Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto - AWESOME! It's so witty, it's so Prokofiev. The coda of the last movement is like a never ending ecstasy. The relentless strings against the piano - very exciting!
Schubert's D. 958 (Piano Sonata #19), D. 959 (Piano Sonata #20), and D. 944 (Symphony No. 9). Schubert is moving up fast in my playlist. He wrote music with such purity and brilliance, I cannot fail to stand in awe when listening to his music. The slow movements of both D. 958 and D. 959 can bring me down anytime, while the slow movement of D. 944 stuck in my head for hours when I first time listened to it. I am never and will never be tired when listening to his masterpieces. They're just timeless.
Berlioz's Harold in Italy - after several listening, I begin to like this piece very much. It's like Symphony Fantastique, but just a tad less fantastic. It's still great anyway.
Mahler's 9th symphony - a tough one to crack, just like the rest of Mahler. But as usual, the reward of being persistent listening to it is very high! I can't say I understand the symphony perfectly - who ever does? - but if you're not carried away in the climax of the finale where basically it seems like Mahler himself is finally saying his last goodbye to the world in a very neurotic fashion, something is seriously wrong with you.
Bach's Goldberg Variations - what a piece! I bought Pinnock's recording of it on the harpsichord. Wonderful recording and playing. I've also listened to Gould's 81 recording in Youtube. Vastly different interpretation and sound (piano vs. harpsichord), but they're both very enjoyable. The minor key variations are something special, the canons are amazing. And what an effect that Aria has when it is played again in the end! It's like telling the listener, you have arrived at the end of the journey, sit back and relax, reminisce about the journeys you just took while not forgetting where you start your journey from. Glorious piece!
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert 27 February 2009 - Figaro, Franckly
Featuring:
- Mozart The Marriage of Figaro: Overture
- Villa-Lobos Concerto for guitar and small orchestra
- Franck Symphony in D minor
Edoardo Catemario - Guitar
Oleg Caetani - Conductor
New year, new season concert. Before this opening concert, MSO played 4 free concerts in Sidney Myer Music Bowl. They're all marvelous, the highlight for me is the playing of Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto, Gershwin Piano Concerto, Schubert's 9th Symphony, Rodrigo's Concerto de Aranjuez, and the most-remarkable concert of Beethoven's 9th symphony where almost all of the audience gave a standing ovation to.
One thing that is always to be grateful to when attending the Town Hall concert is the free organ recital by Calvin Bowman. It's more to be appreciated this season, because another free pre-concert program: the music talk is not going to exist this season. On the organ recital program, we have Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542. The Fantasia part is a little bit too fantasia to my taste and also I blame my late arrival to the concert hall to not be able to listen to the fantasia from the start. The fugue, however, is wonderful, as expected from the master of Fugue himself. The next program is Wesley's An old English Meldoy arranged by A.E. Floyd. It's a short piece, with folk music being the main tune of the piece. Quite enjoyable. The piece that made the best impression of the night is the 2 movements of Widor's Symphony No. 5. Dr. Bowman played the Adagio and Toccata from the symphony.
On to the concert. It was good, but not great concert. It doesn't help that the program is too short. Mozart's Overture to the Marriage of Figaro always entertains, but I was quite disappointed with the guitar concerto by Villa-Lobos. While it contains some interesting passages, the second movement doesn't work too well although the soloist's playing of the cadenza is great. The finale is hardly exciting, I was quite bored with it to be honest. However, the encore given by the soloist is amazing. Unfortunately, I did not catch what piece is that and who composed it when the soloist mentioned it.
Franck's symphony in D minor turns out to be the surprise of the night, it was actually quite interesting. The Leitmotif is present throughout the symphony and I was impressed by the creativity in the 2nd movement. The main theme of the finale is a little bit too pretty and popular-sounding, but when the full brass section blasted it towards the end, you cannot help but overwhelmed to the sound. Great performance from MSO. Mascagni's Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana is the encore by the orchestra for the night.
Next week's concert: Mahler's 2nd symphony. Enough said. Can't wait for it!
- Mozart The Marriage of Figaro: Overture
- Villa-Lobos Concerto for guitar and small orchestra
- Franck Symphony in D minor
Edoardo Catemario - Guitar
Oleg Caetani - Conductor
New year, new season concert. Before this opening concert, MSO played 4 free concerts in Sidney Myer Music Bowl. They're all marvelous, the highlight for me is the playing of Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto, Gershwin Piano Concerto, Schubert's 9th Symphony, Rodrigo's Concerto de Aranjuez, and the most-remarkable concert of Beethoven's 9th symphony where almost all of the audience gave a standing ovation to.
