Tag: orchestra

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

Sir Donald Runnicles, Madeleine Pierard and the NZSO

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Sir Donald Runnicles

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Four Last Songs

R. Strauss: Rosenkavalier Suite

R. Strauss: Four Last Songs (Vier letzte Lieder) performed by Madeleine Pierard

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3

Conductor; Sir Donald Runnicles

Auckland Town Hall

October 2

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The Rosenkavalier suite is an orchestral arrangement derived from Richard Strauss’s famous 1911 comic opera and consists of five connected sections that capture the emotional and melodic core of the opera. It is a marvellous piece of composition which showed off the strength of the orchestra with Sir Donald Runnicles conducting with tremendous energy particulary in the final, uproarious waltz sequence, where Sir Donald seemed to be like a ringmaster in charge of a circus band.  

Throughout the work he ensured that all the tonal and percussive qualities of the music were appreciated, bringing out the intense drama of the work as well as the more pensive parts where the orchestra was almost whispering and in several of the dance sequences, he almost seemed to take flight.

The strings were particularly expressive in the presentation of the rose sequence as well is in the final trio, but the finest sequence of all was the prelude, with its marvellously colourful horns.

Strauss’s Four Last Songs come at the end of the period of great German music and while the songs are something of a requiem for the composer, they are also a meditation on the downfall of Germany and the end of its romantic period. However, the mixture of the depressing and the defiant can also be seen as a celebration of the eventual resurrection of the man as well as that of the country.

The four poems which are set in a garden trace out both a day and a life from the perspective of the composer reflecting on the passing of time and his own life.

The first song Frühling (Spring) is a setting of a poem by Hermann Hesse about waking up in a scent filled spring garden. The second song September makes use of a Hesse poem depicting the garden’s colours changing to autumn.

In Beim Schlafengehen (Going to Sleep) the composer uses the poem to explore his desire to escape the demands and worry of the day and to escape into the night.

The final song Im Abendrot (At Sunset) takes a poem by Joseph von Eichendorff in which the composer depicts himself and his wife at sunset contemplating death with the composer quoting from his own composition Death and Transfiguration.

 Madeleine Pierard

 Madeleine Pierard managed to capture the sense of life slowly ebbing from the body and contemplation of death with the occasional vision of tranquillity. Her shimmering gown seemed to mirror her shimmering voice shot through with light sparkling against the dark.

At times she allowed the music to overwhelm her voice as though overcome by the forces of death and despair, only to then rise above the music. At times her voice seemed like a musical instrument as it flowed among the sounds of the orchestra

Throughout the songs her voice had an introspective quality, the music providing the garden in which she wandered, her aching despairing voice emerging as though striving to find new life.

Her voice had a superb quality of emotional expression matching the emotional quality of Strauss’s music, always able to complement the power and delicacy of the music.

Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppanen provided a soulful violin solo in the Going to Sleep song, mirroring the vocal soaring of Pierard’s voice depicting the rising of the soul in flight and is emotional highlight of the song cycle.

The major work on the programme was the Brahms “Symphony No 3, a work which is full of marvellous melodies, but which is something of an enigmatic work.

In many ways it is a forerunner of the impressionist works of Debussy and Ravel reflecting the interest of the Impressionist artists of the late nineteenth century. Much of the music is linked to visions of landscape, light and shade, colours and texture.

Sir Donald took a very nuanced approach to the music exploring the chiaroscuro of the work. Every tonal change seemed to have an extra emphasis with some sections slightly truncated while others were extended and several sequences had a palpable tension.

These images he created parallel a world of emotions and feelings, the composers inner and exterior worlds mingling. In building a structure based on these links Brahms explores the nature of the human condition. This is particularly evident in the final movement with its passages of drama and tumult suggesting natural forces as well as the inner turmoil of love and passion.

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

Australian Music: Umberto Clerici Conducts Dvorak

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Umberto Clerici

Australian Music: Umberto Clerici Conducts Dvorak

Concert Hall

Sydney Opera Houseouase

September 18

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

In February 2022 as Auckland was coming out of Covid lockdown the Auckland Philharmonia gave a special performance in the Town Hall to 100 masked patrons. It was the orchestra’s first concert after nearly two years and the major work on the programme was Dvorak’s Symphony No 8, a joyful work sounding the relief after many days of seclusion.

Last week the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was playing the Dvorak symphony as part of their Tea & Symphony series which feature one-hour daytime orchestral performances at the Sydney Opera House complete with complimentary tea and biscuits.

