Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples
Might & Majesty
Auckland Philharmonia
Auckland Town Hall
Weber, Euryanthe: Overture
Bruch, Violin Concerto No.1
J.S. Bach, (arr. Webern) The Musical Offering: Ricercar
Mendelssohn, Symphony No.5 ‘Reformation’
July20
Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples
The highlight of the APO’s Might & Majesty concert was Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto played by violinist Benjamin Beilman, a work which offers great rewards every time it is played. Beilman gave an intelligent and passionate account of the work, bringing fresh insights to the work which expresses sorrow, melancholy, regret and ultimately redemption. It was these qualities that Beilman was able to draw from the music.
Following the introduction of soft timpani and woodwinds Beilman’s opening plea was forceful and energetic with his whole body responding to the music, quivering with emotion. There were times when his sounds captured the image of a bird taking flight and others where the sounds and images he created seemed to disappear into the ether.
Both the soft, wispy passages as well as the more dramatic ones were given full expression. At times the violin sounded tearful in its grief while at other times there was a restless anger.
He responded to the orchestra’s huge blast of overwhelming sound with his own anguished sound which was also reflected in his tight bodily movements.
In the more lyrical passages, he seemed to dance with the joy of the work while in the final celebratory section his playing became feverish as he skirmished with the orchestra.
Following the thunderous applause of the audience he played a delicate interpretation of Bach’s Gavotte.
Following the interval was another Bach work which offered an interesting history of musical composition. The work’s main theme was originally written for Bach by Frederick II, the King of Prussia. The composer then developed the theme into his major work “The Musical Offering”. The kings simple work, probably for solo flute was thus made into a work for a string quartet.
Then in the twentieth century Anton Webern orchestrated the Bach for a full orchestra. This distinctly modernist version of the Bach made one aware of structural nature of the original composition. Webern deconstructs the original with the various sections of the orchestra along with solo instruments making variations on Bach’s original work, expanding it with themes and variations.
The opening work on the programme was Carl Maria von Weber’s overture to his opera Euryanthe. While not as well-known as his more popular Der Freischütz the work had the same spirited music as Der Freischütz with a rich emotional core.
Conductor Giordano Bellincampi ensured that the music evolved from the opening sense of mystery into passages of high energy drama which can ultimately be seem in the later work of Verdi and Wagner.
The major work on the programme was Mendelssohn’s Symphony No 5 (The Reformation} celebrating the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther. The various passages of drama, contemplation and celebration can be interpreted as reflecting Luther’s life and the growth of Protestantism.
The work opened with some delicate, atmospheric sounds which evolved into grand brass sounds pitted against the soft strings which in turn led to some rousing depictions of natural forms and dramatic landscape portraits with huge natural forces much like his Hebrides Overture .
The second movement with its jaunty colourful folk dance was followed by more introspective passages. At this point Bellincampi had chosen to perform Mendelssohn’s original version of the work with a bridge passage between the 3rd movement and finale. This saw some exquisite solo flute playing which evolved into passages featuring all the woodwinds before including the entire orchestra . This passage may have been used by the composer to reference Luther who was an accomplished flute player himself
The big celebratory final movement provides the symphony title of “The Reformation” as it uses the theme from Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Future is our God” as the work was written for the 300th anniversary celebration of Luther and the Augustan Confession, one of the most important documents of the Protestant Reformation.
Next Concerts
Violinist Yanghe Yu, APO playing Violin Schubert String Quintet
July 24, Titirangi War Memorial Hall
July 25 St Heliers Church and Community Centre
August 3 Brahms 1
Conductor Giordano Bellincampi
Baritone Benson Wilson
Ross Harris Symphony No.7 (world premiere)
Mahler Songs of a Wayfarer
Brahms Symphony No.1
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