Dynamic Debut

Swedish Philharmonia with Nemanja Radulović, violin and Jaime Martín, conductor, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry.

17 March 2023

Review by Anne Cee

Friday night at Butterworth Hall, Warwick Arts Centre was a genuine treat for anyone interested in new and exciting talent on the orchestral scene – the Swedish Philharmonia provided the perfect voile for rising star, violist Nemanja Radulović who thrilled everyone with his version of Tchaikovsky’s challenging Violin Concerto.

A tricky moment when his E string broke early in the first movement, could have spelled disaster but Radulović simply borrowed a violin mid piece from the First Desk before re-stringing his own instrument on stage, without seeming to miss a beat or break a sweat. With the crisis swiftly averted, Radulović proceeded to demonstrate why The Times has used expressions such as “lyric delicacy and last movement super-virtuosity” in previous reviews.

There is no doubt that Radulović is brimming with talent and style as he elicits an extraordinary warm and tender voice from his violin which takes us from the depths of melancholy and poignant sadness through to the swirling joy of a vivacious dance. Last night it felt that Radulović could offer it all, drama, storytelling and sheer impressive team work with the orchestra and the conductor.

The musical conversation between Radulović and members of the orchestra was surpassed only by the connection between Radulović and the conductor Jaime Martin, who clearly revelled in each other’s skill and musical leadership.

After three ‘curtain calls’, Radulović and the orchestra offered a delighted audience an encore – a Central European folk tune which they clearly all loved to play and left everyone in the room beaming from ear to ear. We felt as though we’d been let into the private post concert party where everyone could let their hair down. The audience begged for more but alas we’ll have to wait till next time, when I suspect tickets will be snapped up like hot cakes.

After the interval, Martin chatted with the audience about how their fourth French Horn, Ulf Linde was the son of the composer of their opening piece “A Merry Overture Op 14” written by Bo Linde in 1955 and also about how much the orchestra were enjoying the amazing acoustics of the Hall in this, their first visit but hopefully not their last.

The orchestra concluded the evening with the four movements of Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 which is often associated with Finland’s fight for independence from Russian oppression and which Martin described as manifesting amazing landscapes and creating moments in the brass sections which could be truly epic.

All in all it was a night I won’t forget. I really hope that this young violinist, Radulović, with the signature flowing mane and top knot, comes back sooner rather than later.