The symphony is like the soundscape to a Czech epic tale with a mixture of nature, landscape, events and dancing, it is the music of adventures, heroics, and larger than life figures,

Like other composers of the period there is a strong element of nationalism to the music similar to the earlier works of Jean Sibelius’  such as “Finlandia” and Edward Greig’s “Peer Gynt Suites”.

The music is focused on the landscape and ethos of the country with Dvorak presenting changing moods and unfolding spectacle. He moves from the playful to the picaresque, from the dramatic to the contemplative. There is wit and there is angst all skilfully delivered by conductor Umberto Clerici.

After the honeyed tones of the opening and the sweetness of the flutes the orchestra erupted with joyous celebratory tones flecked with hints of drama. Then we heard bird-like sounds from the strings followed by some ferocious sounds from the percussion heralding a triumphant Nature.

The second movement featured a flowing dance sequence illuminated by woodwinds and flutes. Then after a mysterious segment there was another spritely dance sequence featuring strings, brass and woodwinds.

The third movement was full of shimmering sounds creating a spring-like impression full of joy followed by passages of dark foreboding while the fourth movement opens with a big, bold march tune which morphed into a sequence of Czech dance tunes such as the polka, Dvorak turning these simple melodies into clever musical inventions.

The final movement opens with commanding brass fanfare that is followed by the cello which introduced the lyrical main theme—a distinctly Czech melody consisting of wide-ranging variations which shift dynamically between moments of fiery, rustic energy and tender, introspective beauty.

The first work on the programme was Ligeti’s “Romanian Concerto“ which like Dvorak’s Symphony was a nationalistic work with the composer responding to the sounds of Romanian village band.

The work composed in1951 opens with a sweeping landscape common to many composers reacting to their country’s nationalist sympathies. The flute sounds hinting at the bright glint of light on water also suggested the dawn of a new era of modernist composition.

Then there were rousing sounds from the woodwinds referencing lively, dance themes as well as some quirky abrupt, sequences and some rustic sounds from the horns. There were also mysterious, restless passages with the sounds of gypsy strings which Legeti recalled from his youth.

The way in which he wrote the music of the village bands with a slight discordant sound was regarded by the authorities as incorrect and led to the work being banned for many years.

Future Sydney Symphony Orchestra concerts

October 30 – 31 Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Bryn Terfel

November 6 -8 Simone Young conducts Mozart & Bach

November 19 – 22 Simone Young conducts Gotterdammerung

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

Australian music: Sydney Symphony Orchestra performs Mozart’s Requiem

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Stephen Lawton. Image: Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Mozart’s Requiem

Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Sydney Opera House

September 9

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The last performance of Mozart’s Requiem I heard was a couple of years ago at the Royal Albert Hall where there were close to two thousand choristers.

Sydney Philharmonic Choirs may have had only a tenth of that number in last nights performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra but under the direction of conductor Stephen Layton it delivered an intense, introspective interpretation which showed that size alone does not produce sonic brilliance.

The Requiem  may have been written for Count Franz von Walsegg but it always feels to have been written for Mozart himself.

The Latin text that he used would have been familiar to him as well as most Europeans of the day and it would have held meaning for the composer as well with four of his six children dying young

Is is the emotional drama of the music which is very much the composers as he reflects on his own life and mortality.

 From  the opening Introit, Mozart defines what is central to the work – lifes journey from uncertainty to renewal.

In the first sections, the Introit and Kyrie we have the first intimations of a heavenly voice with a brief appearance of soprano Samantha Clarke as well as hints of melancholia from the darker strings. Mozart then gives us an extraordinary change of pace with sonic punches from orchestra and choir with Dies Irae. This acknowledgment of the Day of Wrath with thunderous sounds was as powerful as any of his operatic moments.

This was followed by Tuba mirum where the soloists and their tenuous searching voices made us aware of the human figures in the work. Baritone Simon Meadows melancholic voice alerted us to the dark dimensions of life while Clarke and mezzanine Ashlyn Tymms gave us wondrous angelic sounds.

With the Rex tremendous the soloists and orchestra provided a beautifully  layered sound providing an emotional richness. Clarke seemed particularly engaged with her bright, focused voice

Mozart only wrote the first eight bars of Lacrimosa before he died (completed by his close  friend and pupil Xaver Sussmayr. It is a sumptuous piece which conveys human sadness with  mixture of lightness and despondency which the choir elegantly delivered.

The Sanctus which followed showed a  particularly forcefully choir and orchestra while in the Benedictus which followed  Tymms’ distinctive voice along with Clarke’s soured above the warm voices of tenor Andrew Goodwin and Meadows’s powerful baritone, the four voices intermingling in an elegant display.

