Southern Sinfonia 2010 Season Reviews
An enthralling experience
What an enthralling experience firstly to walk down John Ritchie's quirky tongue-in-cheek, lovingly honest "Papanui Road". We hear the Austin horn and the tram bell, the flurry of pedestrians, the reflective moment in which all brassy commerce evaporates, and observe Shostie the cat nose her way through the butcher's door. Those of us lucky enough to remember the pre-malls shopping centres of suburban New Zealand had the delightful cacophony of an environment free of air-conditioned muzak, retold eloquently and uncluttered by nostalgia.
Simon Over, John Ritchie, Composer of Papanui Road and
Anthony Ritchie, Composer of Symphony No 3
Secondly we walk through Anthony Ritchie's internal world of duality; equally compelling, rhythmically dynamic and unashamedly honest: brilliant instrumentation and excellent dramatic weighting allotted to percussion, brass, wood and string; the climax of tension snapping like high tensile wire into silence was absolutely thrilling. "Up" was, we are told, a display of boisterous action and bright upbeat emotions. What was heard was dangerous manic activity, the inability to actually be "up" in the battle against depression's demons. "Down", purportedly melancholic and depressively dragged, sounded more restful, the battle lost. However, the omnipresent throb inhibiting clarity, raging frustrations and weighted spirits were all brilliantly realized. The Coda, where psychic balance is rediscovered was comparatively and revealingly short, leaving the sense that demons are never far from the door. Its lyrically layered and ethereal lines harkened with clarity. Overall there was no sense in No 3 of Anthony's influences. He no longer doffs his cap at Adams, Reich, Shostie [Shostakovich] or even Bartók. The hand of a master composer is proudly acknowledged when a full house gives thunderous applause.
Though equally brilliantly composed and performed, Beethoven's "Violin Concerto" with violinist Bella Hristova, sadly gets less space here. Exquisitely thrown lines; no reliance on rubato or melodrama; emphasis on classic purity and cut-crystal precision; something of a woman's light touch on grumpy moods; powerful gritty cadenzas and finally brilliant portrayal of the fragility of peace.
This was an absolutely exquisite evening, thanks to the excellent beneficence of Simon Over, Southern Sinfonia, J & A Ritchie and Hristova. This true opening to Otago's Festival presents a line of thinking about the way in which we celebrate our cultural locality and healthy parochialism that won wholehearted support."
Southern Sinfonia with conductor Simon Over and violinist Bella Hristova at rehearsal.
The Symphony No 3 concert was held in the Dunedin Town Hall on Sunday 9 October 2010 and was reviewed for the ODT by Marian Poole.
Interviews with the artists
Kate Lovell, Southern Sinfonia publicist, interviewed the artists for the performance of Ritchie's Symphony No. 3, to be held in the Dunedin Town Hall on Saturday 9 October at 8:00 pm. Download this PDF (282KB) to read these very interesting interviews with the artists.
Cellist delights audience
A capacity house cheered and stamped cellist Andreas Brantelid's performance of Saint Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor.
Written in Paris in 1872, the work sealed the composer's reputation and promises to do the same for Scandinavian Brantelid. Rocking and cradling his cello, he gave an excellent sense of the work's dramatic timing, and a flawless execution of the alternately turbulent, splendidly bold and delicate melodies.
A sublime work, it was breathtakingly performed by one of Europe's rising stars.
Gounod is not well known for his symphonic writing, even though this work was popular in its day. His First Symphony, written in 1855, can be heard to have influenced his pupil Bizet and to have been influenced by Mendelssohn. It is a sweet and charming little thing which except for some sawing on high notes from the first violins, the Sinfonia gave a lovely airing. The first movement has the feel of overture; the second movement contains a fugue, where the Sinfonia pointed theme and counter-theme with delicate precision; the third movement's scherzo, somewhat misnamed, danced with simple melodies.
Poulenc's Sinfonietta, written in 1947, is very serious one moment and almost flippant the next. It incorporates big band sounds to which the Sinfonia brass did justice. Classic Hollywood sounds interject throughout an overall pastoral feel and folk-line tunes. However, there is much humour in his many allusions to the popular music of his day and to his swirling energy.
Conductor Werner Andreas Albert's attention to detail and economical but kindly leadership made this final outing - Vive La France! - of the 2010 season a performance to remember.
The Vive La France! concert was held at King's and Queen's Performing Arts Centre on Sunday 29 August 2010 and was reviewed for the ODT by Marian Poole.
Horn brilliant, strings gelled
King's and Queen's Performing Arts Centre in South Dunedin was a new venue for yesterday's matinee concert by Southern Sinfonia, conducted by 25-year-old Australian conductor Dane Lam.
The title for the concert, "Horn Magic", came from Mozart's Horn Concerto No 4 and The Ripe Breath of Autumn by David Hamilton, which featured some outstanding French horn playing by Canadian Jeffrey Nelsen.
The full auditorium was acoustically unforgiving for the opening few minutes of the first work of the programme - Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite.
