Featuring:
- Schuetz German Magnificat (transcribed for strings)
- Tigran Mansurian Violin Concerto "Four Serious Songs"
- Sandor Veress Four Transylvanian Dances
- Kats-Chernin Zoom and Zip
- Haydn Violin Concerto in G major
- Vivaldi Violin Concerto, RV. 253, "The Storm at Sea"
Patricia Kopatchinskaja - Guest Director and Lead Violin
To be honest, this is the concert that I am least interested in when looking at the ACO brochure last year. How glad I was to be proven wrong big time - I think I enjoyed this concert as much as the previous 'Romantic Symphony' concert, and it's simply one of the best ACO concerts I have had the pleasure to attend.
With the closure of Hamer Hall, ACO moves its concerts in Melbourne to Melbourne Town Hall. I have previously remarked my concern about the acoustic of Town Hall in regards to the smaller orchestra like ACO in my previous post, but I'm glad that my worst fear is unjustified. The ACO still produces a stellar sound, worthy of a full-sized symphony orchestra, while none of the details are lost. It's a slightly different acoustic than Hamer Hall, true to that, but the change of venue doesn't bother me as much as I was anticipating.
The concert started in a subdued tone with Schuetz's German Magnificat on offering. While the piece was originally written for two choirs, and an organ, ACO performed the strings transcription of it by replacing the two choirs with equally split strings, and the organ with the harpsichord. Schuetz's Magnificat is a smaller in scale compared to say Bach's or Vivaldi's or Monteverdi's and lacking part for solo voices. It's a bit strange for me to listen to a settings of Magnificat without the text sung, but the quality of the composition shone through. I think I would've enjoyed this piece better in a cathedral, and performed in its original settings, due to the pious feel and the restrained exuberant joy. Having said that, I still enjoyed this transcription immensely, due to the ACO's ability to bring out the sonority of different voices in this piece.
We were then transported from the pre-Bach baroque music to 2006. Mansurian's violin concerto "Four Serious Songs" drew its inspiration from the same source as Brahms' late song cycle of the same name. Painting the "transience of life", and described by the composer as "reflections on death", the violin concerto showcased Patricia's technical skills in dispatching high-register notes fearlessly and without any slight hesitations at all, her virtuosity in fast moving passages, and her musical abilities in conveying emotions the music carries in a more meditating passages. The program notes discussed the folk music influence in this piece, and the influence is showed in traces of melody and a more non-conventional harmonies throughout. In one section of the piece, I even felt like I was listening to Khachaturian's Violin Concerto! (Khachaturian is an Armenian, and his violin concerto is imbued with folk music influence too).
The highlight of the concert for me is Sandor Veress' excellent Four Transylvanian Dances, which again, has its roots from folk tunes. The first dance, Lassu, with its long, arching, and yearning melody reminded me a lot of the main melody of Rimsky-Korsakov's third movement of the Scheherazade (the Young Prince and the Young Princess). Ugros, the second dance, is just pure delight, and very fun to dance too that Pat and some members of the ACO swayed their body to the dance rhythm. The third dance, Lejtos was more serious in tone where suddenly in the end, it shifted to a brighter mood. And the last dance, Dobbantos (aka. stomping dance), must be the most memorable piece in the concert. Fast tempos, and dispatched with brilliant virtuosities from the orchestra, and the most memorable bit: Unison feet-stamping from all the musicians (three times, IIRC) that caught the audience by surprise. Marvelous performance!
Kats-Chernin's cheeky Zoom and Zip was next after the interval. Although I found it a bit repetitive at times, the audience was treated by something special in this piece: at one section, Patricia actually sang the main melody of the piece! Although her voice is not a first-rate opera star quality, its sudden appearance makes it very memorable, and her pitch, singing the not so straightforward tonality of the melody, was spot on. I'm not sure if this is an improvisation or not, but I'm more impressed by Patricia's musicianship by the second.
After a series of contemporary music, we were then offered music from the bygone era. Haydn's G major Violin concerto perhaps is not his best work, but Patricia offered a very enjoyable performance, especially the dreamy second movement of the piece, and straight after, dispatching these dreamy qualities with a brilliant finale.
The final piece of the night, Vivaldi's "The Storm at Sea" was published in the same collection as his more famous "Four Seasons". In turn, the fast tremolo passages in the Storm of the Summer movement of the Four Seasons, find its way to the "Storm of the Sea". The Largo was short, and borders on improvisational performance. In the finale, there were 2 members of the orchestra running their fingers up and down the harpsichord strings while the others keep playing. For a baroque piece, I'm surprised to find radical harmonic shifts used by Vivaldi. It's so extreme that it will not be out of place in late-Romantic era music.
After a long applause, Patricia said something to the audience which I didn't quite catch, and subsequently didn't know what's the piece that she and the orchestra played as the encore.
Whoa, this concert was awesome. First of all, it's so unconventional already that a solo violinist played barefooted in the concert, but Patricia's musicianship is something to be admired, and praised. Her constant swaying to the music, stamping, and the energy she brought in to the performance engaged the audience to another level of music enjoyment. For a more seasoned concert-goer, her technical abilities, and her confidence bow attacks reassured us that she is really one of the top violinist in the world. I'm glad I've attended this concert, and really looking forward to attending her concert again next time.
Showing posts with label aco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aco. Show all posts
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 7 June 2010 - Romantic Symphony
Featuring:
- Jonny Greenwood Popcorn Superhet Receiver Australian Premiere
- Schubert Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished"
- Brahms Symphony No. 1
Well, due to some circumstances, I need to change my ACO concert to Monday. Offered the choice of stall or balcony seats, I decided to take on the latter seat. As much as I hate balcony seats in Hamer Hall because they tend to make me feel nauseous, it's still better to have a clear view of the orchestra, rather than stuck somewhere in stall seats where all you can see is the first two rows of musicians.
My decision paid off immediately when ACO gave the Australian Premiere of Radiohead's lead guitarist's piece with its quirky and rather cute title. Plagiarising the program notes, "A superhet (superheterodyne) receiver generates a fixed tone as a result of the frequency difference between two carrier waves - in the early days of wireless transmission, this was a frequency equivalent to a note at the very top of the violin's range. Popcorn is a low-fat, high-fibre, maize foodstuff". That last sentence made my day :). As I'm not familiar with Radiohead music and Jonny Greenwood in general, let's just jump to the music itself. Scored for a moderate-sized string orchestra (around 30, if I'm not mistaken), it's a lush string showcases lacking a recognisable main theme. In place of this, it exploits almost all strings playing techniques: bowed, pizzicato, Bartok pizzicato, even treating the violins like a guitar, you name it, I think they're all there. To grossly simplify the music, I think it's in ternary form with a slightly longer first part, and a very interesting second part. The first and last part of the music concerns with creating the soundscape of musical waves. I was trying to find a scientific term to express this soundscape more accurately when my companion for the night suprised me by uttering "Doppler effect" - brilliant!. To create this effect, Greenwood resorted to glissandos, tremolos, passing main musical ideas from a string divisi to the other, and even sometimes from one player to the other so that almost every strings plays a solo at different places in the piece. All these musical tricks are a feast to my eyes: the sights of the bows going up and down from one player to the other created an effect of a - well of course - wave. Thank goodness I chose the balcony seat :).
The second part of the music was really fun, the violins and violas were held like a guitar by the musicians, and they played a repeating rhytmic pattern with the cellos playing out the main theme here (IIRC). This is definitely rock-influenced music, well implemented in classical music and with good taste. Richard conducted the orchestra (he did not play in this piece), and the orchestra maintained the precision, clarity, and yes, sonority which in turned help the audience to grasp this music. While tightly textured, the piece is very accessible, and consists of some interesting harmonies. It actually reminds me a little bit of the Xenakis's Shaar which ACO played last year, but with less amount of dissonances.
In general, I like the piece - I just had troubles with its title. I can see the superhet connection with the wave soundscape it created, but I can't find any connection on the popcorn. Maybe the idea that radio static noises do not always necessarily a noise - not a music - and can be transformed and expressed as something pleasant, to the ear of listeners is the popcorn bit.
The woodwind, brass, and percussion guest musicians joined the enlarged strings to play Schubert's arguably most famous symphony, the 'Unfinished'. A much loved symphony, it famously contained only 2 movements. The first movement contained one of the most well-known Schubert's melody, the second theme, which was played right after the dark, gloomy opening first theme in the low strings. The cellos are gorgeous here, singing in the beautiful melody, while signalling the tragedy to come in the opening murmuring theme. In general, I like the tempo Richard took in this movement: brisk enough to keep the tension high throughout and delivered the high tension development phase with fierce staccatos, and extreme contrast in dynamics. The tension was so high here that I am thankful when the first movement is over to finally have a breather. This movement to me is a prime example of trademark Schubert, easily transforming a dark gloom moment to a beautiful moment effortlessly, and back again with the same simplicity. Another example of this is the beautiful 2nd movement of Schubert's A major sonata (#20), and the Credo from his G major Mass (#2). In the Credo, Schubert changed the pious mood in the beginning effortlessly to doom tragedy in 4 bars when the choir reaches 'Crucifixus', and transform this gloomy mood into exuberant rejoice in 8 bars in the 'Resurrexit' section. Anyway, I digressed from this concert.
I have to disagree with Murray Black's review on the second movement tempo. I found it to my liking, with plenty of time given to the woodwinds to unfold the lyrical second theme. After the high tension drama in the previous moment, it comforted me so much to listen to the woodwinds playing these lyrical melody. Not saying that the tension has gone, it's still there, lurking around, and yes, Schubert summoned them again in the contrapuntal march-like section soon after. And yet, in the end, it sounded like all is finally well. Brilliant performance from the ACO, definitely first-rate!
