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Written 03/03/07
The concert given by Irina Kulikova at the Club on 17th Feb 2007 was
eagerly awaited by those of us who had heard her at West Dean in 2005.
It was clear to us then that she was a rising star amongst the new
generation of virtuosos. She did not disappoint the large, enthusiastic
audience. It was a welcome return to Irina who last played at the WSGC
10 years ago when she was just 16 years old.
 Not for her a safe, easy start! She hurled herself into the virtuosic
Sonatina Meridional by M. Ponce. This work with its fast passagework,
especially in the last movement, owes much to the flamenco tradition and
Irina succeeded in making the virtuosity an integral part of her
interpretation, rather than an end in itself. The beauty of her richly
resonant, cello-like thumb strokes in the second movement occurred again
throughout the evening and will remain one of the most memorable things
about the concert. They made her Simon Marty guitar sing.
The well-known La Catedral by A. Barrios showed to perfection the
essence of Irena's art. She induced in her audience a stunned silence as
she invited us into the religious world of the first two movements. Her
singing tone up in the highest positions was of an intensity almost too
beautiful to bear. The final movement by contrast showed Irina's
incredible virtuosity. The fast arpeggios were played with scarcely a
note out of place.
She ended the first half with Legnani's Fantasia, a piece of less
musical value, but an opportunity to dazzle with her technique. Her
playing of fast octave passages did not go un-noticed by those among us
in the audience who attempt this technique and fail miserably.
Unfortunately a lapse of memory caused her to falter and to have to
refer hurriedly to her music, which broke the spell. It was surprising
that a soloist of her talent needed to have her music close to hand,
which creates a barrier between player and audience.
Sonata by A. Jose, which opened the second half, makes passing reference
to the works of Debussy and Ravel and Irina gave it a beautifully shaped
interpretation. With eyes often closed and with her body gently
swaying, she produced in the Pavana Triste those velvety tasto sounds,
which, with her beautifully timed rubatos, mark her out as a very
special player. The final movement contained fast passagework, ringing
campanellas and savage rasguados, judged to perfection.
Autumn Song, a simple and beautiful arrangement by V. Chlopovsky (one of
her teachers), of a piece by Tchaikovsky was rich like an autumnal poem
by Keats or Rilke and was played in a way only a Russian can respond to
Russian composers! This made me think of a comment I once heard from a
fine player, who told me, "Everybody knows I can do the flashy stuff.
It's when I play slowly that an audience can see whether I can really
play or not." How true this is of Irina!
But the "flashy stuff" was on display again in her last piece, Fantasia
Hongroise, by J.K. Mertz. Her virtuosity here was breathtaking - rich
cello sounds and furiously quick arpeggios, tempered by rubatos totally
true to nineteenth century Austro-Hungarian style. A real crowd pleaser!
Her two encores, Waltz No. 4 by A. Barrios and Sound of Bells by
Pernambuco were warmly appreciated by the vociferous audience and summed
up the strengths of Irina's playing - marvellous technical accuracy, a
warm tone, a well judged sense of the music and a passionate intensity,
bordering on savagery, when the music demands it.
Her concert was another triumph in this season's series.
Tom Jeffers
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