Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Town Hall. 23 May 2014
It has been said that as the K2 is to mountaineers, so is the ‘Rach 3’ to pianists. The K2 has claimed victims in the worst possible way, and Rachmaninov’s ‘Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor’ claimed David Helfgott if the 1996 film ‘Shine’ is to be fully believed, but brilliant Uzbek pianist Behozod Abduraimov withstood all that the Rach 3 hurled at him and he was victorious and triumphant.
The biographical notes about Abduraimov in the programme feature the word ‘début’ a lot, but it would be a mistake to think this signals he is merely a new talent. There is nothing immature or untested in Abduraimov’s armoury of technique and interpretation. This young man plays with the technical assurance and artistry of someone much older than his tender twenty-four years, and it is astonishing to think that he is at the start of his career. His potential is awesome, and some have suggested he may well be the new Vladimir Horowitz.
Guest conductor Martyn Brabbins gave Abduraimov an avuncular wink just before he started the concerto as if to say ‘you’ll be right’ and the next forty minutes were spellbinding. Abduraimov sat very close to the Steinway’s keyboard, with his head almost directly over his hands, and demonstrated considerable forearm strength as he looked down at his hands and willed them to do the near impossible that is demanded by the fearsome Rach 3. He occasionally sat back to give himself room for the complex overlapping figures and delicate arpeggios, and occasionally he turned the pages of the score but he rarely referred to it, if ever (a security blanket, perhaps?). He dazzled us with his tightly controlled but bravura execution of the vast and dramatic cadenzas. They surely exact a physical as well as a mental price, and the Steinway visibly rocked and swayed at times, but Abduraimov seemed unscathed as he fed off the pure energy of the piece and he seemed to get even stronger and more dramatic. Was he channelling Liszt? With the final crashing chord the audience erupted into spontaneous applause, cheers and even wolf-whistles as they rose to their feet and remained so for fully five minutes. It was like being at a pop concert. It was exhilarating, and after Abduraimov left the stage for the last time with his score that he held up to the audience as a salute to the composer, the audience went to the interval gob smacked.
The concert was bookended by compositions by English composers, but they didn’t exhilarate the audience as did the Rachmaninov. ‘Overture: St Francis of Assisi’ by Peter Maxwell Davies and ‘Symphony No. 1’ by William Walton are both episodic and anguished pieces and markedly contrasted with the uber romantic and melodic Rach 3. The Overture was packed with interest and Brabbins tightly controlled the ASO through challenging metres and rapidly changing orchestral colours, and the stridency of the final bars sent a tingle down the spine. Brabbins clearly has an intimate knowledge of Walton’s First and he extracted everything that it had to offer. It is immensely popular with Britons, but antipodean audiences are much less enthralled with it.
The night belonged to Rachmaninov and Abduraimov, with superb support from Brabbins and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Festival Theatre. 16 May 2014
The evening began with a studied performance of Rachmaninov’s symphonic poem ‘The Isle of the Dead’ but everyone was eagerly awaiting the main event.
Like eager thoroughbreds ready to explode from the starting gates, the Adelaide Symphony Chorus, the Young Adelaide Voices, the Marryatville High School Choir and the mighty Adelaide Symphony Orchestra patiently waited for conductor Nicholas Carter to take his position on the podium. As soon as he stepped up, and with no preliminary fussing, Carter gave one grand and sweeping upbeat and the on-stage behemoth erupted into ‘O Fortuna’ and sent Carl Orff’s iconic Carmina Burana thundering down the straight in an exhilarating and near flawless performance.
The hair on the back of my neck bristled with excitement and anticipation.
So many musicians on stage is always an awesome sight to behold and the sound they produced was awesome as well. The great skill in choral singing is to have many voices sounding as one, and that is precisely what choral directors Carl Crossin, Aldis Sils and Christie Anderson achieved. The diction was as crystal clear in the softest of whispers as it was in the loudest of louds, and the phrasing was immaculate. Carter controlled the abruptly changing dynamics and tempi beautifully, and on almost every occasion neither the orchestra nor the choir nor solo vocalist missed a beat.
Carmina Burana is a collection of 11th/12th century songs that were discovered in a Benedictine monastery in 1803, and in 1936 Orff put twenty-four of them to astonishingly percussive music. The selected texts speak of fate and fortune, the joys and fecundity of spring, the pleasure and pain of drinking and of gluttony, and lustful love. Mildly coarse and always satirical, the songs are mostly tongue-in-cheek medieval slurs against the catholic church and the papacy.
Carter had the adult choirs flanking the children’s choir on three sides as if to protect the youth from the profanities of the songs. The soloists – soprano Milica Ilic, tenor Paul McMahon and baritone Samuel Dundas were excellent. With only the one song, McMahon was the standout. He tackled the extremely challenging ‘Olim Lacus Colueram’ with great style and demonstrated that he knows how to ‘ham it up’ and convincingly tell a story. Dundas also displayed a honed ability to ‘word paint’. Ilic was at her coloratura best with beautifully rounded tones in ‘Amor Volat Undique’ and impressively the children’s choir sang her accompaniment from memory.
