The secret recipe for wealth creation: a review of Alexandru Tomescu's Stradivari Obsessions

Mixing mediums can have strange consequences. Listening to Alexandru Tomescu’s recently released CD Stradivari Obsessions, while thumbing through the latest lists of the wealthiest Romanians, inspired some obsessive thoughts of my own.

By Andreea Ovanezian

How is the “cultural wealth” of a nation created? Does it evolve in rhythm with a nation’s economic and political development, or contra tempo? How does the import-export of “cultural wealth” impact its redeployment and revaluation, beyond the metrics of billboard sales or auction house prices? In a country obsessed with “luxury”, will our “cultural wealth” become an inaccessible realm (except for a privileged minority), given that our cultural institutions are under attack (ICR) or have vanished (TVR Cultural)?

Typically known as cultural heritage, patrimony is also defined as “founding assets” or “initial capital”. It is both an input and output of the process which creates national wealth. Our story illustrates how a few enterprising Romanian artists deploy cultural capital (a baroque violin and neo-baroque music) in a syncretic project combining acoustic and visual mediums, thereby creating a “diversified heritage portfolio” for the future.

In terms of musical patrimony, the trifecta of virtuoso repertoire for solo violin includes Bach’s 3 Sonatas & 3 Partitas (1720), Paganini’s 24 Caprices (1802-1817), and Ysaye’s 6 Sonatas (1923-1924). Each suite of compositions is like a major marathon, which few violinists attempt in live performance. Yet Alexandru Tomescu has successively performed the latter two, most recently Ysaye’s Op. 27, as part of his Stradivarius concert tours in Romania and subsequent recordings.

Eugene Ysaye (1858-1931), the Belgian-born violinist, composer and conductor (nicknamed the ‘king of the violin’) was clearly a multitasker. At age 64, when the effects of diabetic neuropathy had terminated his performance career, Ysaye composed his six sonatas for solo violin op. 27, with multiple goals in mind. Foremost, he wanted to stretch the boundaries of violin mastery in terms of technique, mechanism and expression. However, he emphasized the need to balance technical and expressive ‘virtuosity’, advising younger violinists “don’t always vibrate, but always be vibrating”. Furthermore, in seeking to bridge the old and new, Ysaye wrote these six sonatas as an homage to his predecessors Bach and Paganini, while dedicating them to six contemporary violinists (the third sonata for George Enescu) – thereby linking several periods in music history (baroque, classical and neo-classical). However, Ysaye did not reconcile the eternal push-and-pull between composers and interpreters. As composer, Ysaye wrote an extensive appendix of notations for these six sonatas, indicating how his opus should be performed. Yet as violinist, Ysaye was famous for his use of ‘tempo rubato’ (an interpretive technique for flexing the indicated tempo for expressive purposes).

Romanian violinist Alexandru Tomescu masterfully renders Ysaye’s six sonatas on his latest CD Stradivarii Obsessions (named after a theme from Ysaye’s second sonata). Released in September, the CD was co-produced by the Grammy award-winning recording engineer Jakob Handel. Describing his second consecutive collaboration with Handel, Tomescu says, “He really understands what I want to transmit, which is vital when he edits the recording.” In other words, a good recording engineer must strike the right balance in adding, subtracting and combining musical elements throughout the various phases of recording, editing, mixing and mastering. The quality of production, performance and content truly qualify this CD as a must-have for classical music fans and newcomers. There are also plans for a future DVD that will include the collaborative performances of Romanian actors Ana Pepine and Paul Cimpoieru, who performed alongside Tomescu in the Stradivarius Obsessii concert tour preceding the CD.

Based on a concept combining music, theater and film, conceived by Tomescu’s producer (Oana Dragulinescu of Quartz Media), the tour was designed to bridge the invisible boundaries between audience and stage by transposing music into gestures to illustrate “a story meant to bring people closer to the beauty of classical music”, according to Tomescu. Perhaps a grand expectation or a performance bar set high enough for failure, given the complexity of a production encompassing three dimensions (sound, stage, screen), four mediums (music, dance, pantomime, acting), a cast of characters including an antique violin (aged 310), nine “ascended masters” of music, three onstage performers and 11 “magicians” behind the scenes.

Given my bias against mixed mediums, I feared this “syncretic project” might end up as a circus gone wrong. Although my trepidation was somewhat allayed by the humorous series of online video clips designed to promote the concert tour, I did not arrive at the final performance (May 29 at the Bucharest National Opera House) with any hope that they would “trip the light fantastic”. Surprisingly, the unembellished staging and seemingly effortless performances camouflaged the underlying complexity of this production – ultimately a finely synchronized, fluid, yet elastic presentation in which “melody and accompaniment” at times switched places. Although risking overreach, this diverse montage of mediums, dimensions and characters gave way to a magical performance with a “tessellation of special effects” that rarely take place within the same space – experimentation, innovation, authenticity and synthesis.

If these are the keys to the secret recipe for wealth creation (stirred amidst crisis), then our business and government leaders should borrow them to unlock the right prescription for creating (rather than destroying) national wealth. As I am strangely suggesting that business and government can borrow “best practices” from cultural enterprises, it’s also fair to question whether the reverse still applies.

Seeking explanation of these ‘obsessions’, we contacted Alexandru Tomescu

Do you believe that solid business management (i.e. best practices) can strengthen our cultural institutions against the detrimental effects of political administrations?

AT: Of course I believe it! I am positive that well-planned management can make these institutions highly profitable. Before 2007, when I started getting involved in these national tours, everyone thought that such events would have no impact, that culture does not sell, that we would be performing to empty halls. Sponsors were skeptical, but finally we convinced them and it was a total success, since the tours continue to this day. And not only that, but such events are multiplying, which proves that there is demand for such things. Of course it is hard to change matters quickly, but I am sure that it takes nothing but a bit of goodwill and things will start to develop. There are a lot of bad habits to correct and prejudices to demolish before we can have powerful cultural institutions. But I repeat, you need technical conditions, a well-determined vision and a carefully planned marketing strategy so you can promote your product.

From your experience organizing several concert tours and recordings in Romania, how difficult is it to reach the break-even point and what are the key hurdles?

AT: I am glad to see that people are interested in the products I release. I think that there are many prejudices concerning the commercialization of classical music CDs in Romania. Some are tempted to think that they cannot be easily sold, but that is incorrect. Personally, I am content with the rhythm of sales. It is important to promote them in every possible way.

The insert to your latest CD mentions that you are among the pioneers of Romanian musical events “organized without institutional support”. What does this statement mean, given that your recent concert tour was supported by a diverse mix of sponsors, organizers, co-producers and partners – several of which may be aptly described as “institutions” from both the public and private sectors?

AT: When I say institutional support I mean state funds. The Romanian state never got involved in the Stradivarius project. Only private enterprises agreed to support these events. I accentuate this because I want it to be an example: you can do something in this country without expecting help from state institutions. I cannot say that playing on the Stradivarius violin is through the support of the state, because I won the privilege of playing this instrument after quite a complicated competition. So what I do, I do to highlight the violin, to make every Romanian citizen aware that this instrument belongs to the national heritage. Since the Stradivarius violin was lent to me only for the Stradivarius Tour, then you could say that the Romanian state was involved in the organization of these projects. However, all the funds necessary to turn the project into reality came from private enterprises.

Are you eligible to compete for a second stint with the Elder Voicu Stradivarius violin, and are you interested?

AT: I am still eligible and I am definitely interested.

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