One thing that is always to be grateful to when attending the Town Hall concert is the free organ recital by Calvin Bowman. It's more to be appreciated this season, because another free pre-concert program: the music talk is not going to exist this season. On the organ recital program, we have Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542. The Fantasia part is a little bit too fantasia to my taste and also I blame my late arrival to the concert hall to not be able to listen to the fantasia from the start. The fugue, however, is wonderful, as expected from the master of Fugue himself. The next program is Wesley's An old English Meldoy arranged by A.E. Floyd. It's a short piece, with folk music being the main tune of the piece. Quite enjoyable. The piece that made the best impression of the night is the 2 movements of Widor's Symphony No. 5. Dr. Bowman played the Adagio and Toccata from the symphony.
On to the concert. It was good, but not great concert. It doesn't help that the program is too short. Mozart's Overture to the Marriage of Figaro always entertains, but I was quite disappointed with the guitar concerto by Villa-Lobos. While it contains some interesting passages, the second movement doesn't work too well although the soloist's playing of the cadenza is great. The finale is hardly exciting, I was quite bored with it to be honest. However, the encore given by the soloist is amazing. Unfortunately, I did not catch what piece is that and who composed it when the soloist mentioned it.
Franck's symphony in D minor turns out to be the surprise of the night, it was actually quite interesting. The Leitmotif is present throughout the symphony and I was impressed by the creativity in the 2nd movement. The main theme of the finale is a little bit too pretty and popular-sounding, but when the full brass section blasted it towards the end, you cannot help but overwhelmed to the sound. Great performance from MSO. Mascagni's Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana is the encore by the orchestra for the night.
Next week's concert: Mahler's 2nd symphony. Enough said. Can't wait for it!
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert 28 November 2008 - The Firebird
Featuring:
- Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 2
- Debussy La mer
- Stravinsky The Firebird - complete ballet music
Oleg Caetani - Conductor
Last concert of the season for me - and it was wonderful!
For that night Town Hall series, Calvin Bowman played Bach's Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist, BWV 671 and the organ rendition of the famous cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 645, a rather short piece by John Stanley Suite in D, the fairy garden movement from Ravel's Ma mere L'oye and two pieces by Percy Whitlock Preambule and Exultemus.
The second Leonore overture is probably always been overshadowed by its more dramatic brother third overture and played much more infrequently. It's still one heck of a fine piece of music and MSO gave a wonderful reading of it. Caetani's elegant conducting was wonderful as usual. All sections of the orchestra were very fine but the performance was let down a little bit by a slightly inaccurate playing of the offstage brass. I was hugely disappointed by lukewarm applause by the audience - not even a curtain call for Caetani after such wonderful performance. Was it because this overture is not a piece that most audience is familiar with?
None of it matters since the next piece is - IMHO - Debussy's finest orchestral music La mer. It took me quite a while to like this piece when I first started listening to it. Until one day, I was lying on my bed while listening to it and the whole thing just clicked - the journey to midday from sunrise in the first movement, the playful waves in the second movement, and the stormy finale of the finale. In fact, the make or break of a La mer performance is whether the performance is able to make me feel and picture the waves come crashing down in the finale. That night's performance succeeded in making me feel that way but I have just slight reservations with the playing of the second movement. All in all, it was a very good performance. The icing on the cake is the sight of the orchestra in full force - I always love to see that.
The last piece of the night was Stravinsky's Firebird. When I first listened to it, I wasn't really impressed with the very long quiet opening, and the music sounded quite boring at times. I still have that kind of feeling when listening to it live in the performance, but this time, the marvelous ending won me over. The ending is uplifting as it can possibly be and the audience seemed to be very pleased with it. Huge applause followed and we were given an encore of another Stravinsky's piece Fireworks, a short piece showcasing orchestral virtuosity.
In summary, a very good night out and a memorable concert to end this season's concert-going experience for me.
- Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 2
- Debussy La mer
- Stravinsky The Firebird - complete ballet music
Oleg Caetani - Conductor
Last concert of the season for me - and it was wonderful!
For that night Town Hall series, Calvin Bowman played Bach's Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist, BWV 671 and the organ rendition of the famous cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 645, a rather short piece by John Stanley Suite in D, the fairy garden movement from Ravel's Ma mere L'oye and two pieces by Percy Whitlock Preambule and Exultemus.