With the beautifully crafted Agnus Dei the choir seemed to be searching for a new sound, their voices varying from the lightest of whispers to full crescendo but with the final Communio they embarked on the great drama which ended the work.

After interval the orchestra played Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams and John Rutter’s Gloria. The Vaughan Williams melancholic music which explores British landscape with sounds of the spirit rising to an apotheosis was rewarding while Rutter’s celebratory work was fine companion work to Mozart’s Requiem.

Stephen Lawton’s conducting throughout the work was crisp and controlled ensuring a nuanced sound from the orchestra and choir but his conducting became more agitated and demonstrative when the music required.

Future Sydney Symphony Orchstra concerts

October 30 – 31 Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Bryn Terfel

November 6 -8 Simone Young conducts Mozart & Bach

November 19 –  22 Simone Young conducts Gotterdammerung

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

NZTrio’s Space Jump

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Somi Kim, Amalia Hall and Matthias Balzat

NZ Trio, Space Jump

Auckland Concert Chamber

August 16

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The title of the NZTrio’s latest concert came from the first work on the programme – Fazil Say’s “Space Jump for piano trio”. The Turkish composer, Say wrote the work having witnessed the Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner jump from a balloon 39 kilometres above the New Mexico desert. His descent time was 9 minutes and 3 seconds making him the first human to break the sound barrier in freefall without vehicle power.

The work which is like the soundtrack to a film of the event described the action of the ascent, the jump, the descent and the  parachute landing.

Ater a short introduction of several sharp sounds the music took on a free, floating tone suggesting the emptiness and soundlessness of the ascent with the occasional music hint at an inherent danger.

Halfway through the piece the cello and violin suggest an almost spectral sound before the climatic sounds of the descent, dramatic and relentless, Amalia Hall energetically plucking at the strings of her violin and the trilling of the piano captured the idea of the billowing parachute and the stillness of its descent

The trio gave an intense sonic performance which required aggressive attacks, precise harmonising, and rhythmic strength with the piano, violin, and cello cleverly creating the sense of being in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Reena Esmail’s Piano Trio stems from her Indian immigrant background with the threads of Western and Eastern music blending her interest in Hindustani music as well as that of Mendelssohn and Shostakovich.

Each of the four movements has displayed an element of the classical Indian raga which generally provided a melodic framework for improvisation.

The first movement has a particularly light quality with shimmering sounds from each of the instruments and they each seemed to be chasing an elusive sound. There were shifting dynamics between the three instruments where the subtle textures slowly morphed into raga melodies, integrating with the classical. The music was full of tremolos, slides and taut harmonies which created a sense of timelessness.

There were sparkling and watery sounds with a flowing movement along with some exuberant playing by the violin and cello while Somi Kim produced multiple runs on the piano.

The third movement hints at Mendelssohn and Shostakovich whose has been important to her and in the final movement there is a rising, intricate string melody, shimmering over over the piano work, which the led to a passage where the instruments seem to be at odds with each other before moving into a dreamlike conclusion.

The New Zealand composer Keith Moss write his “Field notes in Autum” about his living in Wellington in Autumn.

This was a truly atmospheric piece conveying many elements of Wellingtons weather and its changing light. There is a flurry of rain in the opening moments of the piece before suggestions of fleeting clouds, rain sweeping across hills along with the creeping chill of a Wellington day.

This is a sombre Wellington, dark and brooding but with flashes of sunlight dancing on the houses and hills.

The final, and major work on the programme was Schumann’s “Piano Trio No 2” which is essentially a love letter to Clara Schumann.

It was passionate and intense from the opening moments with the violin and cello in an ardent and rapid conversation. Light notes from the violin were answered with denser sounds from the cello.

The work is not just a conversation, it also conveyed the passion and drama of the couple’s relationship. With the light quivering of the violin and the richer reflections of the cello.

The second movement was less passionate and more contemplative surrounded by bursts of excitement. It is as though Schumann is seeing the relationship with more depth and understanding.

Throughout the piece violin and cello were well integrated, answering each other’s tentative questions with musing and meditations.

Somi Kim’s piano provided an ideal setting for the two strings as well as adding depth to the instruments. Violin and cello also responded to the piano giving some cheery and frothy accompaniment. Before leading to the climactic finish with some rapid intersections and mingling of voices.

As with all their concerts the trio demonstrated why they are such an innovative group programming a mix of classic and contemporary works along with New Zaland and international compositions which challenge, entertain and surprise.

