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Chen scales Bach mountain

Ray Chen. Picture by Andrew Chiciak

RECITAL

Ray Chen (violin) and Timothy Young (piano)

4.5 stars

Perth Concert Hall

Review: Neville Cohn

At any one time, only the merest handful of violinists are game enough - and able - to essay any of the unaccompanied partitas by Bach in a credible way. Utterly and cruelly exposed, they have been the graveyard of many a violinist's reputation. In a work such as this, the tiniest lapse - a weakening of concentration, a fluffed note here, a flawed phrase there - screams out. It takes an iron nerve, total command of the violin - and bow - and a flawless grasp of style to reveal the secrets of these forbiddingly taxing works.

But, at the Concert Hall on Thursday, Ray Chen, on every count, came through this ferocious test with banners flying as he took us through each movement of the Partita No 3.

Whether conveying the rhythmic essence and the character - whether grave or light hearted - of each dance movement, Chen was master of the moment. Each dance - whether gavotte, minuet, bourree or gigue - came across as the sonic equivalent of a flawlessly facetted gem, prefaced by a faultlessly fashioned and phrased Prelude.

With Timothy Young at the keyboard, we also listened to Prokofiev's Sonata No 2 in D - the one which was originally written for flute and piano. Here, too, the playing by both musicians was so meaningful in relation to style, mood and phrase, that little more is required of the critic other than to sit back and salute artistry at the highest level.

Mozart's too-rarely essayed Sonata in A, K305 was yet another highlight. With a beautifully maintained balance of tone between the instruments, both Chan and Young reached for the stars.

Sarasate's much-loved Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs) predictably brought the house down as did the same composer's Habanera. Here, we listened to sizzling virtuosity presented with immense panache and brio.

Taiwan-born and Australia-raised, Ray Chen plays a superb Stradivarius violin dating from 1715 on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. In 2012, Chen became the youngest ever soloist to feature in the televised Nobel Prize concert given for the Nobel laureates and the Swedish royal family.