The second Leonore overture is probably always been overshadowed by its more dramatic brother third overture and played much more infrequently. It's still one heck of a fine piece of music and MSO gave a wonderful reading of it. Caetani's elegant conducting was wonderful as usual. All sections of the orchestra were very fine but the performance was let down a little bit by a slightly inaccurate playing of the offstage brass. I was hugely disappointed by lukewarm applause by the audience - not even a curtain call for Caetani after such wonderful performance. Was it because this overture is not a piece that most audience is familiar with?
None of it matters since the next piece is - IMHO - Debussy's finest orchestral music La mer. It took me quite a while to like this piece when I first started listening to it. Until one day, I was lying on my bed while listening to it and the whole thing just clicked - the journey to midday from sunrise in the first movement, the playful waves in the second movement, and the stormy finale of the finale. In fact, the make or break of a La mer performance is whether the performance is able to make me feel and picture the waves come crashing down in the finale. That night's performance succeeded in making me feel that way but I have just slight reservations with the playing of the second movement. All in all, it was a very good performance. The icing on the cake is the sight of the orchestra in full force - I always love to see that.
The last piece of the night was Stravinsky's Firebird. When I first listened to it, I wasn't really impressed with the very long quiet opening, and the music sounded quite boring at times. I still have that kind of feeling when listening to it live in the performance, but this time, the marvelous ending won me over. The ending is uplifting as it can possibly be and the audience seemed to be very pleased with it. Huge applause followed and we were given an encore of another Stravinsky's piece Fireworks, a short piece showcasing orchestral virtuosity.
In summary, a very good night out and a memorable concert to end this season's concert-going experience for me.
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.
Ensemble Liaison & Friends - Concert 4: Lullaby & Doina
4 November 2008
Featuring:
- Beethoven - Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 No. 1
- Jean Franciax - Theme and Variations for Clarinet and Piano
- Osvaldo Golijov - Lullaby and Doina for Flute, Clarinet and Strings
- Schubert - Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 "The Trout"
Ensemble Liaison:
- Svetlana Bogosavljevic - Cello
- David Griffiths - Clarinet
- Timothy Young - Piano
Friends:
- Wilma Smith - Violin
- Katie Chilmaid - Violin
- Simon Oswell - Viola
- Alex Henery - Double Bass
- Mardi McSullea - Flute
There's reason for late reviews: these past few weeks had been quite hectic. Assignments, exams, and old/new personal problems had taken their tolls on me and I just did not have time to do blogging. I'll try my best to recall the experience of this concert.
I have never listened to any of the pieces from that night's concert before.
Short summary:
Wasn't really impressed with Beethoven's Cello Sonata. Sure, there were some brilliant passages, but on a whole, it wasn't quite memorable. Also, the cellist sounded a little bit overwhelmed by the pianist in this performance.
The Franciax's piece was described by the clarinetist as a 'circus music' and he couldn't describe it better. A very challenging piece for clarinetist to perform - plenty of notes in fast tempo portraying fun and bouncy atmosphere of a circus act is what came into my mind when listening to it.
Golijov's piece was another interesting one. It was apparently used in the 2000 movie The Man Who Cried starring Johnny Depp and Cate Blanchett. The music was quite haunting and started out very somber. In the middle of the piece, after the double bass player put down his bow and took a deep breath, the music picked up its tempo and the double bass player launched himself to a prolonged, very exciting to watch, fast pizzicato passages. This performance was definitely the highlights of the night for me.
I have to pity myself for not being entirely impressed with Schubert's Trout Quintet. I am not sure what happened but I lost my concentration in the middle of the first movement. Only the folksy tune in the last movement restored my interest of this music. This is the piece that I have to listen again to get why it is so popular.
Featuring:
- Beethoven - Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 No. 1
- Jean Franciax - Theme and Variations for Clarinet and Piano
- Osvaldo Golijov - Lullaby and Doina for Flute, Clarinet and Strings
- Schubert - Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 "The Trout"
Ensemble Liaison:
- Svetlana Bogosavljevic - Cello
- David Griffiths - Clarinet
- Timothy Young - Piano
Friends:
- Wilma Smith - Violin
- Katie Chilmaid - Violin
- Simon Oswell - Viola
- Alex Henery - Double Bass
- Mardi McSullea - Flute
There's reason for late reviews: these past few weeks had been quite hectic. Assignments, exams, and old/new personal problems had taken their tolls on me and I just did not have time to do blogging. I'll try my best to recall the experience of this concert.