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

The dynamic energy of violinist Benjamin Beilman playing Mendelelsshon

Reviewed John Daly-Peoples

Image Sav Schulman

Mendelssohn’s Violin

Auckland Philharmonia

Conductor Giordano Bellincampi
Violinist, Benjamin Beilman

Auckland Town Hall

July 16

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The major work on the programme was Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, a w ork that he had spent nearly ten years writing. While he adhered to the classical style of Beethoven, he also introduced much of the romantic ethos which leads on to the music of Brahms. In several ways he broke with tradition such as having the violin make an instant introduction to the work. Then there is no break between the first and second movements, with a bassoon note held between the two sections and the work also calls on the soloist to function as an accompanist to the orchestra for extended periods.

Benjamin Beilman opened the turbulent first movement with a relentless vigour responding urgently to the orchestra and conductor. At times his playing was raw, almost visceral revealing the passionate aspect of the work while at other times he exposed the delicate and sensual elements of the music with his playing being little more than a whisper.

He seemed very much in control tackling the work with lively self-confidence, even the passages which Mendelssohn must have written to technically challenge the performer were effortlessly disposed of.

The dynamic energy he put into the playing showed that he not only had an understanding of the technical aspects of the works but also an appreciation of the works emotional impact.

In the second movement with its restful mood there were passages where he was dominated by the orchestra as though sinking under the weight of the music, but this changed when his playing erupted, cutting through the sounds of the orchestra with an insistent voice

In the third movement in which many of the motifs of the first movement were restated he displayed a playful jousting engagement with the orchestra in a very physical manner.

Throughout he managed to conjure up some graceful, unforced tones with crisp articulation heightening the romantic sweep of the music, discovering the emotional depths of the music.

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.

For his encore Beilman played the J.S. Bach Violin Partita No. 3 in E major,with a joyous, and uplifting approach to the dance-inspired work.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D major, is an intriguing transitional work which he composed in 1802, when he was having to confront his looming deafness. Even though this may have been something which dominated his life with the symphony is optimistic and lively.

Throughout the work one got a sense of the composer experimenting with contracts and drama and there are hints of his later symphonic works which the conductor, Giordano Bellincampi revealed. While the much of the work displayed the impact of Haydn on his composing, it was the innovative and novelty of the composer which shone through.

The opening work for the programme was Schubert’s overtures “in the Italian style” composed in 1817 when “Rossini fever” was sweeping through Vienna. The work is full of effervescent energy, and charming melodies, as the composer paid homage the Iight-hearted Italian operatic style.

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

The Michael Hill International Violin Competition Grand Finale

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Beatrice Colombis

The Michael Hill International Violin Competition Grand Finale

With the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra

Auckland Town Hall

April 6th

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The Michael Hill International Violin Competition saw Beatrice Colombis Italy / Australia) winning the ultimate prize which includes $40,000, a recording on the Atoll Label, a tour with Chamber Music NZ and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and a Michael Hill pendant.

For the final concert two of the competitors Tianyou Ma (China) and Jakow Pavlenko (Ukraine / Germany) played the Sibelius Violin Concerto while Beatrice Colombis played the Shostakovich Violin Concerto in A minor. Conductor Alan Buribayev  lead the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra as they accompanied the three competitors.

Tianyou Ma took a very studious approach to the music, his face revealing a range of suppressed emotions which were also revealed in his playing techniques – from savage attacks to gentle stroking of his instrument.

With his measured playing this was a personal and thoughtful account, revealing the composer’s clever approach to the composition as well as the intricacies of the works construction.

Jakow Pavlenko’s playing had instant appeal with his showmanship being seen in his startling solo displays which were filled with intensity and bravura.

At all times he was aware of the conductor and orchestra, creating a palpable knot of energy.

With the more romantic second movement his expressive face bloomed with an appreciation and awareness of the sublime feelings being expressed through the music.

In the third movement body and bow responded with a tumultuous series of interactions between violin and orchestra, his instrument seeming to lead the orchestra on their demanding forays.

The Shostakovich Violin Concerto in A minor was written in the aftermath of The Great Patriotic War and at a time of official repression of expressive music. Beatrice Colombis’s playing expressed the horrors of the war and the despair of the post-war period as well as the composer’s depression.

Resplendent in her blue gown she seemed to be impelled by the encroaching sounds of the orchestra into an almost meditative state.

Her dominant voice sometimes gave way to other orchestral instruments, such as the harp which displayed their inventiveness but ultimately she emerged from intensity of the music, playing as though from a reverie.

The playful second movement saw her performing with more exuberance and expressive dynamism, relishing the orchestra’s onslaught, displaying some sumptuous and extravagant bowing as she led the orchestra on a savage ride.

