Bow selecta CLASSICAL Nigel Kennedy's exuberance means his concerts

THE BIG EVENT

NIGEL KENNEDY

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL

3/5 stars

THE official programme title was A Vivaldi Experience With Nigel Kennedy And The Irish Chamber Orchestra. But this exuberant three- hour endurance test could easily have been called Kennedy Plays Vivaldi Some Of The Time, A Vivaldi Pantomime With Brighton's Favourite Son or even Nigel's Christmas Party.

That Kennedy is a virtuoso violinist is not in doubt. For the past 27 years of an extraordinary career he has thrilled his listeners with wonderful playing, bringing new and fresh insights to his interpretations of the great classical violin repertoire. Star appearances all over the globe with all the major orchestras and conductors, Royal Command Performances, television specials, countless awards for many of his superb recordings, and of course the daddy of them all, that landmark recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons - noted in the Guinness Book Of Records as the best-selling classical recording of all time, over two million copies sold throughout the world - testify to his immense ability and personal appeal.

And yet, there can be a point where it all becomes a bit too much; when perhaps a performer becomes too convinced by his own publicity, when an audience questions the experience and no longer buys into the fantasy.

Kennedy was possibly aware of this in 1992 when he decided to withdraw completely from public performance, retaining a low profile for the ensuing five years.

Classical music's bad boy, now fast approaching 50, is certainly back on the performance trail now, and in the last six years has returned to the concert hall and recording studio with all his old dazzle and showmanship, further enlivening his performances with trappings and postures borrowed from his rock musician colleagues.

Last week's Glasgow performance was the the culmination of a 13 concert series that started in Limerick in early November. It may have been an understandable end-of-run inertia that explained the weary look of the Irish Chamber Orchestra as they took the stage, 20 minutes after the advertised starting time, but more likely I suspect it was the knowledge of what lay ahead.

The printed programme promised no fewer than seven Vivaldi Concerti, one for violin and oboe, one for two violins, one for two violins and cello (not performed) the rest for solo violin and a note that everything was subject to change.

Later on, three Bach Two Part Inventions, something referred to as the Manchester Sonatas, and one of Nigel's own compositions were added to the programme; apparently just when Kennedy took the notion.

The stage presentation of a Kennedy concert is like no other classical concert. Sartorially, the virtuoso violinist remains a bit of a shock to the senses;

heavy Doc Martens boots, baggy trousers, shiny black jacket, lots of scarves dangling back and front, all topped off with a semi- shaven head and a centre tuft that's almost a mohican. And it's immediately clear that apart from anything else, Nigel is here for the laughs.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, " he says in that distinctive accent. "Anyone here that doesn't cover?" Later, just before the interval, he remarks to the audience, "OK, I get the message, you just want me to piss off so you can go for a pint." All good fun and a bit of a laugh, but no matter the quality of the playing, it does leave Vivaldi a little bit between a rock and a hard place.

But if the concert wasn't really about Vivaldi, that is not to say it did not have musical high spots. The Two Part Inventions with cellist Juliet Welchman (recently principal at Scottish Opera) the Double Concerto with the ICO's leader Katherine Hunka and the Concerto for Oboe and Violin with Aisling Casey, once they got past the jokey introductions, were played with elegance and refinement.

Kennedy, throughout, bunny-hops around the stage, communicating with each section of the orchestra from the fiddle, whether it's driving them on to a breakneck pace or drawing beautifully wistful tones in the slowest of slow movements. All things considered, there were some marvellous moments - particularly summer from The Seasons - but as a Vivaldi concert it rather depended on what you had come for.

If for a laugh and plenty of repartee from the stage, then you would not have been disappointed; if to hear one of the great violinists of our time, then I'm not so sure.

Copyright 2004 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
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