Viv McLean and friends, The Barn

Some rare Russian delights were revealed at the Barn in Kew over two nights last weekend.

This all-Russian programme, carefully interweaving related songs, piano pieces and original piano compositions, yielded many surprises.

No surprise, at least to his loyal band of followers, was the popular, charismatic pianist Viv McLean’s deliiciously dramatic interpretation of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Ballet Suite and his sensitive rendition of Rachmaninov’s exquisitely delicate Fragments. Playing on a magnificent Wendl & Lung 218 grand piano , McLean also thrilled us with Rachmaninov’s two Preludes and Borodin’s two pieces from Petite Suite –Au Covenant and Nocturne, miraculously evoking a truly “Russian “resonance from this work by a prominent , member of “The Five”, the group of composers (including Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov also heard this weekend) devoted to creating a specific “Russian” sound.

How appropriate to this “Anglo-Russian” event that McLean played two pieces from Nikolai Medtner’s Skazki –Fairytales. Medtner, a much under-valued Russian composer was a friend of Rachmaninov’s and greatly influenced by him; he has been pioneered in the UK by Hamish Milne, McLean’s teacher at the Royal Academy. Underlining the special relationship of Russians and Shakespeare, McLean chose to play the hauntingly beautiful Ophelia’s Song,followed by the virtuosic tour de force Lear, so dramatic that it brought the audience to its feet.

McLean’s genius is well established; the surprises came with the two young Russian performers, Andrey Novikov and Viktoria Semyonova-Jaffe.

Novikov, now working and living in London, is originally from Samara, Russia. Playing his original piano compositions , he revealed his Russian roots as well as references to Bach (in the charming Passacaglia and Fugue)Jazz and his fellow countrymen, notably Skryabin and Rachmaninov. The works included two world premieres: the hauntingly sombre Construxion and the virtuosic, dazzling L’Ėternal Retour.

.In the UK premiere of Construxion Novikov gave us a challenging, cerebral experience and in the specially commissioned Lumen a delightful, witty and joyous conclusion to each evening.

Novikov’s skills are not confined to performance and composition; he is also a sensitive and sympathetic accompanist; this brings me to , perhaps, the weekend’s most delightful surprise-the soprano, Viktoria Semyonova – Jaffe, who came to the UK aged 11, was adopted from a St.Petersburg orphanage by her English parents and grew up in Chiswick, West London;.She recently returned to her native St.Petersburg for vocal training at The Conservatoire where she learned some of the rarely heard pieces to which we were treated in this special Russian programme.

Singing in Russian and accompanied by Novikov, this attractive 25 year old , brought to the songs of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Rimsky-Korsakov not only a beautiful, pure vocal line, but a depth of emotion unusual in one so young . All too often an evening of songs and operatic arias, ,out of context, can prove dull and flat, however, technically proficient the singer may be.

Fortunately, this was not the case in the Barn; Semyonova-Jaffe, held her audience captive and spellbound. Those of us who were not Russian speakers had been thoughtfully provided with translations of the songs, although, in reality, thse were not needed as this singer conveyed emotion and storyline so perfectly that translations became redundant.

She shone, above all, in the songs by Mussorgsky- from Nursery Song Cycle-With a Doll, and Bedtime, so charming they made us smile, but the piece de resistance which we were fortunate enough to hear on both evenings, was Marina’s aria from Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov. Here her dramatic interpretation was astounding, bringing tears and, gasps, and as one member of the audience was heard to say:”It raised the hairs on the back of my neck”

Unsurprising, then that at the end of the concerts the three performers received a standing ovation.

Carolina Bevilacqua

The pianist Viv McLean will perform with the actress Susan Porrett in Touches of Sweet Harmony – a tribute to Shakespeare in Music and Words on Sunday July 4 at 7.30pm at The Dysart Arms, Petersham, Richmond. Visit thedysartarms.co.uk