After the break, my favourite Brahms' symphony is on the table. Here, I agreed with Murray Black in that there are some issues with the performance in general. While the first movement worked well with brisk tempos, the second and third movements did not. Richard's solo in the second movement made it up a little bit, but the graceful woodwinds melodies are not realised to the their potential in the third movement. The coda of the finale while was brilliant and well-executed, lacked the majestic quality I yearn from this symphony, partly due to the super fast tempos. There were also some minor ensemble issues, the horns were under-pitched in a couple of spots in the finale, but overall the balance was really good. Oh yeah, love the colour the contrabassoon provided in the last movement too. Anyway, despite my usual nitpickings, ACO did one heck of a good job in giving a worthy performance of a Brahms symphony despite the fact that they have not played this symphony before. A major symphony orchestra could easily bore me playing the same symphony by lacking the punch and the energy that ACO delivered.
On a last note, this will be the final time ACO played in Hamer Hall this season as the renovation work of this hall will commence soon. To be honest, I'm a bit worried with ACO performing in the Town Hall as I don't really enjoy its acoustic that much, and its acoustic definitely favours larger ensemble. I'll be glad to be proven wrong.
- Jonny Greenwood Popcorn Superhet Receiver Australian Premiere
- Schubert Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished"
- Brahms Symphony No. 1
Well, due to some circumstances, I need to change my ACO concert to Monday. Offered the choice of stall or balcony seats, I decided to take on the latter seat. As much as I hate balcony seats in Hamer Hall because they tend to make me feel nauseous, it's still better to have a clear view of the orchestra, rather than stuck somewhere in stall seats where all you can see is the first two rows of musicians.
My decision paid off immediately when ACO gave the Australian Premiere of Radiohead's lead guitarist's piece with its quirky and rather cute title. Plagiarising the program notes, "A superhet (superheterodyne) receiver generates a fixed tone as a result of the frequency difference between two carrier waves - in the early days of wireless transmission, this was a frequency equivalent to a note at the very top of the violin's range. Popcorn is a low-fat, high-fibre, maize foodstuff". That last sentence made my day :). As I'm not familiar with Radiohead music and Jonny Greenwood in general, let's just jump to the music itself. Scored for a moderate-sized string orchestra (around 30, if I'm not mistaken), it's a lush string showcases lacking a recognisable main theme. In place of this, it exploits almost all strings playing techniques: bowed, pizzicato, Bartok pizzicato, even treating the violins like a guitar, you name it, I think they're all there. To grossly simplify the music, I think it's in ternary form with a slightly longer first part, and a very interesting second part. The first and last part of the music concerns with creating the soundscape of musical waves. I was trying to find a scientific term to express this soundscape more accurately when my companion for the night suprised me by uttering "Doppler effect" - brilliant!. To create this effect, Greenwood resorted to glissandos, tremolos, passing main musical ideas from a string divisi to the other, and even sometimes from one player to the other so that almost every strings plays a solo at different places in the piece. All these musical tricks are a feast to my eyes: the sights of the bows going up and down from one player to the other created an effect of a - well of course - wave. Thank goodness I chose the balcony seat :).
The second part of the music was really fun, the violins and violas were held like a guitar by the musicians, and they played a repeating rhytmic pattern with the cellos playing out the main theme here (IIRC). This is definitely rock-influenced music, well implemented in classical music and with good taste. Richard conducted the orchestra (he did not play in this piece), and the orchestra maintained the precision, clarity, and yes, sonority which in turned help the audience to grasp this music. While tightly textured, the piece is very accessible, and consists of some interesting harmonies. It actually reminds me a little bit of the Xenakis's Shaar which ACO played last year, but with less amount of dissonances.
In general, I like the piece - I just had troubles with its title. I can see the superhet connection with the wave soundscape it created, but I can't find any connection on the popcorn. Maybe the idea that radio static noises do not always necessarily a noise - not a music - and can be transformed and expressed as something pleasant, to the ear of listeners is the popcorn bit.
The woodwind, brass, and percussion guest musicians joined the enlarged strings to play Schubert's arguably most famous symphony, the 'Unfinished'. A much loved symphony, it famously contained only 2 movements. The first movement contained one of the most well-known Schubert's melody, the second theme, which was played right after the dark, gloomy opening first theme in the low strings. The cellos are gorgeous here, singing in the beautiful melody, while signalling the tragedy to come in the opening murmuring theme. In general, I like the tempo Richard took in this movement: brisk enough to keep the tension high throughout and delivered the high tension development phase with fierce staccatos, and extreme contrast in dynamics. The tension was so high here that I am thankful when the first movement is over to finally have a breather. This movement to me is a prime example of trademark Schubert, easily transforming a dark gloom moment to a beautiful moment effortlessly, and back again with the same simplicity. Another example of this is the beautiful 2nd movement of Schubert's A major sonata (#20), and the Credo from his G major Mass (#2). In the Credo, Schubert changed the pious mood in the beginning effortlessly to doom tragedy in 4 bars when the choir reaches 'Crucifixus', and transform this gloomy mood into exuberant rejoice in 8 bars in the 'Resurrexit' section. Anyway, I digressed from this concert.
I have to disagree with Murray Black's review on the second movement tempo. I found it to my liking, with plenty of time given to the woodwinds to unfold the lyrical second theme. After the high tension drama in the previous moment, it comforted me so much to listen to the woodwinds playing these lyrical melody. Not saying that the tension has gone, it's still there, lurking around, and yes, Schubert summoned them again in the contrapuntal march-like section soon after. And yet, in the end, it sounded like all is finally well. Brilliant performance from the ACO, definitely first-rate!
After the break, my favourite Brahms' symphony is on the table. Here, I agreed with Murray Black in that there are some issues with the performance in general. While the first movement worked well with brisk tempos, the second and third movements did not. Richard's solo in the second movement made it up a little bit, but the graceful woodwinds melodies are not realised to the their potential in the third movement. The coda of the finale while was brilliant and well-executed, lacked the majestic quality I yearn from this symphony, partly due to the super fast tempos. There were also some minor ensemble issues, the horns were under-pitched in a couple of spots in the finale, but overall the balance was really good. Oh yeah, love the colour the contrabassoon provided in the last movement too. Anyway, despite my usual nitpickings, ACO did one heck of a good job in giving a worthy performance of a Brahms symphony despite the fact that they have not played this symphony before. A major symphony orchestra could easily bore me playing the same symphony by lacking the punch and the energy that ACO delivered.
On a last note, this will be the final time ACO played in Hamer Hall this season as the renovation work of this hall will commence soon. To be honest, I'm a bit worried with ACO performing in the Town Hall as I don't really enjoy its acoustic that much, and its acoustic definitely favours larger ensemble. I'll be glad to be proven wrong.
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 11 April 2010 - Bach and Beyond
Featuring:
- Shostakovich Polka and Elegy
- Bach Missa Brevis in G minor, BWV 235
- Arvo Part Summa
- Schoenberg Litany from String Quartet No. 2
- Bach Motet: Lobet den Herrn BWV 230
- Diana Burrell Das Meer, das so gross und weit ist, da wimmelet's ohne Zahl, grosse und kleine Tiere
- Bach Cantata: Wo gehest du hin? BWV 166
Sara Macliver - Soprano
Fiona Campbell - Mezzo Soprano
Andrew Staples - Tenor
Matthew Brook - Bass
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director and Lead Violin
I always believe that listening too much of something similar by the same composer will do you harm. That's why in my daily intake of classical music, I always mix up music from different composers or eras (or at least different styles) to keep me healthy. In this performance, ACO served us Bach and more(!). This is one of the concert where my opinion on each interval couldn't be more opposite. I enjoyed the first half of this concert immensely, while I couldn't wait until the concert finishes on the second half.
Let's start with the good things first: before the music starts, Richard Tognetti informed us that instead of following the music order as printed in the program, he's gonna play the music in this order: Shostakovich's Polka, and then the Elegy, leading to the Kyrie from Bach's Missa Brevis, and then Part's answer to Bach Summa, part of the Gloria of Bach's Missa Brevis up until the text 'qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis', and Schoenberg's Litany from his second string quartet as the reply to this text, and finally concluding with the other part of the Gloria. Richard mentioned that the purpose of these interjections are to show the composers response to Bach, in their own ways. Therefore, it's sort of like a conversation between these composers.
Strange as it seems, this is the highlight of the concert. The whole thing just worked out perfectly. The concert started with Shostakovich's satirical but tuneful Polka. Towards the end of the piece, the four soloists tiptoeing themselves into the stage accompanied by the pizzicato of the Polka. Shostakovich's Elegy was next, the playing was resonant as befitted to this beautiful piece with yearning melodies.
This quite ending leads to the opening of Bach's mass - the Kyrie, which reminds me a little bit of the opening of St. John's passion with the dissonance in the oboe over the flowing strings accompaniment. The voice writings are essentially Bach, fugal, imitative entries, and full of ornamentation. All four soloists were good. Arvo Part's Summa was very natural after the Kyrie as it was written in the same key. Another serene piece with subtle rhythmic shift and themes passed around different instruments. Good thing about this piece is that it doesn't last too long, or I'll probably change my opinion about it as a piece that exploited minimalism too far.
