Concert review: Nemanja Radulović (violin) Strings of the Philharmonia Orchestra

At the end of a compelling and stormy performance of Bach’s Violin Concerto in D minor BWV1052, such was Nemanja Radulović’s elation that he shook hands with every player on the stage and brought them all to the front in a long line for a final bow.

Then the penny dropped. ‘I completely forgot there was another piece!’ he announced to much laughter, and the 15 Philharmonia players returned to their seats for the fizzing, foot-stamping Hommage à Aleksandar Šišić, followed by two encores and a standing ovation.

Relaxed geniality and instrumental fireworks had marked the whole evening as, towering over even the standing upper strings in his four-inch platforms, the Paris-based Serbian violinist, hair flying, brought his hallmark musical electricity to three Bach concertos.

His Bach was fast and, in the Gigue of the A minor Concerto, wild. A born communicator, Radulović played with an enticing finesse and directed the players with charismatic energy. Although not aiming for period-instrument authenticity, bowing and vibrato were both kept light. The dynamic range was huge, especially in the divine slow movement of the Concerto for Two Violins BWV1043 where Radulović and Philharmonia leader Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay each seemed to be dancing on a single bow hair.

Interspersed with the Bach were numbers from Radulović’s world music album Roots. Falla’s Spanish Dance no.1 saw the upper strings’ bows ricocheting away in perfect synchrony while Muréna’s Indifférence transported us to a dimly lit café where players gradually joined Radulović’s haunting waltz.

JANET BANKS