During a four-day visit this Unicef ambassador, the first classical musician ever to be appointed as one, made contact with hundreds of people. He is an emotive, goblin-like creature, but without a trace of the malevolent characteristics one might associate with any legacy of folklore.
Vengerov crowned 2003’s International Classical Music Festival. He, with his compatriot, pianist Evgenia Startseva, presented a concert of a lifetime — even by the standards of the most spoilt of international concert frequenters — and donated the proceeds of it to the development of music education initiatives in South Africa.
During outreach and masterclass sessions held in Alexandra and at the Afrika Cultural Centre in Newtown, Johannesburg, Vengerov communicated with dozens of young musicians and told them about his own less than cushy upbringing in Siberia.
One thing that stood out was his total commitment to his art — he practises for eight hours a day.
Vengerov’s experiences working with our young string players must have left him with mixed feelings. It is a great pity that he never got to hear this country’s top string ensemble, the Buskaid Soweto String Project. It might have changed his perceptions.
South Africans are bad at sharing their experiences. Rather than cooperate, we pigeonhole our activities and keep our heads, ostrich-like, in the sand. Comfortable, yes, but unchallenging and oh so degrading to the real spirit of music making.
But, in only a couple of demonstrations, Vengerov had already taught his audiences to behave differently. He immediately motivated even the most lackadaisical among the crowds.
What he did hear, was often mediocre. Fortunately there were notable exceptions, but it is rather shocking to realise that some of the participants didn’t even understand the meaning of the title of the work they performed. Like the young violinist who was clueless as to what the word “humoresque” meant.
The master violinist’s legacy among these audiences will be his intense enthusiasm and his interest in diverse musical cultures.
Lots of fun was had by all. A highlight was the story of Ferdinand the bull, simultaneously told and played by Vengerov; his teaching of a minuet and a Cossack-dance to random couples in the audience; his leading a round-dance, involving everyone, on Brahms’s Hungarian Dance no 5 and his troll-like facial expressions and sense of surprise when he played Bazzini’s Ronde des Lutins.
After his performance of the Scherzo in C and the three violin sonatas by Brahms at Unisa, with many of the works played as encores, the audience realised that a concert like this carries has a once-in-a-lifetime significance.
Vengerov is a mensch and musician who deserves numerous praises. Few can approach his level or his obvious love for the less fortunate on this planet.