Aspen – Who’s going to be the next star violinist? A smart bet is Julia Fischer, who has been featured on the covers of two of the most important classical-music magazines within the past six months.
Polished and poised, the 23- year-old German dynamo was dazzling in every way Thursday evening at the Aspen Music Festival as she showed off three sides of her playing in a program of familiar but hardly cliché fare.
To set the bar for everything that would follow, she opened in daring fashion with the Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin in E minor, Op. 27, No. 4, by the celebrated Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaye. As might be expected, the 1924 work is brimming with virtuosic challenges, and she met them all with impeccable ease. Even more impressive, she made sure it came off as not just a razzle-dazzle showpiece but affecting the music with heart and soul.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of her playing is the spellbindingly handsome sound she draws from the violin – a full- bodied, dark, amber tone with amazing power behind it. The 2,050-seat Benedict Music Tent is a massive space for a concert of this kind, but Fischer had no trouble being heard.
She joined Jonathan Gilad, a pianist she performs with often as part of a trio, and the two unleashed an exciting, high-energy version of Beethoven’s well- known Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 47, “Kreutzer.”
Considering that the composer originally performed the piano part, it is not surprising that he conceived this work as a true duet. And in that spirit, Fischer and Gilad – a wonderfully fluid, propulsive performer in his own right – were right with each other, beat for beat.
Particularly memorable was their forceful playing in the first movement in which they pushed the tempos to thrilling effect.
Showing that she knows how to be a team player, Fischer anchored a wonderful ad hoc ensemble of festival students and faculty members in a zestful performance of Tchaikovsky’s beautiful sextet, “Souvenir de Florence,” Op. 70.
She had several fine solo moments as first violinist, including a stunning turn at the start of the second movement, and cellist Stephen Fang also stood out with his big, robust sound.
Many young classical talents come and go, but make no mistake, Fischer is here to stay.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