The deathly knock of the orchestra at opening of the third movement was followed by her more confident and animated playing where each of the sections was explored with focused intensity. This was not so much a meditation but an exploration of the composer’s contemplation of the music itself.

All this was achieved with a gentle exploration of the mercurial tones of the violin which seemed to take on a life of their own compelling her to produce a final, dynamic dance of death.

Full Prize List

First prize

Beatrice Colombis, 22, who received a cash prize of $40,000, an opportunity to make a recording on the Atoll Label, a personalised professional development programme, a Michael Hill gold and diamond pendant, and a tour with Chamber Music New Zealand and the Auckland Philharmonia in 2027.

Colombis also won the $1,000 prize for the best performance of the commissioned work, Chasm by Salina Fisher, the Sheila Smith prize of a three-year loan of a Domenico Montagnana violin, facilitated by Rare Violins of New York’s In Consortium platform, and the audience prize.

The second prize of $10,000 was won by Chinese violinist Tianyou Ma and the third prize of $5,000 by German–Ukrainian violinist Jakow Pavlenko. Pavlenko also won the $1,000 chamber music prize, following his performance in the semi-final round.

The fourth prize of $4,000 went to South Korean violinist Hyein Koo, the fifth prize of $3,000 to Chinese violinist Julia-Xiaohuo Wang, and the sixth prize of $2,000 to Chinese violinist Xunyue Zhang.

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

Auckland Philharmonia’s Tchaikovsky 4

Reviewed By John Daly-Peoples

Pierre Bleuse Image Sav Schulman

Tchaikovsky 4

6.30 Session

Auckland Philharmonia

Auckland Town Hall

April 9

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Opening the Auckland Philharmonia new series of 6.30 Sessions were two works from Wagners opera “Tristan and Isolde” the  Prelude and Liebestod (love-death).

In the opera this music is used to convey the culmination of the lovers, uniting them in death, the merging of love and mortality. Several of the thematic passages were used in Lars von Trier’s film “Melancholia” which had similar themes of love and destruction.

Much of the music expressed a deep yearning which contrasted with an unsettling anxiety initially expressed by the woodwinds and strings who engaged in a tortuous conversation.

This deep yearning slowly built to an ecstatic onslaught before returning to an earnestness expressing the depth of love and despair.

In the final monuments the orchestra sought a resolution as Isolde comforted the dying Tristan with some explosive music conveying a sense of pent-up energy before the final apotheosis.

The conductor Pierre Bleuse seemed to respond to the music, his body creating sinuous shapes, crouching, arms spread wide and his exuberant hand gestures and dramatic flourishes added to the intensity of the piece.

There are a number of autobiographical symphonies where composers directly use elements of their personal lives, emotions, psychological struggles, and life narratives into the music. These works often act as musical depictions, blending personal experience with thematic development, exemplified by composers like Mahler, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky.

Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 4 like much of his music is deeply autobiographical, often channelling his intense depressions, secret homosexuality, and personal anxieties into his compositions. His most personal works, particularly his later symphonies, served as an emotional outlet for his inner torment, reflecting themes of fate, longing, and despair.

His Symphony No 4 of 1878 was written during a period of severe crisis following his failed marriage. In it he deals directly with the theme of “Fate” and his inability to escape his circumstance. His opera Eugene Onegin finished a year later also has semi-autobiographical elements, with the emotional dilemmas of the characters reflecting the composer’s own experiences with love and social pressures.

However, Tchaikovsky often used his ballet scores, such as Swan Lake as an escape into a “fantasy world” of beauty, contrasting with his intense melancholy.

The work opened with a strident form the brass and woodwinds, its joyful sounds tinged with a sense of desolation which hint at the composer depicting his elation at his renewed love of life but aware of his previous despondency. And the turbulent life around him. He seemed to wallow in his previous despair but looking forward to a new resolution.

The bleakness of the movement was punctuated by signs of light and hope provided by the sounds of the flutes which displayed touches of the composer’s ballet like melodies.

The music built to a crescendo of exaltation and release with the blaring brass which was followed by sequences of truly Romantic sounds lovingly crafted by the conductor.

The second movement opened with the woodwinds producing a Romantic yearning sound with some delightful sequences which the conductor insisted on extracting from the orchestra. In the third movement the strings engaged in a relentless pizzicato which was the composers display of musical showmanship.

The relentless strings wer3e interspersed with various instruments, notably the woodwinds and brass taking on a ballet-like momentum. Then, with e addition of the percussion instruments the orchestra created some exuberant sounds reminiscent of the composers “1812 Overture”.

