turner for this event when it toured to Brisbane (OMG). Read all about it.
Image supplied. Credit: Alex Jamieson.
