Adelaide Wind Orchestra. Concordia College Chapel. 12 Dec 2014
The local fine music scene is extensive, but Adelaide hides many of its lights hidden under bushels, and the Adelaide Wind Orchestra is one of them.
Many more music lovers need to experience the AWO. They are a class outfit. Their 2015 program kicks off on March 7 in the Elder Hall as part of the Adelaide Fringe with a fabulous program that includes Saint-Saën’s ‘Danse Macabre’, Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Piazolla’s ‘Libertango’, and Bernstein’s ‘Symphonic Dances from West Side Story’.
Wow!
And so to tonight’s thoughtful, varied and exciting program, which is played by an enthusiastic ensemble of talented musicians. The AWO was only established in 2012, which saw one inaugural concert. This was followed by a full subscription series in 2013 and again in 2014 under the continuing leadership of Musical Director Peter Handsworth. The AWO comprises around forty expert musicians and is supplemented by others (to fill out sections or add percussion etc) as may be required by the various programs.
Charles Gounod’s ‘Petite Symphony’ tentatively opens the program. Written for nine wind instruments, the ensemble really hit its straps under Handsworth’s firm direction in the fourth movement and handles the persistent staccato and changing meters with great style. Joshua Oates is superb on oboe.
The ensemble quadruples for ‘Zion’ by contemporary American composer Dan Welcher. The piece quotes two American hymns and has a distinct Aaron Copland feel about it. Again, the changing meters are exciting and well managed. The five percussionists are a joy to watch. They are busy, very busy, as they move precisely around the stage in what is almost a choreographed dance ensuring they are at the right instrument at just the right time. Watching them is worth the price of admission alone!
A programming first is the inclusion of three compositions by Austrian composer Alfred Uhl. Being a modern composer – he died in 1992 – it is unsurprising that his music is at times atonal and discordant. Under Handsford’s expert direction at the clarinet, the octet finds and explores both the pastoral qualities and rampant humour and wit that ‘Eine Vergnugliche Musik’ (trans. A joyous music) has to offer. A gentleman behind me chuckled and commented to his partner at the end of the second movement, that it oozed Alfred Hitchcock. Humour aside, the piece is a sophisticated fusion of classical tonalities and modern serialism. It is the highlight of the concert.
This is followed by two much shorter pieces by Uhl, and then Gershwin’s iconic ‘An American in Paris’. The original score calls for strings as well, but the AWO’s version uses an expanded wind orchestra and a solitary double bass. The strings can temper the winds and in my view are needed to give a more elegant and nuanced feel to the bouncy rhythms, especially in the first section, but the result is bold and brassy and the audience loved it.
And during the interval, as he ‘privately’ readied himself for the second half of the program, percussionist Jamie Adam (on loan from the ASO) teased from the xylophone a version of the theme from the TV series Game of Thrones, and the opening theme to Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.
Lesson: there is always someone watching and listening!
Entreaty: go to the next AWO concert and experience them for yourself!
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Concordia College Chapel
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Town Hall. 27 Nov 2014
It’s over 250 years old, it’s iconic and we never tire of listening to it at Christmas time. Occasionally there’s an attempt to freshen it up using soloists who are more accustomed to the popular stage, but it is mostly left alone, thankfully. Its power and beauty is a total triumph of human creativity. It is of course Handel’s sacred oratorio ‘The Messiah’.
This particular performance is especially pleasing, and we will need to wait a very long time before it is surpassed. Guest conductor Matthew Halls knows the score by heart and conducts the performance from memory. No book in evidence. His almost intimate knowledge and understanding of the score means he is able to extract everything Handel has on offer, and it is superb. Conducting a choir is a somewhat different craft to conducting an orchestra. Singers come in exactly on the conductor’s beat, whereas musicians often delay a little (for which there is a range of technical reasons). Therefore, conducting a choir and orchestra together requires discipline and precision, and Matthew Halls is completely successful.
The Adelaide Chamber Singers and the four solo vocalists are at one with the mighty ASO. The performance has precision, warmth, pathos and jubilation. It is exciting and uplifting. And it has theatre. Halls positioned the soloists at the sides of the stage and when required they purposely strode to the center, set themselves in front of the podium, take the audience in, and sing.
Following the introductory ‘Sinfony’, tenor Richard Butler gives an illuminating performance of ‘Comfort Ye’. He is charismatic, almost mesmerizing, and I am completely taken in by him. His steely gaze throughout ‘All They That See Him’ is almost unnerving.