The conductor Pierre Bleuse seemed inspired by the music his body swaying with intricate movements mirroring the rhythms of the music, with a dramatic display of timpani and cymbals.

After some menacing outbursts the orchestra began a joyous conclusion in an exploration of the composer’s minds and his turbulent past.

Bleuse carefully lowered the volume of the orchestra at times so that when he demanded more intensity, they were able to create a particularly dramatic sound.

The next Auckland Philharmonia 6.30 session will be Sheku & Elgar on August 12th and will feature Sheku Kanneh-Mason , described as a “Global phenomenon”. The British cellist is one of the worlds young classical stars in the world right now. His impressive resume includes winning BBC’s Young Musician of the Year, Artist-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic and performing at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Following his Carnegie Hall performance in April, this August he makes his New Zealand debut, performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto.

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

The NZSO’s Resonance: another triumph for André de Ridder

Review by John Daly-Peoples

André de Ridder

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Resonance

Conducted by André de Ridder

Auckland Town Hall

April 10

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

In introducing Shostakovich’s Symphony No 8 conductor André de Ridder mentioned a young Ukrainian conductor who had reservations about playing any Russian music during the present conflict. De Ridder acknowledged the complex issue of politics and music but insisted that with a work such as the Shostakovich which is considered to be an antiwar composition that there was a reason for it to be included in contemporary concerts.

De Ridder said he considered the work to be a requiem for all people and the most profound and honest of works which dealt with the outcome of the Second World War.

The work which was written in 1943 in the midst of the war was not well received. It was written after the Battle of Stalingrad and while the composer wrote that it was an optimistic work the Soviet authorities banned it for being pessimistic and “anti-Soviet”.

Ther work opened with huge sounds of dark strings similar to the composers Symphony No 5 written six years before. Some whispering violins could be heard trying to rise above the sounds of the darker strings like voices crying out in a dark and barren landscape.

Even the few rays of light which were suggested seemed to be infused with a darker element, light which seemed to be continually repressed, the darker strings overwhelming the lighter.

There was sense of relentless night and fog which only got darker and more overpowering and then a snare drum heralded a ferocious dance of death followed by a parody of a marching army  leading to a fateful conclusion full of pessimism and an eerie solo woodwind sounding like a lone voice or birdcall on the battlefield.

The second movement opened with sounds of glorious martial celebration or like those of a fairground but these sounds were all brash, discordant and false. It is a section which ends with a plaintiff tin whistle which accompanying the mocking sounds of a parade which become increasing more hectic as the instruments took us on a crazed march of fools.

The final three movements were full of contrasts. There were the pulsing mechanical sounds of war interspersed with moments of light along with the screams of individuals.

Great onslaughts of sound were followed by whispering violins offering  a bleak contrast. These contrasts between fragility and power, between darkness and light between triumph and defeat were central to the work and the composer’s choice of instruments.

This ambivalence reached its conclusion in the fifth movement where the intense light of the violin’s heralds not so much a triumph but a time of reflection and prayer as the orchestra faded to silence leaving the audience to reflect on a deeply tragic event.

The opening work on the programme was Ravel’s “Pavane pour une infante défunte”, is a work somewhere between a tribute and farewell to a long departed princess.  Ravel indicated that the piece depicted a pavane as it would be danced by an Infanta such as the one found in Las Meninas the painting by Velazques. He seemed to have imagined the young princess depicted in the painting as preparing to attend a dance or engaged in one. This was not a requiem but a remembrance of a past time, a past elegance and a past princess.

The sweet melodies of the work provided a sensation of fleeting clouds or the passing of frothy dancing gowns and gave the work a sense of meandering either through the ballroom or the corridors of the palace.

The trill of the harp provided images of sunlight on a river or highlighting the dancing figures. The movements of the dance are beautifully realised, the colours and sounds of dance as well as the elegance of the event.

There was change of programme for the trombone work which meant the audience heard a special work composed by Bryce Dessner who had written the music for the film The Revenant. It was played by David Bremner the Principal trombonist of the NZSO.

The work certainly exploited the sounds of the instrument resulting in an intriguing and satisfying work. From the opening we were confronted with an onslaught of notes which worked well with the pizzicato of the orchestra when they combined to give a sense of momentum.

The brass instruments provided a subtle layering of sounds underneath the blaring trombone while the strings created a hovering mysterious sound.

Bremner exploited the sounds and tones of the trombone from its blaring sounds to its eerie breath-like eruptions.

From second movement the orchestra created a changing sonic field as though it was tuning up and the trombone provided a series of short sequences whish seemed designed to test the instruments percussive sounds…

There was also an elaborate conversation between the trombone and the other brass instruments providing some very original sounds and a clever display of the trombones range and tonal textures.

