Master Series 4. Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Town Hall. 23 Jun 2018
Sibelius, Rachmaninov, Pärt, and Mussorgsky, all in the hands of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, conductor Arvo Volmer, and pianist Stephen Hough.
Lethal combination.
Despite the obvious similarity in their names, The Swan of Tuonela by Sibelius and Swansong by Arvo Pärt could not be more different. The Sibelius has sweeping pastoral melodies liberally laced with melancholy, where the Pärt is, in typical style of the composer, textually more sparse (at least at the beginning) which then evolves into something broader and hymnal. Volmer exploits the similarities and differences between them and allows various principals in the orchestra to shine. Of particular note is Peter Duggan on Cor Anglais in the Sibelius. It should be noted this is the first performance of Swansong and it is highly likely it will feature again at some stage. It is quite delightful.
Although the concert finished with Volmer’s superb reading of the Ashkenazy orchestration of Mussorgsky’s celebrated Pictures at an Exhibition, the main event is Stephen Hough at the piano playing Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, Op.43.
Hough is one of the best pianists alive. Watching him perform is to witness a musician who is not only technically brilliant but who is also an accomplished interpreter and communicator of the fundamental essence of the music. Hough’s pianism in the famous eighteenth variation, which has been used (and abused!) in numerous films (such as Groundhog Day, Ronin and the TV series The Good Wife) is quite transcendent: something that can be quite mawkish is instead serenely poignant. Volmer ensures that the orchestra allow this to happen.
Mussorgsky’s Pictures was originally composed as a work on a grand scale for solo piano, but it is probably better known in its orchestrated form. It is scored for a large orchestra and runs the gamut of metres, tempos and dynamics. If not handled carefully it can at times become aural ‘mush’. Volmer extracts exquisite clarity from the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and the fine balance inherent in the Ashkenazy orchestration is faithfully rendered.
The very large audience contentedly left the Town Hall humming and whistling a number of melodies. This is a warming and satisfying concert.
Kym Clayton
When: 23 Jun
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
Master Series 3. Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Town Hall. 1 Jun 2018
In the third of the Master Series concerts for 2018, aptly (and cleverly) styled Grace and Grandeur, the Adelaide Symphony present two strikingly contrasting works – Mendelssohn’s uber-melodic Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64 and Bruckner’s epic Symphony No.7 in E major.
The Mendelssohn is a delightful first course of lyricism and melody, which reaches stratospheric heights of unbridled sweetness, joy and innocence at the hands of wunderkind violinist Grace Clifford, but the Bruckner is a deeply satisfying main plate that reminds us of the fundamental potential of humanity to rise up and be noble. Under the leadership of Principal Guest Conductor Mark Wigglesworth, the Bruckner raised the spirits of the near capacity audience in the Town Hall and left them wondering why we seldom hear Bruckner in Adelaide’s concert venues.
Clifford is rapidly becoming a darling of the Australian concert platform. Not yet 20, she already has an impressive number of awards and a performance history at home and abroad. Watching her on stage is to take in a musician who is near the top of her game yet who is still on the ascendancy. Her musicianship and technical prowess is only eclipsed by her humility and apparent inner calmness. When in mid-flight it is as if she is tapping an unseen lake of musicality that is reserved for very few. Mendelssohn disliked showiness and virtuosity for its own sake, and in the testing and pacey third movement Clifford brushes the technical difficulties aside as if they don’t exist and focusses the audience’s attention squarely on the music itself. She is a vessel, and not a flashy show piece. Remarkable stuff from someone so young.
Mark Wigglesworth has a richly deserved reputation of distilling performances to their essence. His reading of the Bruckner is well paced, but the energetic tempo is never allowed to impede the clarity of the playing from the orchestra. Indeed, the horns and brass have not sounded better, and the seldom heard quartet of Wagner Tubas that features in the adagio second movement is a highlight. Bruckner’s symphonies mostly have difficult narratives in that there is not always an obvious sense of direction in which the composition is heading. Like the Mendelssohn concerto, Bruckner’s symphony throngs with lush melodies, but, unlike the concerto, the symphony indulges in itself and lyrical moments become extended ideas that lead simply to the next. Bruckner admired Wagner, and it shows. Wigglesworth masterfully ensures that each musical idea is clear and balanced in relation to what precedes and follows it, and the imagination of each and every audience member is unleashed to provide their own storyline.