The orchestra was extremely tight. Steven Peterka led an accomplished percussion section, and Julia Grenfell was outstanding on flute and piccolo. The brass and horns continued to shine.
The ASO’s new Associate Guest Conductor, Nicholas Carter, demonstrated that he is a force to be reckoned with and that he has the promise of being a worthy a successor to Arvo Volmer.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: Closed
Oakbank Racecourse. 25 Apr 2014
As the likes of the Big Day Out, that great old lady of Australian music festivals, look to bow out of the non-eastern states due to poor ticket sales, it’s heartening to see new blood moving in to take over. In contrast to Big Day Out’s profit woes, Groovin the Moo (GTM) comfortably sold out its inaugural Adelaide showing and it’s not hard to see why.
Rather than trying to justify huge tickets prices by shipping in a bloated list of increasingly underwhelming and aging international acts, the nimble GTM largely focusses on current and popular Aussie acts, with a few international bands thrown in to sweeten the deal.
Kicking off the festival’s run, and starting an hour later than other states in recognition of Anzac Day, the Adelaide show saw crowds of excited young things stream into the Oakbank Racecourse to check out the new festival and its patriotic line-up. The enticing set list provided a great mix of styles to cater for every taste.
Young Aussie rapper Allday had an early but well attended set, throwing in some new tracks as well as those currently receiving lots of airplay. Looking decidedly reminiscent of Jay (of Jay and Silent Bob fame), Allday kept the audience happy with a mix of pumping and chilled out tunes. The vocal early birds were keen to get started, and he took full advantage of the crowd energy.
Illy was a highly anticipated act of the afternoon, and he didn’t disappoint. Up there with Hilltop Hoods and 360 as one of Australia’s most successful and best loved hip hop artists, the appreciative audience swelled over the front of both main stages and lapped up the jam-packed 40 minute set.
With hit after hit to choose from, Illy included ‘Cigarettes’, ‘Happiness’ and his cover of Silverchair’s ‘Tomorrow’, originally divined for Triple Js ‘Live at the Wireless’. So often, sample-heavy artists struggle to translate their music to a live stage successfully due to the difficulty of matching levels between live and recorded vocals. Inevitably, the result is a disappointing comparison to album quality, but not this guy. Illy killed it, and it seemed that all were there to see it.
Melbourne singer-songwriter Vance Joy’s gentle folk pop was a gorgeous take five for those not keen for a Parkway Drive onslaught. His cruisey tunes slowed the pace and included a cover of The Master's Apprentice’s ‘Because I Love You’. He saved the best for last, and the audience positively came alive with the opening strains of the triple platinum 'Riptide'. Everyone was singing along.
Brisbane boys Violent Soho rocked the Moolin Rouge stage with their 90s-esque guitar rock. Though drawing from the likes of Nirvana and the Pixies as inspiration, they have a sound of their own. The vocals of frontman and guitarist James Tidswell are as unique and unexpected live as on record, and the boys work non-stop on stage. Their solid performance earned them high praise from Karnivool later in the day.
Architecture in Helsinki opened their set with hit ‘That Beep’ to rapturous applause. The eclectic five-piece from New South Wales are known for putting on a great show, and tonight was no exception. They kept the crowd bouncing with brilliant indie pop tunes, colourful outfits and crazy synchronised and solo dance moves.
The latter two were a good thing, because unfortunately the mix left those up the back struggling to hear the vocals of Cameron Bird and Kellie Sutherland.
Despite this, they were still a highlight of the festival.
Under the cover of darkness, heavy rockers Karnivool were in fine form, drawing the crowd in with their heavy and emotional prog rock. Their riffs reverberated over the race course and the most impressive light and video show of the day helped generate the frenetic and charged atmosphere.
Dizzy Rascal was one of only a handful of international acts on the bill, and kicked out his dirty bass beats in trademark style. Unaffected by the spitting rain, the crowd were happy to stay out in the open to dance along to Rascal as well as Aussie electronic duo The Presets, who wrapped up the festival.
The good news is that if ticket sales are anything to go by, Groovin the Moo will be back to Adelaide next year. Though it only sold out in the week before the show, word of mouth will very likely result in quicker sales next time round.
Boasting loads of toilet facilities, a generous range of food trucks, tight organisation, convenient layout and a great line up of Aussie & international artists, it has a lot to offer.
The orientation of the two main stages at the bottom of a gentle slope meant there was great all round visibility, with clear sight lines even from the fringes. Perhaps the only improvement would be the addition of elevated video screens to enable everyone to get a close up view of the onstage antics.
The location is genius. As much as a music festival within the city limits sounds great, being regional ensures lots of space for stages, people and parking, limited impact on the general public, and a much more pleasant experience all round.