The Gloria were almost done after the bass and alto arias when suddenly Schoenberg's Litany from his Second String Quartet interrupted. The piece is written in E flat minor, a rather rare key, and it never feels settled. The climax of this piece is at the texts 'Nimm mir die liebe, gib mir dein gluck!' (Take from me my love, and give me your happiness!). I enjoyed this piece and the text of the poem immensely. After this, the tenor aria continues the Gloria and it finally concludes with a chorus.
This first half of the concert was so original and I must give full credit to such creative programming. These pieces are written in different era, in different style, yet none of them seems so out of place for the entire period of this half of the concert.
The problem was the second half. After the first half, I still can enjoy the next Bach's motet with a rather cool Alleluia. Burrell's dense Das Meer disappointed me. I vividly recalled that there were three people conducting in this piece: Richard, Christopher (principal viola) and Maxime (principal double bass). The piece was about the sea, but it seems the piece lack direction and I was bored after a little while. For me, Bach's cantata 'Wo gehest du hin?' (Where are you going?) is the perfect description of Burrell's music. And by the time the ACO performed the cantata, I have lost all my concentration, and with Bach's vocal music on offering again, I decided I had too much of fugues, recitatives, and vocal ornaments for the day. So this concert ended with a sour note for me.
- Shostakovich Polka and Elegy
- Bach Missa Brevis in G minor, BWV 235
- Arvo Part Summa
- Schoenberg Litany from String Quartet No. 2
- Bach Motet: Lobet den Herrn BWV 230
- Diana Burrell Das Meer, das so gross und weit ist, da wimmelet's ohne Zahl, grosse und kleine Tiere
- Bach Cantata: Wo gehest du hin? BWV 166
Sara Macliver - Soprano
Fiona Campbell - Mezzo Soprano
Andrew Staples - Tenor
Matthew Brook - Bass
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director and Lead Violin
I always believe that listening too much of something similar by the same composer will do you harm. That's why in my daily intake of classical music, I always mix up music from different composers or eras (or at least different styles) to keep me healthy. In this performance, ACO served us Bach and more(!). This is one of the concert where my opinion on each interval couldn't be more opposite. I enjoyed the first half of this concert immensely, while I couldn't wait until the concert finishes on the second half.
Let's start with the good things first: before the music starts, Richard Tognetti informed us that instead of following the music order as printed in the program, he's gonna play the music in this order: Shostakovich's Polka, and then the Elegy, leading to the Kyrie from Bach's Missa Brevis, and then Part's answer to Bach Summa, part of the Gloria of Bach's Missa Brevis up until the text 'qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis', and Schoenberg's Litany from his second string quartet as the reply to this text, and finally concluding with the other part of the Gloria. Richard mentioned that the purpose of these interjections are to show the composers response to Bach, in their own ways. Therefore, it's sort of like a conversation between these composers.
Strange as it seems, this is the highlight of the concert. The whole thing just worked out perfectly. The concert started with Shostakovich's satirical but tuneful Polka. Towards the end of the piece, the four soloists tiptoeing themselves into the stage accompanied by the pizzicato of the Polka. Shostakovich's Elegy was next, the playing was resonant as befitted to this beautiful piece with yearning melodies.
This quite ending leads to the opening of Bach's mass - the Kyrie, which reminds me a little bit of the opening of St. John's passion with the dissonance in the oboe over the flowing strings accompaniment. The voice writings are essentially Bach, fugal, imitative entries, and full of ornamentation. All four soloists were good. Arvo Part's Summa was very natural after the Kyrie as it was written in the same key. Another serene piece with subtle rhythmic shift and themes passed around different instruments. Good thing about this piece is that it doesn't last too long, or I'll probably change my opinion about it as a piece that exploited minimalism too far.
The Gloria were almost done after the bass and alto arias when suddenly Schoenberg's Litany from his Second String Quartet interrupted. The piece is written in E flat minor, a rather rare key, and it never feels settled. The climax of this piece is at the texts 'Nimm mir die liebe, gib mir dein gluck!' (Take from me my love, and give me your happiness!). I enjoyed this piece and the text of the poem immensely. After this, the tenor aria continues the Gloria and it finally concludes with a chorus.
This first half of the concert was so original and I must give full credit to such creative programming. These pieces are written in different era, in different style, yet none of them seems so out of place for the entire period of this half of the concert.
The problem was the second half. After the first half, I still can enjoy the next Bach's motet with a rather cool Alleluia. Burrell's dense Das Meer disappointed me. I vividly recalled that there were three people conducting in this piece: Richard, Christopher (principal viola) and Maxime (principal double bass). The piece was about the sea, but it seems the piece lack direction and I was bored after a little while. For me, Bach's cantata 'Wo gehest du hin?' (Where are you going?) is the perfect description of Burrell's music. And by the time the ACO performed the cantata, I have lost all my concentration, and with Bach's vocal music on offering again, I decided I had too much of fugues, recitatives, and vocal ornaments for the day. So this concert ended with a sour note for me.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 14 March 2010 - ACO Soloists
Featuring:
- Franz Schreker Scherzo
- Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto
- CPE Bach Cello Concerto in A minor
- Franz Schreker Intermezzo
- Matthew Hindson Crime and Punishment
- Britten Lachrymae
- JS Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe BWV 1060
Helena Rathbone - Guest Director and Lead Violin
Christopher Moore - Viola
Timo-Veikko Valve - Cello
Maxime Bibeau - Double Bass
Diana Doherty - Oboe
A virtuosos concert - a very unique programming by ACO utilising all its strings principals. But hang on, where's Richard Tognetti?
Anyway, the program notes gave an early warning to the audience by signalling Schreker is a champion of Schoenberg and Hindemith on top of being friends with Berg and Webern. So, 12-tonal or atonal music to start the program? It turns out Schreker's music is very accessible - and it's full of glorious arching romantic melodies. In simple terms, I would describe his music as late-romantic style with modern twist - almost like Schoenberg's Transfigured Night. I enjoy the tight interwoven melodies and counter melodies of both his Scherzo and Intermezzo.
Diana Doherty stole this concert for me, her solo in Vaughan Williams' Oboe Concerto was delicious. Playing freely and providing plenty of body gestures expressing the sound from the oboe, Diana lifted my emotion to the very top at the end of first movement of the concerto. The beautiful dialogue the oboe had with the orchestra was well-executed. The second movement painted a picture of pastoral English village while Diana showed off her virtuosic skills in the demanding last bars of the concerto after a more quiet contrasting episode. Brilliant stuff.
While Vaughan Williams' music convinced me with its lyrical lines, CPE Bach's bored me. The rhythmic drive in outer movements of his A minor cello concerto got tired after a little while and I'm not really convinced with the Andante. Timo's virtuosic skills provided some entertainment in the outer movements, but this concerto is definitely not the best of this genre. I was also disappointed with the lack of harpsichord sound - a must have for me to fully enjoy Baroque compositions.
Matthew Hindson wrote a very challenging double bass solo in his Crime and Punishment. Showing off his talent, Maxime Bibeau impressed the audience by a large array of mad skills - fast pizzicatos (with syncopated rhythms!), tapping the finger boards, and playing beautiful melodies with his double bass. The piece itself while interesting, suffered from thematic development. It has several beautiful cadences which could be developed much further, rather than repeated 3-4 times and then discarded.
The major disappointment of the concert for me is Britten's Lachrymae. I might know the reason..I was bored waiting for big virtuoso fireworks from this performance which never came - as it was written as a 'Reflections on a song of Dowland'. I guess I was eaten by the marketing scheme, huh? Put it simply, I was not in the right mind set anticipating this piece. Stupid me, realising it only now, while I should've changed my mindset in the middle of performance.
Last piece of the concert is Bach's C minor concerto for oboe and violin - a crowd pleaser. Familiar melodies with beautiful Adagio instantly won the audience's heart. Not mine, though - I'm still disappointed with the lack of harpsichord sound. Helena and Diana played wonderfully.
- Franz Schreker Scherzo
- Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto
- CPE Bach Cello Concerto in A minor
- Franz Schreker Intermezzo
- Matthew Hindson Crime and Punishment
- Britten Lachrymae
- JS Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe BWV 1060
Helena Rathbone - Guest Director and Lead Violin
Christopher Moore - Viola
Timo-Veikko Valve - Cello
Maxime Bibeau - Double Bass
Diana Doherty - Oboe
A virtuosos concert - a very unique programming by ACO utilising all its strings principals. But hang on, where's Richard Tognetti?
Anyway, the program notes gave an early warning to the audience by signalling Schreker is a champion of Schoenberg and Hindemith on top of being friends with Berg and Webern. So, 12-tonal or atonal music to start the program? It turns out Schreker's music is very accessible - and it's full of glorious arching romantic melodies. In simple terms, I would describe his music as late-romantic style with modern twist - almost like Schoenberg's Transfigured Night. I enjoy the tight interwoven melodies and counter melodies of both his Scherzo and Intermezzo.
Diana Doherty stole this concert for me, her solo in Vaughan Williams' Oboe Concerto was delicious. Playing freely and providing plenty of body gestures expressing the sound from the oboe, Diana lifted my emotion to the very top at the end of first movement of the concerto. The beautiful dialogue the oboe had with the orchestra was well-executed. The second movement painted a picture of pastoral English village while Diana showed off her virtuosic skills in the demanding last bars of the concerto after a more quiet contrasting episode. Brilliant stuff.
While Vaughan Williams' music convinced me with its lyrical lines, CPE Bach's bored me. The rhythmic drive in outer movements of his A minor cello concerto got tired after a little while and I'm not really convinced with the Andante. Timo's virtuosic skills provided some entertainment in the outer movements, but this concerto is definitely not the best of this genre. I was also disappointed with the lack of harpsichord sound - a must have for me to fully enjoy Baroque compositions.
