Henry Wagons & The Martyrs. The Gov. 28 Apr 2021
I’m a bit bemused as to how one can perform an entire tribute show to the life and songs of Warren Zevon and not mention his astounding sidekick guitarist Waddy Wachtel, who played on the vast majority of his recordings. Yet there it is.
For the sake of posterity, Zevon gave us Werewolves Of London as well as the Linda Ronstadt hit Poor Poor Pitiful Me, both being presented tonight.
Henry Wagons is a consummate craftsman of the stage, quick with a joke or to light up your smoke, and there’s no place he’d rather be. With four piece band The Martyrs backing him up, Wagons is an engaging and vibrant host, at times MC and announcer, at times the singing embodiment of Zevon who (I am astounded to recall) died back in 2003. Time truly does fly.
The show opens with Lawyers, Guns & Money then moves smoothly on to Excitable Boy; how is this going to work when there are so many Zevon penned songs to choose from? Henry Wagons introduces himself, leaping around the stage, nervous energy personified.
I Was In The House When The House Burned Down from 2000s album ‘Life’ll Kill Ya’ comes next, followed by the amazing Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner (back to 1978) allowing Wagons to leap back and forth through time and space though this is for the most part a chronological tale. Somehow it all makes sense and the audience are lapping it up; over three hundred committed Zevon fans and very few of ‘em under the age of fifty.
The songs keep coming: after the mid-time break drummer Holly Thomas takes the microphone for a rendition of Poor Poor Pitiful Me, which is lovely, and yet something is missing. The Martyrs seems to be stuck in second gear, destined not to develop the torque necessary to do these songs (and this performance) justice. And it is a great performance in the hands of musical director and pianist Lachlan Bryan; or it certainly should be. Carmelita is a dead set highlight and it is Werewolves Of London which somewhat predictably closes out the show. Bassist Damian Cafarella gives that jaunty piano signature a solid underpinning.
Finally, in the encore, guitarist Michael Hubbard shows real animation and for a glorious three minutes, or so, The Martyrs (without Wagons onstage) are able to show just what they’re capable of. In The Mutineer, just for a moment or two, the persona of Waddy Wachtel had arrived onstage.
Alex Wheaton
When: 28 Apr
Where: The Gov
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Festival. Musica Viva Australia. Adelaide Town Hall. 2 Mar 2021
Presented as part of the Adelaide Festival, Musica Viva’s first tour of 2021 features the celebrated Streeton Trio (Emma Jardine, violin, Umberto Clerici, cello, and Benjamin Kopp, piano) in concert with the phenomenal Diana Doherty (oboe).
The programme also features a world première performance of a new composition. Before tonight, the art music repertoire for this particular combination of instruments was very limited – a handful of pieces – and so to have a brand new composition (and by an Australian composer to boot!) is indeed a special event.
The Streetons and Doherty are all based in Sydney. They are acclaimed around the world and are part of the musical elite.
The programme begins with Bohuslav Martinů’s 1947 composition Quartet for Oboe, Violin, Cello and Piano. Martinů is infrequently heard in the concert hall and his compositions are characterised by short melodic and rhythmic motifs that are ‘mined’ for additional musical material. The Streetons ensure that the quartet’s motifs are clearly stated and unmistakeably heard again as they re-appear in various guises.
Composed about one hundred and ten years earlier, Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No.1 in D minor is an entirely different proposition. The melodies are expansive, and the thematic and rhythmic structures are more emphatically stated and carefully developed. There is potential for the dense score to come across as leaden but the Streetons ensure the piece retains luminosity and lightness even in the fortissimo passages.
The highlight of the evening is the world première of Skipworth’s Oboe Quartet. It is scored in three movements – allegro moderato, misterioso molto rubato, and allegretto giocosa – and was commissioned for Musica Viva Australia in memory of Anne and Alan Blanckensee, by their son Andrew, family and friends. The work is intensely melody driven, and the oboe in particular shines throughout and infuses the melodic contours with style and momentum. The short dialogues between the oboe and the other instruments, and particularly with the cello at the start of the misterioso, are key to the coherency and enjoyment of the work.
Skipworth’s quartet is an important addition to the repertoire for the particular instrumental combination and, judging by the audience reaction, it is destined to become ‘part of the furniture’.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed in Adelaide. Concerts available in other capital cities.
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: musicaviva.com.au
Adelaide Festival. Heath Quartet. Ukaria Cultural Centre. 9 Mar 2020.
The third and final concert in the Adelaide Festival’s Composer & Citizen mini-series again contrasts the old with the new: the last string quartet by Beethoven, and the last by Michael Tippett.
Tippett’s String Quartet No.5 lacks a formal structure and comprises two broad movements each comprising sections of varying pace and colour. In both movements, the slower sections are almost agonising, and the award winning Heath Quartet (Oliver Heath, violin, Sara Wolstenholme, violin, Gary Pomeroy, viola, and Christopher Murray on cello) dug deep to bring Tippett’s taut but refined composition to life. The composition only yields its subtly constructed melodies in the hands of great technicians, which the Heath’s most certainly are.