I have never listened to any of the pieces from that night's concert before.
Short summary:
Wasn't really impressed with Beethoven's Cello Sonata. Sure, there were some brilliant passages, but on a whole, it wasn't quite memorable. Also, the cellist sounded a little bit overwhelmed by the pianist in this performance.
The Franciax's piece was described by the clarinetist as a 'circus music' and he couldn't describe it better. A very challenging piece for clarinetist to perform - plenty of notes in fast tempo portraying fun and bouncy atmosphere of a circus act is what came into my mind when listening to it.
Golijov's piece was another interesting one. It was apparently used in the 2000 movie The Man Who Cried starring Johnny Depp and Cate Blanchett. The music was quite haunting and started out very somber. In the middle of the piece, after the double bass player put down his bow and took a deep breath, the music picked up its tempo and the double bass player launched himself to a prolonged, very exciting to watch, fast pizzicato passages. This performance was definitely the highlights of the night for me.
I have to pity myself for not being entirely impressed with Schubert's Trout Quintet. I am not sure what happened but I lost my concentration in the middle of the first movement. Only the folksy tune in the last movement restored my interest of this music. This is the piece that I have to listen again to get why it is so popular.
Saturday, 18 October 2008
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert 17 October 2008 - Mozart's Requiem
Featuring:
- Mozart Symphony No. 41 'Jupiter'
- Mozart Requiem
Jacqueline Porter - Soprano
Sally-Anne Russell - Mezzo-soprano
James Egglestone - Tenor
Richard Alexander - Bass
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus: Jonathan Grieves-Smith - Chorus Master
Benjamin Northey - Conductor
As usual with Town Hall concert, there is an organ recital performed by Calvin Bowman. For this recital, he played Scarlatti Sonata in G; Mozart's subdued Adagio K. 356 showing that organ can be played in a tamely manner; Suites from Henry V by Walton (arr. Robert Gower/Henry Ley) which is rather nice with the outer marching movements sandwiching the more restraint middle movements. The third movement Touch her soft lips and part probably is my favourite moment in the recital. The final piece is a composition by Bowman himself Vexilla Regis which structurally similar to Walton's piece, with the theme in the first movement coming back in the last movement (if I remember correctly).
So, now on to the one of this year's most awaited concert. The hall is fully packed but not all the seats were occupied, contrary to the 'Sold Out' claim in MSO website. The concert started out with the energetic first movement of the Jupiter. Some nice playing in the brass as well, bringing out musical lines that I never really paid attention to before. I won't critique anything on this composition of Mozart - this symphony is just perfect and I always think that this is the crown achievement of all Mozart's symphonies. The second movement was full of nostalgia, although the movement could be carried out a little bit slower to bring out all the musical ideas there. The third movement was very fine, but I was anticipating for the finale the whole time in the performance. The finale of this symphony is my absolute favourite Mozart symphony movement. That five-voices fugue in the end of this movement is a very good representative of Mozart's composition power. The performance itself was very fine. The tempo was brisk, showcasing the virtuosity of the orchestra. I almost lost my self control and joined the conductor in conducting the orchestra I should say :). The audience only called for two curtain calls, which is somewhat disappointing after a very fine performance, but they might be saving their applause for the next giant, the Requiem, K. 626
A more than 100-members of MSO chorus joined the orchestra to perform the Requiem. An interesting note is that there is no clear separation in the seating of the four voices of the chorus. The seating was mixed with men seating flanked by two women. I wondered what was the reason for this. On the performance itself, the Introit was good and the soprano soared in 'Te Decet'. The chorus joined back soon after and set the tone for the next section - the 'Kyrie'. The 'Kyrie' was taken quite fast, but not too much. I preferred this approach very much compared to slower tempo that some conductors took. One small minor complaint about the chorus: the tenor voices seemed to be very weak compared to the other. I finally found out why when I looked through the program notes after the performance: the tenor has only half the number of the bass. Also, after 'Kyrie', I noticed that there is no organ accompaniment for this performance, which is a little bit disappointing. The 'Dies Irae' was scary as usual, all four of the soloists delivered magnificent performance in the 'Tuba Mirum' sequence. Credit also to the trombone soloist for fine accompaniment. 'Rex Tremendae' opened up with great cries from the chorus but soon subdued in the contrasting 'Salva Me'. The 'Recordare' again featured fine performances from all of the soloists. 'Confutatis' was furious, but lacking in tenor voices, it lost some power of the duet of tenor and bass voices in the opening of this movement. The female voices were angelic in the contrasting 'voca me cum benedictis'. 'Lacrimosa' was probably the pick of the night, although the conductor did not leave enough time for me to take a moment of reflection on it by starting 'Domine Jesu' a bit sooner. The rest of the movements were again very fine. And in the end, the Kyrie fugue but now set with different texts overwhelmed me. Loud applause followed.