This is a deeply satisfying concert. More Bruckner grandeur please, and more of Grace!
Kym Clayton
When: 1 & 2 Jun 2018
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
One of the most interesting aspects of being a music journo is discovering tunes that I otherwise would never have come across. It’s no secret that my musical taste resides on the heavier end of the spectrum and encompasses a fairly eclectic mix of styles from rock to world music to reggae to jazz and blues. It’s a wide lasso for sure, but doesn’t normally include folk, pop or country, and yet here I am listing to local songstress Emily Davis, and quite enjoying what I hear!
I’d heard the name Emily Davis before and had some vague idea of what her music might be, but didn’t give it much attention, until her latest offering, You, Me and the Velvet Sea, ended up on my desk. I’m always keen to give new things a go, so I put on Emily’s third album and listened with an open mind. I can’t say I was surprised by what I heard, expecting the gentle yet complex melodies, soft-edged guitar folk, with subtle country overtones. What I was surprised by was how much I enjoyed it… there’s loads of depth here that’s well beyond the over-produced and over-rated pop music industry. There are guitars with bluesy grooves, soulful violins, nice rhythms and sultry melodies. Emily’s voice is rather nice to hear, completely inoffensive and enticing, she draws you in with each listen. Occasionally the pace picks up with an old time feel, but it never feels quaint or old-school folksy.
The first single Hold On is a nice tune, with a decent percussive groove driving things along. The layers of vocal harmonies add complexity that breaches the realms of rock, yet remain characteristic. Other numbers like Eve’s Blues continue the bluesy rock theme, while Moonlight Voodoo ambles along with an interesting gentle swagger, and Lighthouse floats wistfully.
I must say, You, Me and the Velvet Sea was an enjoyable outing that I didn’t expect. The album is available from Fri Apr 13, and you can catch Emily Davis when she launches live at Jive on Sat Apr 14.
Luke Balzan
Track Listing
1. Bled for You
2. Lighthouse
3. Moonlight Voodoo
4. Stars Grow Cold
5. Oh Lord
6. Bring Forth the Queen of Mexico
7. Hold On
8. You Bury Me
9. Eve's Blues
10. Heartache
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Festival Theatre. 6 Apr 2018
The audience is huge. There is a palpable sense of excitement and anticipation in the air. Sure, Wagner’s Overture from Tannhäuser is going to be enjoyable – it always is – and Bernstein’s seldom heard quirky violin concerto is going to be fresh and interesting, especially at the hands of esteemed violinist James Ehnes, but everyone is there for something else, and that is the booming C-major chord on the J.W. Walker organ at the beginning of the maestoso section of Saint-Saëns’ mighty Symphony No.3 in C minor, Op.78. And it is a blast!
Although conductor Nicholas Carter takes the Tannhäuser at an overall regulation pace, the opening seems slightly on the brisk side and there are initially some timing and dynamics issues. These are quickly overcome and the orchestra settles into a robust reading that brings the expansive melodies to the fore.
Bernstein opted not to call his violin concerto by that name, but rather categorised it as a Serenade. Scored in five movements, it is a quintessentially modern composition that artfully fuses jazz inflected rhythms and melodies on brass with an expansive orchestration with a significant percussion section. James Ehnes clearly enjoys playing it, and there is an obvious sense of camaraderie and in-the-moment music making between he and Carter. The composition features attention-grabbing dialogues between the solo violinist and other principals in the orchestra, and in this regard concertmaster Natsuko Yoshimoto and principal cellist Simon Cobcroft are captivating to watch (and listen to).
But the main game is Saint-Saëns’ so-called Organ Symphony. It is so popular it almost guarantees to sell any concert in which it is programmed. The crashing C-major chord on the organ followed by the triumphal brass fanfares and rolling scale passages for four hands at the grand piano are the stuff of legend. It’s big. It’s exhilarating. It’s almost too much. It is so popular it runs the risk of being a ‘pot-boiler’.