By contrast, Beethoven’s String Quartet No.16 in F, Op.135 is more accessible but demands no lesser technique: it is lively and at times feels instinctive as it strives towards resolution and a natural end point. The Heath’s allow the music to do the talking and do not push the emotional content beyond its core, especially in the final allegro movement.
The conversation between the cello and other instruments is beautifully articulated, including the more muscular passages in the finale, and nothing is lost. Questions are posed, and answers are suggested.
The Heath’s are a class ensemble, and they handle the individuality of Tippett and the authority of Beethoven incisively.
The Composer & Citizen series has been a masterstroke of programming.
Kym Clayton
When: 9 Mar
Where: Ukaria Cultural Centre
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Festival. Heath Quartet. Ukaria Cultural Centre. 8 Mar 2020.
Composer and Citizen 2 is the second in a three concert series that explores the relationship between old and new music, and how the practise of one composer has influenced the other. In this concert Michael Tippett’s String Quartet No.2 is juxtaposed with Beethoven’s String Quartet No.3. Both are early works by the respective composers in the string quartet form.
In today’s concert, both compositions are performed by the celebrated Heath Quartet (Oliver Heath, violin, Sara Wolstenholme, violin, Gary Pomeroy, viola, and Christopher Murray, cello). The Heath Quartet won the 2016 Gramophone Chamber Music Award for its recording of the complete string quartets of Tippett, and it is clear to see why.
The rhythmic structure of Tippett’s second quartet is complex with accents that often occur in unexpected places. This establishes a sense of conflict and resolution, which the Heath’s clearly enunciate. Their playing is precise – informed by deep understanding of the music – but it is also ardent, and has impetus and dash. The final movement is especially memorable for the clarity with which the heath’s expose the ‘echos’ of thematic material and the lightness of the first violin’s statements and restatements.
Tippett’s second quartet stands in stark contrast to Beethoven’s third, and the Heath’s perform the Beethoven with unforced elegance but vibrant muscularity when needed. As an ensemble they play with sublime communication and when the four instruments appear to be playing independently with no conversation, the Heath’s – through a gesture, a smile, a nod, a repositioning of body weight – convince us they are together implementing a higher plan that will become clear to the listener. This same impression was also evident in the Tippet.
Marshall Maguire, who curated the program, could not have chosen better.
Kym Clayton
When: 8 Mar
Where: Ukaria Cultural Centre
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Festival. Hill, Macfarlane, Dundas & Ludovico’s Band and Chorus. Ukaria Cultural Centre. 9 Mar 2020.
Sometimes festivals throw up real gems, and this concert is one of them. Brava to all who had anything to do with bringing Hidden Secrets to the stage.
Monteverdi’s operatic ‘scena’ for three voices Il combattimento di Tancredie e Clorinda, dating from 1624, is contrasted with Lembit Beecher’s contemporary chamber opera I Have No Stories to Tell You (2014). Both works are about war, or more precisely about the impact of war on the human condition. Monteverdi’s work looks at how war and choosing sides can split relationships, while Beecher explores a rupturing relationship because she is emotionally incapable of venting the horrors she confronted while on deployment. How refreshing that both stories have female warriors at their centres!
Bethany Hill (soprano) sings the female protagonist in both works, and she sells and sings both roles with absolute conviction. One can almost see the brandishing sword she mimes in the Monteverdi, and we can almost hear the voices in her head as she agonises, trying to come to terms with her wartime experiences. Hill is nearing the top of her game. Her performance was stunning.
Robert Macfarlane (tenor) plays a ‘chorus’ role in both works, and his acting skills are also first rate. In the Monteverdi he has the lion’s share of the vocal work and his warm tenor voice is well suited to the obliging acoustic of the Ukaria Cultural Centre. He pitches accurately and sings with a beautifully relaxed vibrato. He is equally strong across his range.
Samuel Dundas (baritone) sings the male protagonist in the Monteverdi, and the anguishing husband in the Beecher. Again, his stage craft is totally convincing, and he uses his powerful, rich and strikingly clear voice to extract every essential nuance from his characters.
The Beecher also includes a trio chorus of three soprano voices who provide an ethereal reminder of tormented minds.
Ludovico’s Band, a baroque ensemble directed by celebrated Australian harpist Marshall McGuire, provides the musical ensemble for both works, with just a few alterations in the instrumental line-up for the Beecher, such as the harpsichord almost being played as a prepared instrument, the baroque cello (violine) being replaced by a modern cello, and the addition of a (baroque) cello. The Band is exquisite and plays with a deep appreciation of every one elses role in the music making. The use of essentially the same ensemble is clever, and has the effect of connecting the past to the present and reminding us that war is an unfortunate constant in human affairs.
The performance of Beecher’s I Have No Stories to Tell You is an Australian premiere, and Beecher, who was present at the performance, received a standing ovation from the large appreciative audience.
Kym Clayton
When: 9 Mar
Where: Ukaria Cultural Centre
Bookings: Closed