To sum up, a very memorable night featuring plenty of fine performances. The conductor obviously has great talent and look forward to seeing him conduct MSO again.
- Mozart Symphony No. 41 'Jupiter'
- Mozart Requiem
Jacqueline Porter - Soprano
Sally-Anne Russell - Mezzo-soprano
James Egglestone - Tenor
Richard Alexander - Bass
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus: Jonathan Grieves-Smith - Chorus Master
Benjamin Northey - Conductor
As usual with Town Hall concert, there is an organ recital performed by Calvin Bowman. For this recital, he played Scarlatti Sonata in G; Mozart's subdued Adagio K. 356 showing that organ can be played in a tamely manner; Suites from Henry V by Walton (arr. Robert Gower/Henry Ley) which is rather nice with the outer marching movements sandwiching the more restraint middle movements. The third movement Touch her soft lips and part probably is my favourite moment in the recital. The final piece is a composition by Bowman himself Vexilla Regis which structurally similar to Walton's piece, with the theme in the first movement coming back in the last movement (if I remember correctly).
So, now on to the one of this year's most awaited concert. The hall is fully packed but not all the seats were occupied, contrary to the 'Sold Out' claim in MSO website. The concert started out with the energetic first movement of the Jupiter. Some nice playing in the brass as well, bringing out musical lines that I never really paid attention to before. I won't critique anything on this composition of Mozart - this symphony is just perfect and I always think that this is the crown achievement of all Mozart's symphonies. The second movement was full of nostalgia, although the movement could be carried out a little bit slower to bring out all the musical ideas there. The third movement was very fine, but I was anticipating for the finale the whole time in the performance. The finale of this symphony is my absolute favourite Mozart symphony movement. That five-voices fugue in the end of this movement is a very good representative of Mozart's composition power. The performance itself was very fine. The tempo was brisk, showcasing the virtuosity of the orchestra. I almost lost my self control and joined the conductor in conducting the orchestra I should say :). The audience only called for two curtain calls, which is somewhat disappointing after a very fine performance, but they might be saving their applause for the next giant, the Requiem, K. 626
A more than 100-members of MSO chorus joined the orchestra to perform the Requiem. An interesting note is that there is no clear separation in the seating of the four voices of the chorus. The seating was mixed with men seating flanked by two women. I wondered what was the reason for this. On the performance itself, the Introit was good and the soprano soared in 'Te Decet'. The chorus joined back soon after and set the tone for the next section - the 'Kyrie'. The 'Kyrie' was taken quite fast, but not too much. I preferred this approach very much compared to slower tempo that some conductors took. One small minor complaint about the chorus: the tenor voices seemed to be very weak compared to the other. I finally found out why when I looked through the program notes after the performance: the tenor has only half the number of the bass. Also, after 'Kyrie', I noticed that there is no organ accompaniment for this performance, which is a little bit disappointing. The 'Dies Irae' was scary as usual, all four of the soloists delivered magnificent performance in the 'Tuba Mirum' sequence. Credit also to the trombone soloist for fine accompaniment. 'Rex Tremendae' opened up with great cries from the chorus but soon subdued in the contrasting 'Salva Me'. The 'Recordare' again featured fine performances from all of the soloists. 'Confutatis' was furious, but lacking in tenor voices, it lost some power of the duet of tenor and bass voices in the opening of this movement. The female voices were angelic in the contrasting 'voca me cum benedictis'. 'Lacrimosa' was probably the pick of the night, although the conductor did not leave enough time for me to take a moment of reflection on it by starting 'Domine Jesu' a bit sooner. The rest of the movements were again very fine. And in the end, the Kyrie fugue but now set with different texts overwhelmed me. Loud applause followed.