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

Two spectacular concerts delivered by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples


Jian Wang Image : Leilei Cai

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

Auckland Town Hall

Auckland Arts Festival

March 19 & 20

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The highlights of this year’s Auckland Arts Festival were the two concerts presented by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the oldest symphony in Asia which has a formidable history of touring.

The seventy strong orchestra under the direction of conductor Long Yu, opened their first concert with a relatively new work by Elliot Leung – “Chinese Kitchen: A feat of Flavors”. Leung has made a name for himself both as a composer who spans Eastern and Western music but also as a composer for Hollywood films.

His background as compose of film music showed throughout his four movement Chinese Kitchen, the opening movement “Deep Fried River Prawns” displaying an inventive use of a dozen percussion instruments.   The collection of instruments including maracas, cymbals, bells, clappers and xylophone created a syncopated sound which recreated the noise, colour and hectic movement of a Chinese kitchen.

This movement and the others showed the composers ability to create musical equivalents of the taste, texture and colours of Chinese dishes. In the second movement “Buddha Jumps on the Wall” the woodwinds created a luxurious sequence with the melodies taken up by the piano and harp. The music flowed effortlessly between moments of savage attack and sequences of little more than whispers. While this was a Western style music it was flecked through with clever traditional Chinese elements. The Western style music could be detected in some Copland style passage as well as a nod to the music of “The Wizard of Oz”.

With “Vegetable in Soup” there was a sense of vegetables bubbling away in a pot, the tempo of the music becoming more animated as the piece evolved and in “Deep Fried Sesame Balls” there was again adventurous percussion playing which could have come from an Indiana Jones film  provided an electrifying display.

Conductor Long Yu used his hands and body to great effect with his generous movements and careful directions which adding to the sense of a watery, misty environment with surprises erupting from the music, seemingly at his command.

Playing Tchaikovsky’s “Variations on a Rococo Theme” cellist Jian Wang glided effortlessly through the work, revelling in the interplay with the orchestra in a tantalising display which emphasised aspects of the sophisticated composition. He made use of the various solo sections to show an understanding of the work as well displaying his extraordinary technical skills.

He was able to combine, as did Tchaikovsky, an understanding of the romanticism of the Rococo theme as well as debt to Mozart which gives the work its spectacle in the way that cello and orchestra intertwine. The theme was dissected and re-formed in different guises with Wang seemingly finding new opportunities in the melodies as well as exploring its tones, and textures.

Serena Wang Image : Leilei Cai

Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 is one of the top ten piano concertos and is the last great Romantic piano concerto of the nineteenth century, full of lyricism as well as many dramatic moments. The pianist has to be capable of producing the most poignant of sounds as well as the most intense.

Pianist Serena Wang was able to deliver both these qualities of the work as she ranged from the pensive to the flamboyant.

From the opening moments where she responded to the brash horns and sharp flourishes of the orchestra Wang dominated the stage with some dazzling displays.

Her expression when playing changed continuously and she took on various poses from rapture to steely focus. At times there was a tenderness to her playing while at others a brutal rawness and then at other times she seemed to be cajoling herself into discovering new depths to the music

Her rapport with the orchestra was constantly changing as well. Battling with the orchestra, chasing the dramatic themes conjured up by the orchestra and then the dynamics would change, and the orchestra would attempt to match her feverish playing. There were also several moments of musical poetry when Wang had interchanges with the flutes, and clarinets.

After the frenetic finale the audience responded with a huge ovation, but this was matched by even great applause when she and the orchestra played a stunning version of Pokarekare Ana. 

The second concert was bookended by two pieces which had featured ih their first concert  Elliot Leung’s – “Chinese Kitchen: A feast of Flavors” and the orchestra playing of Pokarekare Ana with Serena Wang.

The major work on the programme was Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No 2 which was written ten years after his first symphony’s disastrous reception 1897. It is a masterpiece of late-Romanticism, combining a deep Russian melodic yearning with an intense symphonic structure, combining lush harmonies, with an emotional depth.  

There were passages of great delicacy in the first movement which reflected his love of the Russian landscape and Russian history. However, he was unhappy with the political climate in Russia at the time and moved to Dresden, Germany, where he wrote the symphony in 1906. This aspect shows in the work as he seems to be looking forward to a new dawn both politically and musically, the music full of positive aspirations.

The soaring strings and blaring passages owe much to his early friendship with Thaikovsky and the earlier composer’s sounds recur throughout this symphony, notably the 1812 Overture.