The main theme of the maestoso is so popular that it has been ‘borrowed’ numerous times, such as in the 1977 pop-song If I Had Words by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley. It was also famously used in the much-loved Australian Babe films.
But it would be a huge mistake to think that the maestoso is all that the symphony has to offer – that all roads lead to the maestoso. It has so much more, and hearing (and seeing) it live is the only way to enjoy it – recordings never seem to capture the full sonic soundscape. Carter and the ASO approach this iconic work with the sensitivity it merits.
The occasional dialogue between the organ and plucked strings is sublime. Locating the grand piano near the basses, cellos and brass (rather than to the left of the conductor closer to the woodwinds and violins) gives a distinct point of aural interest. The strict timing and articulation in the fugal sections is reassuring – something to hang on to during the wild ride.
This is the first of the ASO’s Master Series for 2018, and it is adrenaline-charged! Get on board for the rest!
Kym Clayton
When: 6 Apr
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra In Assocation With Adelade Festival. Adelaide Festival Theatre. 16 Mar 2018
Bernstein on Stage is an extravaganza of song and music that surveys the breadth and depth of Leonard Bernstein’s compositional flair. It is a generous concert in every respect: on stage is the full might of the much-praised Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the internationally acclaimed and award winning Adelaide Chamber Singers, four classy vocalists – Lorina Gore, Kim Criswell, Luke Kennedy and Rodney Earl Clark – individually near the top of their game, and (insert drum roll) no less than Maestro John Mauceri who worked with Bernstein for 18 years.
Mauceri is the Founding Director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, has directed many leading orchestras around the world, and has an enviable musical CV. So, what an absolute treat to have on stage someone of his calibre to provide a direct link to Bernstein himself.
Bernstein stands tall in the pantheon of musical greats, and if he were still alive we would be celebrating his hundredth birthday later this year in August. How fitting then that we should celebrate his music as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts, especially noting that he himself conducted the iconic New York Philharmonic on the Festival Theatre stage back in 1974. Bernstein was a pianist, composer, conductor, philanthropist, author, educator, and activist. He was many things to many people from all walks of life, and apparently construction workers tipped their hats calling out "Goodbye, Lenny” as his funeral procession worked its way through the streets of Manhattan. He wrote opera, ballet, musicals, incidental music, film scores, orchestral music, choral and vocal music, and piano music. He wrote both serious and light hearted music, and his ultimate distinction will be to become part of the ‘musical furniture’. Everyone knows something that he wrote, even if they don’t know it.
He was a unique and much loved and admired individual.
Appropriately, the concert is a light-hearted event featuring mostly vocal compositions that traverse Bernstein’s compositional life and has everyone toe tapping and humming along well after the show ends.
There are songs from On the Town, Trouble in Tahiti, What a Wonderful Town, Candide!, and selections from the less well known but fabulously quirky 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Pleasingly, the program includes the hauntingly beautiful Simple Song from his Mass, and of course no tribute to Bernstein would be complete without a selection from West Side Story.
Gore, Criswell, Kennedy and Earl Clark clearly enjoyed what they are doing on stage, and their enthusiasm is infectious. Each brings something special to what the sing, and their ensemble singing is a highlight. Maestro Mauceri extracts every jazz inflected fibre from the very bodies of the members of the orchestra– they haven’t played ‘less serious’ music better.
A personal highlight is Rodney Earl Clark’s performance of Simple Song. He sings it with uncommon reverence but with strength and passion as well.
Perhaps the climax of the evening, and the best of all, is Bernstein himself joining the orchestra and soloists (via a recording of course) in a version of the song Some Other Time. He really is on stage! It sends a shiver down the collective spine of the enormous audience, and leaves a contented smile.
There is one more performance of the show on Sunday 18 March, at 7:00pm (yes, 7:00pm!). Get a ticket fast.
Kym Clayton
When: 16 to 18 Mar
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: bass.net.au