Countertenor, Christopher Field sings the alto line. His tonal production is superb, and with strength at the lower end of the register he is ideally suited to the baroque. Using his body expressively, he is captivating to watch.
Soprano, Siobhan Stagg has a delightfully true voice with a relaxed, almost imperceptible vibrato. Her performance of ‘I Know That My Redeemer Liveth’ has a joyous simplicity that won the audience over and put a gentle smile on the faces of many.
Bass, Christopher Purvis’s performance of ‘The Trumpet Shall Sound’ is impressive. With principal trumpet Matt Dempsey, who retreats upstage and plays commandingly as if a herald, forming an imposing tableau; the result is almost terrifying. Great theatre!
Of course, the evening belongs to the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’, as it always does. The audience rose to its feet, as custom now dictates, and the world famous and internationally decorated Adelaide harmony Choir erupts to the famous strains of what is surely the most loved and recognisable chorus in history. The applause is thunderous.
The choir’s founder, artistic director and conductor Carl Crossin, has again rung his magic. The sound production in all sections is first rate. From the first choral entrance to the very last release in the final Amen, there is studied precision and maximum clarity.
Matthew Halls knows he is conducting a class outfit, and at its conclusion the performance deserved the lengthy standing ovation from a rapt audience.
Deeply satisfying, and uplifting.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
Masters 9. Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Town Hall. 22 Nov 2014
The ASO last played Mahler’s 5th Symphony in 2011 under Arvo Volmer. It was superb. Tonight’s reading by guest conductor Mark Wigglesworth is better.
From the very first moments it was clear that Wigglesworth had a deep understanding of the composition. The dynamics are beautifully interpreted, the phrasing and articulation is astute and throughout Wigglesworth gives a very wide berth to maudlin sentimentality and demonstrative expressionism. Even though the entire performance is underlined by clarity of thought and precision of execution, it radiates warmth and plain and humble emotion.
The principals and section leaders of the mighty ASO are the embodiment of controlled excitement. As always Concertmaster Natsuko Yoshimoto sets the tone with her tremendous artistry, and guest principal horn, Adrian Uren, gives a magnificent performance in the Scherzo third movement.
At its conclusion the appreciative audience rewards Wigglesworth and the ASO with thunderous applause, shouts and wolf whistles. The smiles on the faces of the nearly spent orchestra are wide, and deservedly proud.
The evening’s double-bill program begins with French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet tossing off Liszt’s ‘Piano Concerto No 2 in A’ as if it were his personal plaything. Bavouzet is surely one of the piano greats of the day and his repertoire is extensive. Several years ago in relation to his performance of ‘Bartók’s Piano Concerto No 2’ with the ASO I penned that it seemed at times that Bavouzet was the second conductor on stage as the control was seamlessly backwards and forwards in partnership. This performance is no different. He smiles across the piano at principal cellist Simon Cobcroft during their duet, and looks solicitously into Wigglesworth’s eyes when it is time to return the baton. The applause for Bavouzet is heartfelt and wild, and his Pierné encore simply left us wanting more.
This is a stunning program.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
Worldsend Hotel. 14 Nov 2014
It wasn’t too many years ago that I would spend most of my weekend evenings out watching the best that local music had to offer, predominantly hanging out around the heavier end of the spectrum. As I’ve gotten older and my horizons have broadened, I’ve managed to see less local offerings, and at the same time, there have been fewer venues prepared to host a good variety of local talent. There have been mainstays, of course, but there have been plenty of places that have come and gone too. Thankfully, I’ve always kept my eyes out for local shows that might grab my attention, and a free show at one of my favourite haunts, Worldsend, did the trick to drag me out on a warm Friday evening.
Arriving fashionably late, unfortunately I missed the first band of the night, an indigenous metal group called Mism. I say unfortunately, as going by the reports of my fellow metal-heads, these guys were awesome, having a dark Opeth-esque style. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for another opportunity to see them!
Raven Black Night was the band that had grabbed my attention and drawn me away from my couch this evening, and I’m very happy to say that their performance made the effort very much worth my while! I’d been a big fan of these guys from years ago, but in recent times, the band has played fewer local gigs, meaning the ones they do play really count. With a few albums under their belt, including an international record deal with Metal Blade, Raven Black Night have come of age and were in fine form for the healthy Worldsend crowd.