Matthew Hindson wrote a very challenging double bass solo in his Crime and Punishment. Showing off his talent, Maxime Bibeau impressed the audience by a large array of mad skills - fast pizzicatos (with syncopated rhythms!), tapping the finger boards, and playing beautiful melodies with his double bass. The piece itself while interesting, suffered from thematic development. It has several beautiful cadences which could be developed much further, rather than repeated 3-4 times and then discarded.
The major disappointment of the concert for me is Britten's Lachrymae. I might know the reason..I was bored waiting for big virtuoso fireworks from this performance which never came - as it was written as a 'Reflections on a song of Dowland'. I guess I was eaten by the marketing scheme, huh? Put it simply, I was not in the right mind set anticipating this piece. Stupid me, realising it only now, while I should've changed my mindset in the middle of performance.
Last piece of the concert is Bach's C minor concerto for oboe and violin - a crowd pleaser. Familiar melodies with beautiful Adagio instantly won the audience's heart. Not mine, though - I'm still disappointed with the lack of harpsichord sound. Helena and Diana played wonderfully.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 16 November 2009 - Beethoven 4
Featuring:
- Brett Dean Testament
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4
- Beethoven Symphony No. 4
Dejan Lazic - Piano
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director and Lead Violin
This was a Beethoven-flavoured concert, with 2 major Beethoven pieces and a piece by Brett Dean who was inspired by Beethoven's Heiligenstadt Testament. The piece - Testament - started off with unison strings playing what was described as 'sound losing grip' in the program. This was emphasised by similar idea in the woodwinds. The piece was really slow in the beginning and I lost interest as the music progressed. It doesn't help that I'm not familiar with any Beethoven's String Quartet, and therefore couldn't notice where Brett Dean quoted the slow movement of Op. 59 No. 1 in this piece. I can't honestly say I was impressed with the music. However, the problem might not be with the music; I was a bit tired that day and my concentration was wobbly that day. The finale was much better, although again, the piece in general didn't have any strong impression on me.
Dejan Lazic gave a very refreshing performance of Beethoven's 4th piano concerto. Although the opening did not convince me, due to Dejan did not play the full note value of the opening chords, he compensated it with a few interesting things. The most notable aspect is he played his own cadenza (which I confirmed when I talked to him after the concert). The cadenza is a unique blend of Chopin, Rachmaninov, Scarlatti, and possibly a bit of Beethoven himself (Dejan told me that Busoni is one of the composer in the mix). The other notable aspect is the use of rubato, and the playing of a high degree of freedom in the tempo. He would slow down the tempo in a beautiful cadence, only to do an accelerando in the following phrases. His phrasings are delicate, while the ever present bass line provides the overall balance. The ACO accompanied Dejan's freedom of tempo dutifully, and overall provided a wonderful accompaniment throughout. ACO really shone in the second movement - a small chamber orchestra producing big sfz and accented notes effortlessly. While Dejan's playing in this movement is fine, it did not manage to move me as much as other recordings that I know of. The third movement rises out from the depths of hell in second movement into the exuberance of joy. I loved the balance of the counter melodies of violas and cellos against the violins in the opening of this finale. Again, Dejan played his own cadenza in this movement in the style as far removed as from Beethoven's own cadenza. The coda was exciting and played prestissimo to a thunderous applause. After several curtain calls, Dejan gave an encore - a rather fast Chopin's Minute Waltz. Not my favourite rendition, but I won't complain when a soloist gave an encore in the concert.
One more note about Dejan. I noticed he's very much down-earthed guy when signing autographs for the audiences. Every time an audience came up and praised him for a wonderful performance, he would bow down deeply to express his gratitude. Also, he stood up all the time during his interactions with the audience although he could have easily sat down.
The final piece of the concert is Beethoven's much neglected 4th symphony. This, along with the 8th symphony, are my favourite Beethoven symphonies. I'm not saying that they are the greatest piece of music that Beethoven wrote, but I just feel extremely happy when listening to both of them. I commend ACO to have the balls to program this underrated symphony. At first, I was a bit skeptical on how ACO can successfully play this piece with only small number of double basses (only 2). Could they possibly sustain this piece? Turns out that they can, and coupled that with beautiful playings of every sections of the orchestra (esp. the woodwinds!), you'll get a knock out performance. Richard's choice of tempo is on the fast side (as usual for his Beethoven), and it works out really well with the energy that ACO put for this performance. I still can't get over the way Richard conducted with his bow though. The audience seemed to love the performance, and it's a good advertisement for this much neglected symphony. Thumbs up for programming this ACO!
- Brett Dean Testament
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4
- Beethoven Symphony No. 4
Dejan Lazic - Piano
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director and Lead Violin
This was a Beethoven-flavoured concert, with 2 major Beethoven pieces and a piece by Brett Dean who was inspired by Beethoven's Heiligenstadt Testament. The piece - Testament - started off with unison strings playing what was described as 'sound losing grip' in the program. This was emphasised by similar idea in the woodwinds. The piece was really slow in the beginning and I lost interest as the music progressed. It doesn't help that I'm not familiar with any Beethoven's String Quartet, and therefore couldn't notice where Brett Dean quoted the slow movement of Op. 59 No. 1 in this piece. I can't honestly say I was impressed with the music. However, the problem might not be with the music; I was a bit tired that day and my concentration was wobbly that day. The finale was much better, although again, the piece in general didn't have any strong impression on me.
Dejan Lazic gave a very refreshing performance of Beethoven's 4th piano concerto. Although the opening did not convince me, due to Dejan did not play the full note value of the opening chords, he compensated it with a few interesting things. The most notable aspect is he played his own cadenza (which I confirmed when I talked to him after the concert). The cadenza is a unique blend of Chopin, Rachmaninov, Scarlatti, and possibly a bit of Beethoven himself (Dejan told me that Busoni is one of the composer in the mix). The other notable aspect is the use of rubato, and the playing of a high degree of freedom in the tempo. He would slow down the tempo in a beautiful cadence, only to do an accelerando in the following phrases. His phrasings are delicate, while the ever present bass line provides the overall balance. The ACO accompanied Dejan's freedom of tempo dutifully, and overall provided a wonderful accompaniment throughout. ACO really shone in the second movement - a small chamber orchestra producing big sfz and accented notes effortlessly. While Dejan's playing in this movement is fine, it did not manage to move me as much as other recordings that I know of. The third movement rises out from the depths of hell in second movement into the exuberance of joy. I loved the balance of the counter melodies of violas and cellos against the violins in the opening of this finale. Again, Dejan played his own cadenza in this movement in the style as far removed as from Beethoven's own cadenza. The coda was exciting and played prestissimo to a thunderous applause. After several curtain calls, Dejan gave an encore - a rather fast Chopin's Minute Waltz. Not my favourite rendition, but I won't complain when a soloist gave an encore in the concert.
One more note about Dejan. I noticed he's very much down-earthed guy when signing autographs for the audiences. Every time an audience came up and praised him for a wonderful performance, he would bow down deeply to express his gratitude. Also, he stood up all the time during his interactions with the audience although he could have easily sat down.
The final piece of the concert is Beethoven's much neglected 4th symphony. This, along with the 8th symphony, are my favourite Beethoven symphonies. I'm not saying that they are the greatest piece of music that Beethoven wrote, but I just feel extremely happy when listening to both of them. I commend ACO to have the balls to program this underrated symphony. At first, I was a bit skeptical on how ACO can successfully play this piece with only small number of double basses (only 2). Could they possibly sustain this piece? Turns out that they can, and coupled that with beautiful playings of every sections of the orchestra (esp. the woodwinds!), you'll get a knock out performance. Richard's choice of tempo is on the fast side (as usual for his Beethoven), and it works out really well with the energy that ACO put for this performance. I still can't get over the way Richard conducted with his bow though. The audience seemed to love the performance, and it's a good advertisement for this much neglected symphony. Thumbs up for programming this ACO!
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 25 October 2009 - The Girl with Golden Flute
Featuring:
- Handel Concerto Gross, Op. 6 No. 7
- Peteris Vasks Vox amoris: Fantasy for violin and strings - World Premiere
- Carl Vine Pipe Dreams
- Jose Serebrier Flute Concerto - World Premiere
- Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings
Sharon Bezaly - Flute
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director and Lead Violin
Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings was the reason I looked forward to this concert. This little gem has a particular charm of it that I can't resist. ACO's trademark sound worked well and it's always nice to hear the counterpoints and accompanying melodies clearly in this melodic driven piece. The players seemed to enjoy themselves while playing this, I caught a few smiles here and there during a delightful passage.
Another high point of the concert is Peteris Vasks' Vox Amoris. Richard Tognetti's solo violin was at the highest intensity and soared above the orchestra. The performance was even more heartfelt with a beautiful writing by Vasks. While the technical demand was enormous for the solo violin in both cadenzas, Vasks avoid turning this piece to a virtuoso showpiece by carefully injecting a gorgeous cantabile melody in the end. The composer who was present, took a couple of deserved bows from an enthusiastic audience.