A small criticism would be the sound quality on the main ‘V’ and ‘Triple J’ stages. The mixes dipped in quality and volume consistency between acts, however this was probably only noticeable for those watching from a distance rather than front of stage in the crowd.
If you missed out this year, don’t dillydally next year – snap up your chance to get your groove on in the moo!
Nicole Russo
When: Closed
Where: Oakbank Racecourse, Oakbank
Bookings: Closed in SA. Still touring the ACT, NSW, VIC, QLD and WA
Photography by Stephen Trutwin - STRUT Photography
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Grainger Studio. 16 April 2014
A symphony orchestra has a responsibility, arguably, to do more than dish up a staple diet of ‘tried and tested’ masters, and to bring new and notable music to the table as well. This is precisely what the ASO did in its recent concert, and two of the three compositions were by Australians. The odd man out, and the least satisfying despite the expressed enthusiasm of guest conductor Jessica Cottis, was ‘The Fall of the Leafe’ by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, a contemporary British composer and current master of the Queen’s Music.
For string orchestra, ‘The Fall of the Leafe’ is based on a keyboard composition by 16th century composer Martin Peerson. Davies adaptation permutes the notes and metre of the original and effectively conjures up an autumnal setting as gentle but erratic breezes unsettle leaves from trees. The piece comprises numerous short phrases and the entire musical contour is somewhat jaggy. Cottis certainly demonstrated a feel for the changing dynamics and sensitively controlled the fortissimos that were immediately and abruptly followed by the softest of pianissimos.
‘Two Memorials (for Anton Webern and John Lennon)’, by Australian composer James Ledger, was the highlight of the concert. Comprising two linked but very different pieces, the two ‘memorials’ remember the musical lives of two very different modern composers who share the unfortunate link of both having been shot dead! The memorial to Webern, like ‘The Fall of the Leafe’, comprised seemingly sporadic musical ideas that were deeply textured and atonal. It contrasted with the almost playful memorial to Lennon that referenced the famous 1967 Beatles song ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and contained some electronic chicanery in the form of sampled sections from the Webern memorial that were played in reverse on an electronic keyboard.
If Brett Dean had composed his ‘Pastoral Symphony’ in post-Stalinist Russia, he would probably have been locked up and his music banned, because it is subversive. It is protest music. It remonstrates against the destruction of virgin rain forest in the northern Australian tropics, and the resulting destruction of the habitat of native fauna. It is somewhat unsettling music, as one hears birdsong – both mimicked by musical instruments and actual recordings – transmute into the sounds of machinery and the ungodly sounds of a world that is rapidly losing its natural environment. Some of these sounds were created by synthesizer and others by the effective use of aluminium cooking foil (!) and a violin bow being drawn across percussion instruments.
As evocative as the compositions by Davies and Dean were, they didn’t resonate with the audience as much as the two memorials by Ledger.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Grainger Studio
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Town Hall. 9 April 2014
‘Russian Dreams’ was the first of three ‘Composers in Focus’ programs generously supported by RBS Morgans in alliance with CIMB. The series is casual and informative: the orchestra is dressed casually but smartly in black – not a tail suit in sight – and local composer and musicologist Richard Chew addresses the audience at the beginning of each half and delivers an incisive overview of the music and the composer. It’s an early start and therefore an early finish as well.
Arvo Volmer led the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in three works by Tchaikovsky and one by his contemporary Rimsky-Korsakov. Tonight a number of the principal musicians were not performing and their responsibilities were taken up by associates, but it had no impact on the overall quality of the evening.
The horns, brass and woodwind were exceptionally pleasing, as usual. The joie de vivre of the ever-popular Polonaise from Act III of Tchaikovsky’s opera ‘Eugene Onegin’ was palpable, and Volmer ensured that the last section of the Act I Introduction to ‘The Queen of Spades’ was luscious.
Ike See, who is normally the Associate Concertmaster, was soloist in Rimsky-Korsakoff’s Concert Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra on Two Russian Themes. This is not one of his most gripping compositions, and doesn’t have the same virtuosic elements as say the Capriccio Espagnol, (which was his very next opus), but it abounds with moments of lyricism. Ike See’s playing was assured and confident, and he produced tonal clarity that demanded respect.
Chew informed us that Tchaikovsky, for whatever reason, made very heavy weather of his first symphony, subtitled ‘Winter Dreams’ – “It just wouldn’t come out”! It’s first two movements are named but the final two are not perhaps indicative of Tchaikovsky’s difficulties in finalising the work. The woodwinds and horns were on top of their game in the ‘Land of Desolation’ second movement, and the strings drew out the balletic themes in the third. Volmer threw the might of the orchestra at the final movement without losing any of its inherent tension.
The next ‘Composers in Focus’ concert is on Wednesday 4 June and will focus on Smetana (The Bartered Bride Overture), Mozart (with celebrated pianist Howard Shelley playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23), and Dvořák (Symphony No. 6).
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed