Music / Balanas Sisters, Kristīne Balanas, violin, and Margarita Balanas, cello. At Snow Concert Hall, Red Hill, February 20. Reviewed by LEN POWER
Opening their concert with an exciting performance of the Halvorsen arrangement of Handel’s Passacaglia in G minor, Latvia’s Balanas sisters, Kristīne and Margarita, showed why they are two of the most talked-about rising stars in Europe.
As well as playing superbly, their silent interaction with looks and smiles was electrifying, showing their joy in performing with each other.
Violinist Kristīne Balanas is a third-prize laureate of the 66th International ARD Music Competition, 2018 Artist of the Year in the Grand Music Awards of her home country and has performed as a soloist for many of the world’s leading orchestras and festivals.
Cellist and conductor Margarita Balanas is a winner of the Latvian Grand Music Award and has performed with many renowned orchestras internationally.
Following their opening performance of the Handel, Kristīne Balanas played JS Bach’s Partita No. 3 in E major for violin solo. All three movements were beautifully played, especially the reflective second Loure movement.
Margarita Balanas then played JS Bach’s Suite No. 1 in G major for solo cello. All three movements were played with great sensitivity and the third movement, Courante, was especially memorable.
The sisters then played two contrasting movements from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons – Summer and Winter. Together, they brought out all the vibrant colour of Vivaldi’s Summer and their playing of Winter was equally colourful, passionate and exciting.
After interval, the sisters played Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks’ Castillo Interior. This 2013 work for violin and cello, with its slow, contemplative passages conflicting with rapid outbursts of emotion, was movingly played and proved to be the highlight of the concert.
The final work in four movements, Ravel’s Sonate pour violon et violoncelle, was also passionately played by the sisters, and was the perfect end to a great concert.
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