In the second movement there were wistful, dreamy sequences as well as urgent, action filled sections while the romantic third movement was carried along by some delightful flutes, filled with intense yearning, giving voice to a modern Russia, a feeling which was being expressed by many Russian writers and dramatists at the time.

Also on the programme was Gigang Chen’s “Er Huang, for Piano and Orchestra” which had been commissioned by Carnegie Hall in 2009 and is based on the composer’s interest in Peking Opera.

Serena Wang’s playing developed with slow tentative sounds, providing a sense of a hazy, limpid environment. The pianist’s crisp sounds trembling above the subdued sounds of the orchestra were like an Impressionist work with each individual note and section clearly articulated.

They were like the images of raindrops on water, or the descriptions of flowers and landscapes. The moods expressed seemed simultaneously to be like Impressionist paintings of the late nineteenth century as well as a depictions of classical Chinese paintings where the aim was to capture not only the outer appearance of a subject but its inner energy and life force.

Wang seemed captivated by the music, being drawn deeper and deeper into its complexity. At times she expressed a celebratory approach to her discoveries, raising her arms in triumph.

Wang’s expression of triumph could be applied to the success of the orchestra’s success in providing Auckland with two outstanding concerts along with two exceptional soloists in Serena Wang and Jian Wang.

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

Daniel Muller-Schott’s elegant and expressive performance

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Daniel Muller-Schott Image, Uve Arens

Auckland Philharmonia

Schumann Cello Concerto

Auckland Town Hall

November 13

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The Auckland Philharmonia’s Schumann’s “Cello Concerto” concert opened with Schubert’s “Rosamunde Overture”, a work which was written at a time when all of Beethoven’s symphonies (apart from his final – the Ninth) had been performed and composers made attempts at homages to the composer.

The opening features much of the drama typical of Beethoven with the dance-like passages caried along by the woodwinds. The joyous melodies are an ideal introduction to the play Rosamunde which tells of the adventures of a shepherdess in some idyllic settings.

Some of the dance-like music sounds like precursor of the later Viennese dance music which would come several years later. Conductor Giordano Bellincampi seemed to be inspired by the music, his arms performing arabesques as he responded to the passionate dance-like melodies.

The major work on the programme was Schumann’s “Cello Concerto”, a work which has some funereal tones throughout and is often thought of as foreshadowing his death. Cellist Daniel Muller-Schott opened the work with some melancholic sounds which slowly evolved into playing which was more ethereal and meditative with sequence which were supported by the strings.

With much of his playing he took a serious and studious approach as he explored some of the darker elements of the work which then morphed into more uplifting passages.

The second movement saw Muller-Schott playing in a more cautious manner and there was sense of apprehension before returning to the earlier theme as both he and the orchestra engaged in dramatic interchanges.

Muller-Schott played with a range of approaches. At times he was lethargic while at other times dramatic and towards the conclusion he took a more tentative approach as through trying to rediscover the main theme before producing a dramatic conclusion.

Overall Muller-Schott gave an elegant and expressive performance which showed him to be totally in control but also that he had an awareness of the orchestra and the emotional qualities of the music.

The final work on the programme was one of Beethoven earliest major works, “The Creation of Prometheus”, written for a ballet at the imperial court of Austria choreographed by Calvatore Vigano. The work has a similar theme to that which Mary Shelley explored in her “Frankenstein – a Modern Prometheus” – the implication s of man attempting to create life.

The ballet tells of Promethea creating a man and woman from stone statues, but they have no souls. Apollo helps Prometheus teaching them music, dance and drama. Through the series of dances Beethoven’s provides music which explores the qualities which make humans more knowledgeable and spiritual.

Each of the sections featured one of the orchestral sections – delicate music with strings harp and woodwinds, a brilliant cello sequence played by Ashley Brown, flute playing for a court dance sequence and a country dance by strings and woodwind. Beethoven seemed to have allocated certain instruments to characters in the ballet – Apollo the harp, Melpomene the oboe, the Male Creature the oboe bassoon.

While the music serves the ballet well it can also be seen as something of a calling card for Beethoven who had only written two of his symphonies at the time. With this work he showed his mastery of composition, his knowledge of the orchestra’s instruments.

With the various sections Beethoven also provided himself with melodies which he used in some of his later work with one of the sequences being used for his Eroica symphony.

To subscribe or follow New Zealand Arts Review site – www.nzartsreview.org.

The “Follow button” at the bottom right will appear and clicking on that button  will allow you to follow that blog and all future posts will arrive on your email.

Or go to https://nzartsreview.org/blog/, Scroll down and click “Subscribe”