The rest of the programs were a bit of a let down in one way or another. While Handel's Concerto Grosso contain some fine passages, the piece itself is not that eventful. The biggest let down for me was the performance of the two flute pieces by Sharon Bezaly. Both pieces failed to catch my attention and left me cold. I wasn't sure why, maybe I paid too much attention to the flautist herself. I do not have any idea on how to play a flute, and failed to see her virtuosity in both pieces. Sure, there are long passages with plenty of running semiquavers, and they're executed brilliantly, but I have some reservations with the tone of the flute. I was expecting a clear, sharp articulation but most of the time I was troubled by a muffled tone from the soloist. It also doesn't help when the orchestra overwhelms it. I was impressed however, at one point, Bezaly could hold a particular note for a seemingly long time (due to circular breathing, I presume). And for what it's worth, I was more impressed with Bezaly's performance during the slower section where I can appreciate the 'warmth' tone of her flute. Due to all of the factors above, I couldn't say that I enjoyed this concert very much.
- Handel Concerto Gross, Op. 6 No. 7
- Peteris Vasks Vox amoris: Fantasy for violin and strings - World Premiere
- Carl Vine Pipe Dreams
- Jose Serebrier Flute Concerto - World Premiere
- Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings
Sharon Bezaly - Flute
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director and Lead Violin
Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings was the reason I looked forward to this concert. This little gem has a particular charm of it that I can't resist. ACO's trademark sound worked well and it's always nice to hear the counterpoints and accompanying melodies clearly in this melodic driven piece. The players seemed to enjoy themselves while playing this, I caught a few smiles here and there during a delightful passage.
Another high point of the concert is Peteris Vasks' Vox Amoris. Richard Tognetti's solo violin was at the highest intensity and soared above the orchestra. The performance was even more heartfelt with a beautiful writing by Vasks. While the technical demand was enormous for the solo violin in both cadenzas, Vasks avoid turning this piece to a virtuoso showpiece by carefully injecting a gorgeous cantabile melody in the end. The composer who was present, took a couple of deserved bows from an enthusiastic audience.
The rest of the programs were a bit of a let down in one way or another. While Handel's Concerto Grosso contain some fine passages, the piece itself is not that eventful. The biggest let down for me was the performance of the two flute pieces by Sharon Bezaly. Both pieces failed to catch my attention and left me cold. I wasn't sure why, maybe I paid too much attention to the flautist herself. I do not have any idea on how to play a flute, and failed to see her virtuosity in both pieces. Sure, there are long passages with plenty of running semiquavers, and they're executed brilliantly, but I have some reservations with the tone of the flute. I was expecting a clear, sharp articulation but most of the time I was troubled by a muffled tone from the soloist. It also doesn't help when the orchestra overwhelms it. I was impressed however, at one point, Bezaly could hold a particular note for a seemingly long time (due to circular breathing, I presume). And for what it's worth, I was more impressed with Bezaly's performance during the slower section where I can appreciate the 'warmth' tone of her flute. Due to all of the factors above, I couldn't say that I enjoyed this concert very much.
Monday, 14 September 2009
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 13 September 2009 - Marwood, Mozart & Mendelssohn
Featuring:
- Mozart Serenata notturna, K. 239
- John Kinsella Prelude and Toccata - Australian Premiere
- Mendelssohn Sinfonia No. 12 in G minor
- Carl Vine XX
- Schumann Cello concerto (arr. as Violin Concerto by Orlando Jopling) - Australian Premiere
- Osvaldo Golijov - Last Round (first movement)
In contrast to the MSO concert which I was very much looking forward to yesterday, this ACO concert is at the bottom of my excitement list out of ACO concerts this season. There are several reasons to this: (1) I don't know any of the music advertised apart from Schumann's Cello concerto - which is not my favourite cello concerto. (2) Compositions by young Mozart and Mendelssohn are usually, simply put, boring. (3) I have never heard about Kinsella. (4) Schumann Cello Concerto transcribed as Violin Concerto for some reason, doesn't appeal much to me. Despite all of these reasons, this concert proved that I was a fool to prejudge music before listening to them and I enjoyed this concert immensely. Add to that, ACO actually played 2 more programs (Carl Vine's and Golijov's pieces) than the advertised program in the season brochure. Good on them!
Mozart's youth work, Serenata notturna, K. 239 opened up the concert. From the bouncy opening rhythms, quite similar to his 4th Violin Concerto I should point out, this piece delights the audience by its playful main theme which comes back several times in the first movement. Scored for strings and timpani, it's very captivating to listen to the timpani sound contrasted against the rest of the strings. Particularly striking is the timpani solo played on top of pizzicato strings. While the 2nd movement is charming with a lovely trio for string quartet accompanied by the rest of the orchestra, I'm sure the audience will remember the last movement the most. The main theme, which was stated a couple of times in this Rondo movement, is followed by several dramatic pauses, in which the leader of each section would improvise playing musical jokes on their own or play little duets, trios, or even quartets amongst them. My favourites are the double bass and the timpani improvisations. The good thing about these improvisations is that most audience understand that they're supposed to be jokes, and gave a few chuckles after each improvisation.
After the playful and light-hearted Mozart, we're treated with John Kinsella's Prelude and Toccata. A much more serious tone piece, I was really impressed with the Toccata section in which seemingly endless ostinato passages full of running semiquavers are played with extreme contrast of each other, sometimes pianissimo, other times fortissimo. This piece certainly requires a considerable virtuosity from every orchestra players and ACO nailed every fugal-like entry to perfection. The big question mark of unresolved chord that ended the piece is the only bar of music that I don't really like from this piece.
Probably the weakest performance of this concert is of Mendelssohn's String Symphony No. 12. I'm not really fond of the fugue in the first movement of the piece, but I enjoyed the 2nd movement immensely due to the creative writing of a solo viola and cello playing a counter melody against the main theme of the movement played by the rest of the strings. The final movement is fast paced, ending with breakneck speed in the coda and the work ended with the same 3 notes of the first movement of Mozart's 40th Symphony, which is written in the same key (a tribute from Mendelssohn?)
Carl Vine's XX (pronounced eiks-eiks) is a piece written for a solo violin and strings. Marwood stepped in as the solo violin, playing a short passage, echoed by the orchestra, another passage (more complex this time), another echo, and yet another passage (and even more complex) and echo. After that, the solo violin plays a rhapsody-like passage on top of the orchestra accompaniment before it joins back with the orchestra playing unison. Rhythmic is an accurate word to describe this piece and there's even a passage so similar to the opening of Stravinsky's march in the Rite of Spring (right after the introduction). You can watch an ABC short news about this piece here. The Stravinsky bit that I was referring to is played by the orchestra at 01:45 mark. As you can gather from the ABC feature, Carl Vine meant this piece to be a tongue-in-cheek piece, and the end of this piece is a rather unexpected musical joke.
The advertised heart of this concert is Schumann's Cello Concerto arranged as Violin Concerto and reduced set of instruments (no woodwinds or brass). Marwood played the solo part beautifully without going too overly sentimental. I loved the duets between the violin solo and the principal cello in the second movement, while at the same time feeling slightly awkward with woodwind melodies played by the strings. In the finale, Marwood's gorgeous playing and tone really enhanced the enjoyment of those highly lyrical passages. Murray Black wrote a very good review on this in The Australian.
Finally, the audience was served with the first movement of Golijov's Last Round. The marking of this Argentinian composer is an interesting one: Movido, urgente: Macho, cool and dangerous in the program notes. The whole work is based on this simple theme, which was varied with different rhythm, tempo, texture, and colour. As a musical portrayal of a wild tango, ACO attacked this music in a similar fashion with plenty of energy without losing their focus. A great performance to end the concert.
Summing up, I enjoyed this concert very much. ACO's wonderful programming really shone through here with audience being lead away from their comfort zone to try listening to some more challenging works. This would probably convince me enough to renew my subscription next year.
- Mozart Serenata notturna, K. 239
- John Kinsella Prelude and Toccata - Australian Premiere
- Mendelssohn Sinfonia No. 12 in G minor
- Carl Vine XX
- Schumann Cello concerto (arr. as Violin Concerto by Orlando Jopling) - Australian Premiere
- Osvaldo Golijov - Last Round (first movement)
In contrast to the MSO concert which I was very much looking forward to yesterday, this ACO concert is at the bottom of my excitement list out of ACO concerts this season. There are several reasons to this: (1) I don't know any of the music advertised apart from Schumann's Cello concerto - which is not my favourite cello concerto. (2) Compositions by young Mozart and Mendelssohn are usually, simply put, boring. (3) I have never heard about Kinsella. (4) Schumann Cello Concerto transcribed as Violin Concerto for some reason, doesn't appeal much to me. Despite all of these reasons, this concert proved that I was a fool to prejudge music before listening to them and I enjoyed this concert immensely. Add to that, ACO actually played 2 more programs (Carl Vine's and Golijov's pieces) than the advertised program in the season brochure. Good on them!
Mozart's youth work, Serenata notturna, K. 239 opened up the concert. From the bouncy opening rhythms, quite similar to his 4th Violin Concerto I should point out, this piece delights the audience by its playful main theme which comes back several times in the first movement. Scored for strings and timpani, it's very captivating to listen to the timpani sound contrasted against the rest of the strings. Particularly striking is the timpani solo played on top of pizzicato strings. While the 2nd movement is charming with a lovely trio for string quartet accompanied by the rest of the orchestra, I'm sure the audience will remember the last movement the most. The main theme, which was stated a couple of times in this Rondo movement, is followed by several dramatic pauses, in which the leader of each section would improvise playing musical jokes on their own or play little duets, trios, or even quartets amongst them. My favourites are the double bass and the timpani improvisations. The good thing about these improvisations is that most audience understand that they're supposed to be jokes, and gave a few chuckles after each improvisation.
