Rising violinist is a star guest

By WILLIAM DART

There was a truly festive spirit in the Auckland Town Hall last June when Joseph Lin carried off first prize in the Michael Hill World Violin Competition. Now the young American is returning for a guest appearance with the Auckland Philharmonia. This time, he won't be playing Brahms, but Beethoven, which he says is one of the most challenging concertos in the repertoire, but "not because it's a virtuoso showcase like the Tchaikovsky, even though it is technically difficult".

For Lin, it's the scale of the Concerto that tests violinists. "You have to be able to take on different characters throughout, from the first and second movements to the Finale. But then, that's one of the things I enjoy most in music - being able to create different worlds, whether it's within the various movements of one piece or from piece to piece during the programme."

Watching Lin play Brahms last year, I was impressed by the delicacy and sense of line he brought to the work. Lin surprises me by relating this to his Chinese background.

"Everybody is conditioned by who they are and how they grew up. There's a kind of restraint in the Asian mentality and yet behind that there's incredible strength. Maybe, consciously or unconsciously, that's how I approach my music."

When I quiz him for names of other violinists he admires, the young man is cagey, doesn't want to "put anybody on a pedestal". The two who are offered are David Oistrakh - "not superficial, not simply showy; really deep" - and the remarkable Gidon Kremer, "a kind of icon", says Lin. "Kremer has spent so much effort trying to find his own individual voice and that's something I admire."

However, it's a pianist Lin has the most time for: Canadian Glenn Gould. "He went to certain strange extremes and kept steadfast in his work. Gould is one of the greatest artists, if one defines an artist as someone who knows exactly what he wants out of the music, and is able to carry it out and convey this to an audience."

In the States Lin has worked with a number of contemporary composers and he enjoys these associations. "It's wonderful to stretch one's boundaries and creativity, although I don't know whether I'm at the point of taking it on as an artistic mission as some musicians do. Every great composer has something to teach me, and it's even more so with contemporary composers."

As part of the Michael Hill Competition last year, every contestant was required to perform Bright Silence, a commissioned piece by New Zealand composer Gillian Whitehead. Lin will be including this in various recitals he's giving around the country.

The immediacy of Bright Silence appealed. "It was quite unlike other contemporary pieces where you might have to sit with it for a long time, trying to figure out what the composer is trying to say. The notes provided with the score evoked the special soundscape of Otago - the idea there might be ghosts lingering around was a powerful image and gave me a lead on how to interpret it."

In a few months, Lin will be tackling something new, outside his usual musical activities. A first-generation American with Taiwanese parents, he says, "I had been doing a lot of thinking in the wake of September 11. The opportunity came up to go to China and I felt it was time for my Chinese experience. It's not a strictly musical decision, but then I've always been open in my life to going to places that are not necessarily musical."

* Joseph Lin plays the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Auckland Philharmonia, Aotea Centre, Thursday at 8pm.