Not until the third of this eight-section suite did the string sections really gell, luckily in time for an impressive fourth, very fast Tarantella.
Some fine woodwind passages were commendable features in this work of great variety. The Mozart concerto showcased Nelson's command of horn playing with superb phrasing and articulation, and seemingly effortless manufacture of smooth, velvety tone and nuance.
The Romanza was exceptionally lyrical, with long sumptuous legato phrases, and the thin-toned insecurity evident in the Sinfonia's Stravinsky opening entirely banished.
Hamilton's contemporary work was also highlighted by the solo horn performance. A cold piece of mostly sustained dissonance, slow deliberation and wide garish intervals, I kept thinking, "Bring on the Mendelssohn".
This final work, Symphony No 1, (composed by a 15-year-old Mendelssohn) exonerated the strings.
Robust, strong texture was maintained throughout three exhilarating movements, with appropriate calm and sweeter mood in the Andante. I personally liked the venue's tiered seating, which added a visual aspect to the performance, and from centre back the "acoustic blend" for full orchestra was excellent.
The Horn Magic Concert was held at King's and Queen's Performing Arts Centre on Sunday 18 July 2010 and was reviewed for the ODT by Elizabeth Bouman.
Deng deft in nuance, substance
Three local artists celebrated the end of New Zealand Music Month with the Southern Sinfonia led by Werner Andreas Albert, recently the recipient of two prestigious awards, before a nearly full house at the town hall on Saturday.
In all cases the performances were assured and professional but the highlight of the evening has to go to Modi Deng.
Chopin's Variations on Mozart's "La ci darem la mano", written when he was a child prodigy, is an extremely apt show piece for young hands.
A mere slip of a girl, Deng became transformed at the keyboard into an assured performer, equal to the work's quicksilver runs, the pointing of the theme and its changing moods.
There are hours of work, dedication and probably frustration which go into being a perfectionist. We hope to hear plenty more from Deng before she seeks overseas limelights.
Schumann's Cello Concerto in A Minor certainly needs to be heard more often.
Playing at a reasonable pace and with obvious enjoyment, Ashley Brown explored Schumann's romanticism with guttural attacks and great delicacy, always allowing his splendid instrument to speak freshly.
The second slow movement and the coda, here more of a cadenza, were scintillating. The Southern Sinfonia complemented Brown's work well.
Mahler's Symphony No 4 seemed initially a little too uncertain of its direction. However, as the melodic line asserted itself so did the Southern Sinfonia. The demands it makes on brass and wind were mostly met and in some cases met very well.
The works are as complicated as Mahler and as living in the treacherous Vienna of 1899 but the final movement, The Youth's Magic Horn sung by Emma Fraser whose voice gains rich depths, dissolves all angst with unworldly naivety.
All three works are new to the Southern Sinfonia and are testament of Albert's keen-eared guidance.
The Triple Birthday Extravaganza Concert was held in the Dunedin Town Hall on Saturday 29 May 2010 and was reviewed for the ODT by Marian Poole.
Russian masters delight a near capacity audience
The Southern Sinfonia conducted by Brett Kelly delighted a near capacity house with two Russian masters and Beethoven, who, having the last word, changed the tone of the party.
The highlight of the evening in regard to crisp sound and direction, attention to nuance, naivety and tragedy was the Sinfonia's rendition of Tchaikovsky's Romeo And Juliet Fantasy Overture. They stayed alive to the need for clear articulation of the love scenes, and the fight scenes allowed suitably thrilling exploration of dissonance. The performance was excellent. Bravo.
Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Concerto is usually played with slashing down bows and grating up swings, where the performer gesticulates anger, sorrow and sit with equal strength. Violinist Vesa-Matti Leppänen and Brett Kelly gave a more subdued, almost romantic interpretation, producing a thin mellow sound. Passages of extraordinary virtuosic demands hid their light behind the Sinfonia. Where Prokofiev's intelligent and acerbic voice emerges from behind a so-called simple rustic wit - which many presume to be his way of thumbing his nose at Stalin - Leppänen - seemed apologetic. However, a new interpretation which makes the audience and musicologists think about the way someone like Prokofiev is interpreted is always welcome. Though more weight to his bow might have been made, Leppänen's performance more feisty, it is good that he surprised expectations. His technique is confident and without flaw and he was deservedly very well received.
During his day, Beethoven was described as vapid; now it seems his grappling with the big picture sways the concert world. Admittedly brilliantly performed, at quite a pace with full concentration on his sweep gestures, dramatic chords to keep us alert and tight interplay of themes, he thrilled the audience, but, one ventures, no more than, say, Rachmaninov would have given the opportunity to keep the more than tonal language and the programme theme intact.
Brett Kelly rewarded the audience with an encore of that old Irish favourite Danny Boy. While one should not gripe about an extra treat, perhaps one of Shostakovich's jazz numbers would have better filled the bill. Bravo.
The Russian Masters Concert was held in the Dunedin Town Hall on Saturday 1 May 2010 and was reviewed for the ODT by Marian Poole.