Their style hovers around the bluesy side of the metal spectrum, fitting for the dark and broody blues metal of the ’70s, and perfectly up my alley of favourite musical styles. Massive guitar solos, thumping bass and rock steady rhythms made for a great performance, enjoyed by a good crowd mix; including a bunch of enthusiastic Chinese students, dreadlocked metal heads, denim-clad thrash guys, and a sizeable proportion of metal ladies – I tell you, when I was a single man checking out metal shows week after week the metal girls weren’t like those that comes out these days! It’s great to see! The band’s set culminated in a deadly-paced cover of Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’, before coming to a close.
The final act was Hidden Intent, a thrash metal three-piece who were certainly top of their game. I’ve generally not been a massive thrash metal fan, often not getting much into the vocal style, but I must say, Hidden Intent won me over within the first few bars! Sporting smoother vocals than what I was expecting, I was all too happy to take in the technical prowess and speed of the music, and found myself getting right into the swing of things. By this stage of the night, the beer-garden crowd was pretty healthy, with plenty of people up headbanging and dancing away. It was a great vibe, and certainly some fantastic music!
And so ended a great night of live music at a venue that’s made it clear they have a place for live shows. It was nice and loud with a no-holds-barred approach, which suits me fine. If I leave a show and my ears aren’t ringing, then clearly it wasn’t loud enough! I’ve often frequented Worldsend, but now that they’ve done the place up and got a great little space out the back in their funky beer garden for live music, I definitely plan on heading back.
Luke Balzan
When: Closed
Where: Worldsend
Bookings: Closed
XL Superclub. 16 Nov 2014
I can’t say that I’ve ever really been much of a clubs person. In fact, I’d only ever been to one club before, many moons ago for a mate’s 18th, and I can’t say I was overly impressed. So decades on from that instance, I found myself venturing into the unknown realms of a night club once again, all in the pursuit of music. I didn’t really know what to expect, apart from the main dude I’d come to see, and as I always try to do, I went in with an open mind.
It turned out to be an evening of mixed emotions on a number of levels, the first of which was a sense of disappointment as the glorified PA music from a bunch of DJs rang out for hours and hours past what was supposed to be the starting time. Even Axl Rose would have been dismayed at the delay in kicking things off! Nonetheless, I put up with the seemingly endless rotation of DJ tunes I’d never before heard in my life (though, given the amount that people were singing along, I’m sure I was the only blissfully ignorant person in the room!), and by around 11pm, first act Mya came out for a bit of a sing on stage. I can’t say that I’d ever heard any of her music before (I’m really not much of a pop music person in the slightest), but she can certainly carry a tune!
There were a couple of oddities I noticed as Mya took to the stage: it was somewhat unusual for me to see a main act come out armed only with a microphone and accompanied by a dude on a laptop playing what is effectively a backing tape. It makes me wonder even more as to what the delay in starting was - since there was nothing to actually set up. On top of that, as someone who’s watched thousands of bands, performers and artists over the years, I did find it odd to see so many people dancing to the PA music (and I use the term dancing fairly loosely!), only to stop dancing when the main act came out.; still, I wasn’t there to watch people dance badly.
Mya’s brand of hip hop was certainly listenable; singing to a backing tape can be fraught with dangers, but the Grammy award winner hit most of the notes most of the time, and was peppered with plenty of DJ toasting, costume changes, and giveaways, making for an interesting opening act.
Eventually, the main man came out for his turn on the mic. My motivation for coming along was the fact that I’m a massive fan of reggae music from way back, and I’m always keen to hear a bit of reggae and all of its derivatives (that’s right, Sean Paul shares more with reggae music than just his Jamaican heritage!). Despite not being a ‘clubby’ person, I actually don’t mind reggae’s latest offshoot, dancehall, and I was pretty keen to hear what Sean Paul could do live.
I’m pretty sure I was the only reggae purist in the room (apart from maybe a few kiwis who were also hanging about, like me!), and I missed Sean Paul a few years back when he was scheduled to play as a part of the Raggamuffin festival here in Adelaide - he pulled out at the last minute - so I hoped this performance would make up for it. I’m pleased to note, Sean Paul did indeed put on a good show! He played through a range of tunes from his back catalogue, and though I can barely understand a word he sings about, the music did all the talking. Dancehall is something of a mix of traditional reggae grooves, re-envisioned for a modern electronic vibe, with funky beats and grooving rhythmic vocals, and is definitely worth shaking a bit of arse to.
It was bittersweet when things came to a close, as it had been a good show, albeit the most bizarre show I’d ever been to (I did manage to get past the oddity of myself being in a club with all these club people), but being rather late on a school night, I was happy to head home, fulfilled at finally getting to see Sean Paul.
Luke Balzan
When: Closed
Where: XL Superclub
Bookings: Closed