After the playful and light-hearted Mozart, we're treated with John Kinsella's Prelude and Toccata. A much more serious tone piece, I was really impressed with the Toccata section in which seemingly endless ostinato passages full of running semiquavers are played with extreme contrast of each other, sometimes pianissimo, other times fortissimo. This piece certainly requires a considerable virtuosity from every orchestra players and ACO nailed every fugal-like entry to perfection. The big question mark of unresolved chord that ended the piece is the only bar of music that I don't really like from this piece.
Probably the weakest performance of this concert is of Mendelssohn's String Symphony No. 12. I'm not really fond of the fugue in the first movement of the piece, but I enjoyed the 2nd movement immensely due to the creative writing of a solo viola and cello playing a counter melody against the main theme of the movement played by the rest of the strings. The final movement is fast paced, ending with breakneck speed in the coda and the work ended with the same 3 notes of the first movement of Mozart's 40th Symphony, which is written in the same key (a tribute from Mendelssohn?)
Carl Vine's XX (pronounced eiks-eiks) is a piece written for a solo violin and strings. Marwood stepped in as the solo violin, playing a short passage, echoed by the orchestra, another passage (more complex this time), another echo, and yet another passage (and even more complex) and echo. After that, the solo violin plays a rhapsody-like passage on top of the orchestra accompaniment before it joins back with the orchestra playing unison. Rhythmic is an accurate word to describe this piece and there's even a passage so similar to the opening of Stravinsky's march in the Rite of Spring (right after the introduction). You can watch an ABC short news about this piece here. The Stravinsky bit that I was referring to is played by the orchestra at 01:45 mark. As you can gather from the ABC feature, Carl Vine meant this piece to be a tongue-in-cheek piece, and the end of this piece is a rather unexpected musical joke.
The advertised heart of this concert is Schumann's Cello Concerto arranged as Violin Concerto and reduced set of instruments (no woodwinds or brass). Marwood played the solo part beautifully without going too overly sentimental. I loved the duets between the violin solo and the principal cello in the second movement, while at the same time feeling slightly awkward with woodwind melodies played by the strings. In the finale, Marwood's gorgeous playing and tone really enhanced the enjoyment of those highly lyrical passages. Murray Black wrote a very good review on this in The Australian.
Finally, the audience was served with the first movement of Golijov's Last Round. The marking of this Argentinian composer is an interesting one: Movido, urgente: Macho, cool and dangerous in the program notes. The whole work is based on this simple theme, which was varied with different rhythm, tempo, texture, and colour. As a musical portrayal of a wild tango, ACO attacked this music in a similar fashion with plenty of energy without losing their focus. A great performance to end the concert.
Summing up, I enjoyed this concert very much. ACO's wonderful programming really shone through here with audience being lead away from their comfort zone to try listening to some more challenging works. This would probably convince me enough to renew my subscription next year.
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 9 August 2009 - Resonance
Featuring:
- Peter Sculthorpe Chaconne - World Premiere
- Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis
- Bartok Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
- Xenakis Shaar
- Richard Strauss Metamorphosen
I guess the only major orchestra in Australia that can get away with this challenging programs and still guaranteed a pretty much almost full-house is ACO. If MSO would have programmed this, I'm quite sure the hall will be maximum half full.
The concert began with Sculthorpe's Chaconne. It's written for string orchestra with a prominent violin solo played by Richard Tognetti. Throughout the piece, the strings provided ostinato accompaniment, while the solo violin floats on top, playing the melody line. Tognetti's tone was gorgeous, but sounded dynamically a tad weak. Bach's influence is quite obvious here, but it will perhaps be a blemish to compare this piece with the Chaconne from the D minor Partita.
ACO's settings is a bit unusual for the next piece, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis. A small group of string players (6-7 players) was located slightly further at the back from the audience, providing an echo effect to the main group. I'm not familiar with this piece, but this piece is so beautiful that you just can't help liking it. The title of this concert can be used to describe ACO strings here, they're just so resonant. I very much enjoyed the little duet between the viola and violin towards the end of the piece. Magnificent and heartfelt performance.
Bartok's piece also requires unusual orchestral settings. One half of strings with violins and violas (located slightly at the back) faces the other half with cellos and basses bridge between them in the middle. Celesta, Piano and other percussions are further back. Fugue is the musical form in the first movement, which I enjoyed a lot. The second movement is a banal rhythmic section - not unlike Stravinksy's Rite of Spring. Also, IIRC, the cymbals made a very interesting noise here: instead of clashing one cymbal to the other, the percussionist scratch them. I wasn't too impressed with the third movement which has been described as 'Night Music'. Folk music started the last movement. Another thing that captured my attention is that the celestist (is that the correct term for a celesta player?) went over to the piano and played 4 hand passages with the pianist, before going back to the celesta. Overall, I don't think I enjoyed this piece as much as I would like, as it is one hell of complicated music that would benefit from repeated listening. I'll listen to it again when I have time.
One small grudge here: In the first half of the concert, I sat behind a tall guy which directly obstructs my eyesight to the center of the stage. If you haven't experienced this before, let me tell you: it's not pleasant. I really feel disadvantage of this during Bartok's complicated music, where interesting music comes out of a wide variety of instruments which I can't see because of this obstruction. I think my enjoyment of complicated music with awkward rhythms and interesting noise requiring large orchestra is enhanced by clear sight of what's going on. My other experience listening to comparably (or perhaps even more!) complex music was when I attended a concert with Schoenberg's Variations for Orchestra in the program. I can honestly say that if I listen to that piece from a recording, I would not have enjoyed it at all. However, due to the clear sight and knowledge of what's going on in the music, I enjoyed that performance the most out of the concert that featured Mozart's D minor Concerto and Ravel's Bolero. Knowing ahead that I was going to be in another music challenge with Xenakis, I changed seat in second half.
Xenakis' Shaar ('gate') did not disappoint, I actually loved it! People that hate dissonance sound would loathe this music because it's full of dissonances from beginning to the end. The strings started with glissandi, producing a siren-like sound. Very very interesting. Another interesting thing is the contrast between wonderful noises made throughout the piece. The effect of the climax in the final movement was enhanced by sharp attack from the orchestra.
Finally, Strauss' Metamorphosen finishes the concert. I can't say I was impressed by it, and to be honest, it sounded like a cheap Mahler (I'm sorry Richard Strauss!). In this case, I actually agree with Richard Strauss who famously said "I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer!". Anyway, I intend to discover Strauss' music more in the future, and I'm pretty sure I'll come across it again (and hopefully changed my opinion of it). The quote of Beethoven's funeral march from the Eroica symphony is pretty clear in the end, but as I did not enjoy and understand the work, it made no sense at all to me.
Summing up, this ACO concert is a mixed-bag for me. Vaughan Williams' and Xenakis' piece were probably the gems; I should re-listen to Bartok and Strauss music. And yes, I haven't forgotten Sculthorpe: I hope I can listen to it again.
- Peter Sculthorpe Chaconne - World Premiere
- Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis
- Bartok Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
- Xenakis Shaar
- Richard Strauss Metamorphosen
I guess the only major orchestra in Australia that can get away with this challenging programs and still guaranteed a pretty much almost full-house is ACO. If MSO would have programmed this, I'm quite sure the hall will be maximum half full.
The concert began with Sculthorpe's Chaconne. It's written for string orchestra with a prominent violin solo played by Richard Tognetti. Throughout the piece, the strings provided ostinato accompaniment, while the solo violin floats on top, playing the melody line. Tognetti's tone was gorgeous, but sounded dynamically a tad weak. Bach's influence is quite obvious here, but it will perhaps be a blemish to compare this piece with the Chaconne from the D minor Partita.
ACO's settings is a bit unusual for the next piece, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis. A small group of string players (6-7 players) was located slightly further at the back from the audience, providing an echo effect to the main group. I'm not familiar with this piece, but this piece is so beautiful that you just can't help liking it. The title of this concert can be used to describe ACO strings here, they're just so resonant. I very much enjoyed the little duet between the viola and violin towards the end of the piece. Magnificent and heartfelt performance.
Bartok's piece also requires unusual orchestral settings. One half of strings with violins and violas (located slightly at the back) faces the other half with cellos and basses bridge between them in the middle. Celesta, Piano and other percussions are further back. Fugue is the musical form in the first movement, which I enjoyed a lot. The second movement is a banal rhythmic section - not unlike Stravinksy's Rite of Spring. Also, IIRC, the cymbals made a very interesting noise here: instead of clashing one cymbal to the other, the percussionist scratch them. I wasn't too impressed with the third movement which has been described as 'Night Music'. Folk music started the last movement. Another thing that captured my attention is that the celestist (is that the correct term for a celesta player?) went over to the piano and played 4 hand passages with the pianist, before going back to the celesta. Overall, I don't think I enjoyed this piece as much as I would like, as it is one hell of complicated music that would benefit from repeated listening. I'll listen to it again when I have time.
One small grudge here: In the first half of the concert, I sat behind a tall guy which directly obstructs my eyesight to the center of the stage. If you haven't experienced this before, let me tell you: it's not pleasant. I really feel disadvantage of this during Bartok's complicated music, where interesting music comes out of a wide variety of instruments which I can't see because of this obstruction. I think my enjoyment of complicated music with awkward rhythms and interesting noise requiring large orchestra is enhanced by clear sight of what's going on. My other experience listening to comparably (or perhaps even more!) complex music was when I attended a concert with Schoenberg's Variations for Orchestra in the program. I can honestly say that if I listen to that piece from a recording, I would not have enjoyed it at all. However, due to the clear sight and knowledge of what's going on in the music, I enjoyed that performance the most out of the concert that featured Mozart's D minor Concerto and Ravel's Bolero. Knowing ahead that I was going to be in another music challenge with Xenakis, I changed seat in second half.