To sum up, a very memorable night featuring plenty of fine performances. The conductor obviously has great talent and look forward to seeing him conduct MSO again.
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert 4 October 2008 - Handel's Water Music
Featuring:
- Solomon: The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
- Julius Caesar: 'Va tacito e nascosto' and 'Dall'ondosa periglio...Aure, deh, per pieta'
- Alcina: Suite
- Rodelinda: 'Vivi, tiranno'
- Water Music (all suites)
All music by Handel.
Bernard Labadie - Conductor
David Hansen - Counter-Tenor
This is an overdue review of this concert. I have been very busy for the whole past month, doing research, writing paper to a conference, and doing assignments and therefore, my experience on this concert has been faded somewhat.
There are three things that I remembered fondly about this concert: First, the sound of MSO, second: the Theorbo; and finally, the voice of the counter-tenor David Hansen. MSO's sound was tweaked somewhat for this performance; it resembled very much the sound of a period-instruments chamber orchestra. The Theorbo is a very unique instrument - rather large in size, but produced very soft sound. I'll discuss the counter-tenor a little bit later.
The concert started with the bouncy The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. The performance while good, was not that exciting either. The pair of oboes seemed to struggle somewhat. Next up is two arias from Julius Caesar. While I was left untouched by both arias, counter-tenor David Hansen delivered the surprise of the night for me. I was startled when he started singing, and never expected that a male can produce that kind of voice. His voice while refined, did not have enough volume to carry through for the entire hall, I believed. He did much better in the Rodelinda aria, showcasing his techniques and impressing the audiences with fiendishly difficult passages.
The Alcina suite was performed in between the performances of arias of Julius Caesar and Rodelinda. This was the best performance of the concert that night. The performance of Water Music, which is supposed to be the highlight of the night, ended up being average. The seemingly endless number of movements in all suites of Water Music ended up just a little bit too much for all audience to take (there are in total 17 movements - 8 for Suite 1; 4 for Suite 3, 5 for Suite 2 performed in that order). I noticed an old lady sitting beside me fell asleep somewhere in the middle of first suite. Fortunately, she woke up at the correct moment, in the Hornpipe movement of the second suite. That movement and also the Bourree from the same suites are probably the best performances of the entire suite.
Next concert: this Friday, Mozart's Requiem and Jupiter Symphony. Can't wait.
- Solomon: The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
- Julius Caesar: 'Va tacito e nascosto' and 'Dall'ondosa periglio...Aure, deh, per pieta'
- Alcina: Suite
- Rodelinda: 'Vivi, tiranno'
- Water Music (all suites)
All music by Handel.
Bernard Labadie - Conductor
David Hansen - Counter-Tenor
This is an overdue review of this concert. I have been very busy for the whole past month, doing research, writing paper to a conference, and doing assignments and therefore, my experience on this concert has been faded somewhat.
There are three things that I remembered fondly about this concert: First, the sound of MSO, second: the Theorbo; and finally, the voice of the counter-tenor David Hansen. MSO's sound was tweaked somewhat for this performance; it resembled very much the sound of a period-instruments chamber orchestra. The Theorbo is a very unique instrument - rather large in size, but produced very soft sound. I'll discuss the counter-tenor a little bit later.
The concert started with the bouncy The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. The performance while good, was not that exciting either. The pair of oboes seemed to struggle somewhat. Next up is two arias from Julius Caesar. While I was left untouched by both arias, counter-tenor David Hansen delivered the surprise of the night for me. I was startled when he started singing, and never expected that a male can produce that kind of voice. His voice while refined, did not have enough volume to carry through for the entire hall, I believed. He did much better in the Rodelinda aria, showcasing his techniques and impressing the audiences with fiendishly difficult passages.
The Alcina suite was performed in between the performances of arias of Julius Caesar and Rodelinda. This was the best performance of the concert that night. The performance of Water Music, which is supposed to be the highlight of the night, ended up being average. The seemingly endless number of movements in all suites of Water Music ended up just a little bit too much for all audience to take (there are in total 17 movements - 8 for Suite 1; 4 for Suite 3, 5 for Suite 2 performed in that order). I noticed an old lady sitting beside me fell asleep somewhere in the middle of first suite. Fortunately, she woke up at the correct moment, in the Hornpipe movement of the second suite. That movement and also the Bourree from the same suites are probably the best performances of the entire suite.
Next concert: this Friday, Mozart's Requiem and Jupiter Symphony. Can't wait.
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