Xenakis' Shaar ('gate') did not disappoint, I actually loved it! People that hate dissonance sound would loathe this music because it's full of dissonances from beginning to the end. The strings started with glissandi, producing a siren-like sound. Very very interesting. Another interesting thing is the contrast between wonderful noises made throughout the piece. The effect of the climax in the final movement was enhanced by sharp attack from the orchestra.
Finally, Strauss' Metamorphosen finishes the concert. I can't say I was impressed by it, and to be honest, it sounded like a cheap Mahler (I'm sorry Richard Strauss!). In this case, I actually agree with Richard Strauss who famously said "I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer!". Anyway, I intend to discover Strauss' music more in the future, and I'm pretty sure I'll come across it again (and hopefully changed my opinion of it). The quote of Beethoven's funeral march from the Eroica symphony is pretty clear in the end, but as I did not enjoy and understand the work, it made no sense at all to me.
Summing up, this ACO concert is a mixed-bag for me. Vaughan Williams' and Xenakis' piece were probably the gems; I should re-listen to Bartok and Strauss music. And yes, I haven't forgotten Sculthorpe: I hope I can listen to it again.
Sunday, 14 June 2009
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 14 June 2009 - Great Romantics Tour
Featuring:
- Ian Munro Black is the Night World Premiere
- Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36
- Schoenberg Transfigured Night
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director & Lead Violin.
A 'dark' concert. That's what I would like to call this concert. Brilliant programming with unifying themes of dark night and love. Oh, and ACO is not really an orchestra for this concert: all programs are string sextets requiring only 2 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos for the whole program.
Ian Munro's Black is the Night is a piece based on the poem of the same name by Judith Wright. I have no idea who Judith Wright is, but based on the chattering of people around me, I gather that she's quite a well-known Australian poet. The composition and the poem are highly interesting. The poem described the grimness of the night, rising out from the bottom of the sea where it can't be reached by light. The bottom of the sea is so dark that the no-eye deep-sea fish stay still while bones of the departed humans will never reach there (my description of the poem might seem silly, but that's my best attempt to describe the poem without having to publish the poem itself here, of which I'm pretty sure have no permission to do so). The composition reflects on this poem: starting from the dark, work itself through the series of pizzicato (perhaps representing the sea which text is present in the poem?) before the main opening return backs in the end. IIRC, there are plenty of silence in the music, dramatising the absence of movement. I couldn't describe it more in detail due to memory lapse, but my initial impression of the piece was certainly a good one.
Also, I should probably note that I haven't listened to any of the pieces programmed today, and I am in no position to comment much on the style of string chamber music playing which to my regret is something that I am not familiar with yet. Someday, after discovering all of major symphonies by Bruckner and Shostakovich, I promise I'll pick myself up and explore the intimacy of chamber music.
Brahms' only chamber music that I know is his Clarinet Trio of which the second movement brought me down to tears during the live performance by Ensemble Liaison last year. His second string sextet, written in attempt to forget his ex-fiancee, impressed me in the beautiful opening movement with its lyrical melody. The next movement is a slow dance, but with a contrasting fast tempo in the trio section and ended with a brilliant coda. Brahms' adagios which usually delight me, somehow eluded me in this piece. It does not have the poignancy found in his clarinet trio, or his other orchestral works. The finale was spiced with plenty of uplifting tempo and ACO's characteristic sprightful attack combined with the energy created by the standing-up performance generated much pleasure. The visual effect of string players playing the fugal finale enhanced this fine performance.
As much as I love Brahms' music, I think the performance of Schoenberg's Verlkarte Nacht 'Transfigured Night' is the crown of the concert. While already hinting towards atonality, this piece is written in late-romantic style (not that different than Mahler's symphonies really). I even think the opening is very similar to the opening of Mahler 9 (which is written later). The mood of this piece varies from the frightful attacks into the tenderness of solo violin or cello in the space of just a couple of bars. It's a musical journey from despair (characterised with plenty of unresolved dissonances) to salvation (or forgiveness) which is the essence of the poem it based on. ACO's string sextet playing provides plenty of drama where it is necessary, but it's beautifully restraint on moments of tenderness, for example in the duet between first violin and first cello while the other strings provided subdued background support. In the end, the despairs present throughout the music seem to be transfigured away into hope (with those finally resolved dissonances) just as the cool eerie night has been transfigured into a finally unmistakable warm bright night of hope.
On a personal note, I sat next to two people who applauded enthusiastically after the performance of Verklarte Nacht. They are possibly the only people in the circle who shouted bravo in the circle seats. Anyway, when the applause finally died down, one of them commented something like (I didn't hear his comment properly) 'Melbourne's audience is not very enthusiastic in their applause' or something. I agree that the performance deserved a longer applause (and probably more 'Bravo'), but it's hard to give uplifting enthusiastic applause after such intense performance. Personally, I don't even want to listen to any music for one hour after the performance and prefer to be silent for a period of time after the performance.
In conclusion, another good concert from the ACO. I would probably commend them for avoiding over-the-top romantic playing of these intensely romantic pieces. Looking forward to their next performance in August.
- Ian Munro Black is the Night World Premiere
- Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36
- Schoenberg Transfigured Night
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director & Lead Violin.
A 'dark' concert. That's what I would like to call this concert. Brilliant programming with unifying themes of dark night and love. Oh, and ACO is not really an orchestra for this concert: all programs are string sextets requiring only 2 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos for the whole program.
Ian Munro's Black is the Night is a piece based on the poem of the same name by Judith Wright. I have no idea who Judith Wright is, but based on the chattering of people around me, I gather that she's quite a well-known Australian poet. The composition and the poem are highly interesting. The poem described the grimness of the night, rising out from the bottom of the sea where it can't be reached by light. The bottom of the sea is so dark that the no-eye deep-sea fish stay still while bones of the departed humans will never reach there (my description of the poem might seem silly, but that's my best attempt to describe the poem without having to publish the poem itself here, of which I'm pretty sure have no permission to do so). The composition reflects on this poem: starting from the dark, work itself through the series of pizzicato (perhaps representing the sea which text is present in the poem?) before the main opening return backs in the end. IIRC, there are plenty of silence in the music, dramatising the absence of movement. I couldn't describe it more in detail due to memory lapse, but my initial impression of the piece was certainly a good one.
Also, I should probably note that I haven't listened to any of the pieces programmed today, and I am in no position to comment much on the style of string chamber music playing which to my regret is something that I am not familiar with yet. Someday, after discovering all of major symphonies by Bruckner and Shostakovich, I promise I'll pick myself up and explore the intimacy of chamber music.
Brahms' only chamber music that I know is his Clarinet Trio of which the second movement brought me down to tears during the live performance by Ensemble Liaison last year. His second string sextet, written in attempt to forget his ex-fiancee, impressed me in the beautiful opening movement with its lyrical melody. The next movement is a slow dance, but with a contrasting fast tempo in the trio section and ended with a brilliant coda. Brahms' adagios which usually delight me, somehow eluded me in this piece. It does not have the poignancy found in his clarinet trio, or his other orchestral works. The finale was spiced with plenty of uplifting tempo and ACO's characteristic sprightful attack combined with the energy created by the standing-up performance generated much pleasure. The visual effect of string players playing the fugal finale enhanced this fine performance.
As much as I love Brahms' music, I think the performance of Schoenberg's Verlkarte Nacht 'Transfigured Night' is the crown of the concert. While already hinting towards atonality, this piece is written in late-romantic style (not that different than Mahler's symphonies really). I even think the opening is very similar to the opening of Mahler 9 (which is written later). The mood of this piece varies from the frightful attacks into the tenderness of solo violin or cello in the space of just a couple of bars. It's a musical journey from despair (characterised with plenty of unresolved dissonances) to salvation (or forgiveness) which is the essence of the poem it based on. ACO's string sextet playing provides plenty of drama where it is necessary, but it's beautifully restraint on moments of tenderness, for example in the duet between first violin and first cello while the other strings provided subdued background support. In the end, the despairs present throughout the music seem to be transfigured away into hope (with those finally resolved dissonances) just as the cool eerie night has been transfigured into a finally unmistakable warm bright night of hope.
On a personal note, I sat next to two people who applauded enthusiastically after the performance of Verklarte Nacht. They are possibly the only people in the circle who shouted bravo in the circle seats. Anyway, when the applause finally died down, one of them commented something like (I didn't hear his comment properly) 'Melbourne's audience is not very enthusiastic in their applause' or something. I agree that the performance deserved a longer applause (and probably more 'Bravo'), but it's hard to give uplifting enthusiastic applause after such intense performance. Personally, I don't even want to listen to any music for one hour after the performance and prefer to be silent for a period of time after the performance.
In conclusion, another good concert from the ACO. I would probably commend them for avoiding over-the-top romantic playing of these intensely romantic pieces. Looking forward to their next performance in August.
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 15 March 2009 - Inner Voices Tour
Featuring:
- Andrew Ford Bright Shiners World Premiere
- Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
- Sibelius String Quartet in D minor, Op. 56 'Voces Intimae' arr. Pekka Kuusisto
- Bach Violin Concerto in E major
- Timo Alakotila Sketches from Folkscenes World Premiere
Pekka Kuusisto - Guest Director, Lead Violinist.
A very interesting concert, mixing the old and new music with Sibelius at the core of the program. Andrew Ford's music is a very interesting one, starting with the lead violinist played some theme only to be followed by the other strings one by one until the whole strings seemed to be playing by their own. They kept doing that until the second theme enters, where the strings behaved much more orderly and it ended with the same three notes as the opening of the third Brandenburg Concerto. The mysterious sound is now swept by Bach's masterful concerto which was gorgeously played, albeit a little bit subdued. Flowing melodious performance without any huge exaggeration. The mysterious adagio was played by the harmonium, and then the music launched itself again to the joyful, upbeat third movement. Nice satisfying performance.
The heart of the concert is the performance of Sibelius' String Quartet in D minor, arranged by Pekka Kuusisto. It started with the duet between the violin and the cello, followed by a highly exciting tremolo passages in the 2nd movement and to be slowed by the broad Adagio di molto, where the music sounds like Sibelius expressing his inner voices. Very moving and highly satisfying, especially during the last few bars of the movement. The quiet chords where Sibelius wrote 'Voces Intimae' has a strange effect. The energetic 4th and very fast 5th movements were all brilliant. A very good piece.
Bach's E major Violin Concerto followed after the interval, and again, it was played in a similar manner as the Brandenburg. The sound is not overwhelming, nothing over the top, the soloist did not sound remotely romantic, all to the good cause of the music. Pekka actually played the music rather freely, as can be seen with his gesture during the piece where sometimes he just turned his body around, lowered his violin when playing some passages and smile to other members of the orchestra.
The last piece was a Finn folk music, good upbeat outer movements with some aggressive playing from the cello and bass. The second movement was a slow wedding march providing a nice contrast to the outer movements.
As if I have not had enough Finnish music for the last 24 hours, we were given a Finn folk music by the orchestra as the encore. Very singable tune, I can still hum to the tune 15 minutes after the performance until my short term memory was wiped out.
Good number of audience, I guess it might have been 90% full in the Circle and Stall sections. Next concert: Bach's St. John Passion - next week!
- Andrew Ford Bright Shiners World Premiere
- Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
- Sibelius String Quartet in D minor, Op. 56 'Voces Intimae' arr. Pekka Kuusisto
- Bach Violin Concerto in E major
- Timo Alakotila Sketches from Folkscenes World Premiere
Pekka Kuusisto - Guest Director, Lead Violinist.
A very interesting concert, mixing the old and new music with Sibelius at the core of the program. Andrew Ford's music is a very interesting one, starting with the lead violinist played some theme only to be followed by the other strings one by one until the whole strings seemed to be playing by their own. They kept doing that until the second theme enters, where the strings behaved much more orderly and it ended with the same three notes as the opening of the third Brandenburg Concerto. The mysterious sound is now swept by Bach's masterful concerto which was gorgeously played, albeit a little bit subdued. Flowing melodious performance without any huge exaggeration. The mysterious adagio was played by the harmonium, and then the music launched itself again to the joyful, upbeat third movement. Nice satisfying performance.
The heart of the concert is the performance of Sibelius' String Quartet in D minor, arranged by Pekka Kuusisto. It started with the duet between the violin and the cello, followed by a highly exciting tremolo passages in the 2nd movement and to be slowed by the broad Adagio di molto, where the music sounds like Sibelius expressing his inner voices. Very moving and highly satisfying, especially during the last few bars of the movement. The quiet chords where Sibelius wrote 'Voces Intimae' has a strange effect. The energetic 4th and very fast 5th movements were all brilliant. A very good piece.
Bach's E major Violin Concerto followed after the interval, and again, it was played in a similar manner as the Brandenburg. The sound is not overwhelming, nothing over the top, the soloist did not sound remotely romantic, all to the good cause of the music. Pekka actually played the music rather freely, as can be seen with his gesture during the piece where sometimes he just turned his body around, lowered his violin when playing some passages and smile to other members of the orchestra.
The last piece was a Finn folk music, good upbeat outer movements with some aggressive playing from the cello and bass. The second movement was a slow wedding march providing a nice contrast to the outer movements.
As if I have not had enough Finnish music for the last 24 hours, we were given a Finn folk music by the orchestra as the encore. Very singable tune, I can still hum to the tune 15 minutes after the performance until my short term memory was wiped out.
Good number of audience, I guess it might have been 90% full in the Circle and Stall sections. Next concert: Bach's St. John Passion - next week!
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 10 November 2008 - Euphoric Tour
Featuring:
- Prokofiev - Symphony No. 1 in D major, 'Classical'
- Brahms - Double Concerto for violin and cello
- Beethoven - Symphony No. 8 in F major
My first ACO concert. My first time purchasing student ticket - $18.00 (very cheap!). Got a seat high up in the balcony. This will be the last time I sat at the balcony in Hamer Hall, I just couldn't stand looking down at a very sharp angle for a long long time. I was quite lucky that I still able to see the lead violinist - if I were to be seated a couple more seats up, seeing the soloists would be impossible.
Prokofiev's classical symphony is a very fine music - 'witty' is the adjective that I use to describe this symphony. All movements were very much enjoyable with the last two movements pleased me the most. Surely it's time to check out Prokofiev's other symphonies?
Brahms Double Concerto was a little bit disappointing. Did not really enjoy the performance and I even thought the musical lines were muddy at times. Not even the lovely theme of the Andante engaged me in the performance. The finale fared much better, but as a whole, the performance did not satisfy me as much as the legendary Rostropovich, Oistrakh and Szell recording on EMI. We were given a small piece as an encore, I couldn't really recall what the piece was, but it was a duet between violin and cello, both of them playing pizzicato throughout.
Beethoven 8 was the highlight of the night. Although it's not as famous as the big Beethoven symphonies (think of the Third (Eroica), Fifth, Sixth (Pastorale), Seventh and Ninth), this is the only symphony of Beethoven that never failed to made me grin from the beginning till the end. The whole symphony is just pure fun! Listen to the big opening movement, the playful scherzo of the second movement, the minuet and the fantastic trio of the third movement and the musical jokes in the final movement! The performance was very fine throughout - the fast tempo taken definitely helped as well. The playing of the timpanist was really fine in the final passages of the last movement and it was very exciting to watch him hitting the kettledrums!
After Beethoven 8, Richard Tognetti gave a small 'speech' about the future closure of ANAM at the end of this year. At the end of his speech, he suddenly announced that students from ANAM will join the ACO to give the audience two encores: Tchaikovsky's Waltz of Flower from the Nutcracker and Sibelius' 'Scene with Cranes' suite from the tone poem from Kuolema.
I am one out of the many people who is very disappointed with the federal government decision to stop funding Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), effectively closing it down at the end of this year. I've attended several concerts of ANAM students in South Melbourne Town Hall and have enjoyed immensely some of the programs offered. Particularly fond in my memory are the gorgeous performance of Mozart's Wind Quintet K. 452 and Sonata for Two Pianos K. 448. Also, a very memorable night of Schubert's concert by Emmanuel Ax who was invited to give masterclass in the academy. I urge everyone to sign the online petition to stop government from closing the academy which can be found in ANAM website.
- Prokofiev - Symphony No. 1 in D major, 'Classical'
- Brahms - Double Concerto for violin and cello
- Beethoven - Symphony No. 8 in F major
My first ACO concert. My first time purchasing student ticket - $18.00 (very cheap!). Got a seat high up in the balcony. This will be the last time I sat at the balcony in Hamer Hall, I just couldn't stand looking down at a very sharp angle for a long long time. I was quite lucky that I still able to see the lead violinist - if I were to be seated a couple more seats up, seeing the soloists would be impossible.
Prokofiev's classical symphony is a very fine music - 'witty' is the adjective that I use to describe this symphony. All movements were very much enjoyable with the last two movements pleased me the most. Surely it's time to check out Prokofiev's other symphonies?
Brahms Double Concerto was a little bit disappointing. Did not really enjoy the performance and I even thought the musical lines were muddy at times. Not even the lovely theme of the Andante engaged me in the performance. The finale fared much better, but as a whole, the performance did not satisfy me as much as the legendary Rostropovich, Oistrakh and Szell recording on EMI. We were given a small piece as an encore, I couldn't really recall what the piece was, but it was a duet between violin and cello, both of them playing pizzicato throughout.
Beethoven 8 was the highlight of the night. Although it's not as famous as the big Beethoven symphonies (think of the Third (Eroica), Fifth, Sixth (Pastorale), Seventh and Ninth), this is the only symphony of Beethoven that never failed to made me grin from the beginning till the end. The whole symphony is just pure fun! Listen to the big opening movement, the playful scherzo of the second movement, the minuet and the fantastic trio of the third movement and the musical jokes in the final movement! The performance was very fine throughout - the fast tempo taken definitely helped as well. The playing of the timpanist was really fine in the final passages of the last movement and it was very exciting to watch him hitting the kettledrums!
After Beethoven 8, Richard Tognetti gave a small 'speech' about the future closure of ANAM at the end of this year. At the end of his speech, he suddenly announced that students from ANAM will join the ACO to give the audience two encores: Tchaikovsky's Waltz of Flower from the Nutcracker and Sibelius' 'Scene with Cranes' suite from the tone poem from Kuolema.
I am one out of the many people who is very disappointed with the federal government decision to stop funding Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), effectively closing it down at the end of this year. I've attended several concerts of ANAM students in South Melbourne Town Hall and have enjoyed immensely some of the programs offered. Particularly fond in my memory are the gorgeous performance of Mozart's Wind Quintet K. 452 and Sonata for Two Pianos K. 448. Also, a very memorable night of Schubert's concert by Emmanuel Ax who was invited to give masterclass in the academy. I urge everyone to sign the online petition to stop government from closing the academy which can be found in ANAM website.
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