
I ran into some fellow classical players and one had just
started going to CSO concerts because she was approaching 35 and that's the
cutoff age for cheaper tickets and another had played in Canberra for yonks and
this was his first concert. We'd been
subscribers but missed gigs too often to maintain a subscription and then had
got too busy. But I was glad we got back
for this one. The music was Charles Ives
Unanswered question, Elena Kats-Chernin Night and now, a flute concerto with
Sally Walker, and Tchaikovsky Symphony 6.
Observations? We were up the back
so interesting to observe the lone trumpeter injecting into Ives, as an
alternative voice. Jessica Cottis had
argued this was about a staid life and the alternative. Then Elena K-C in 3 movements. I found the first movement pretty steady and
repeating, but it enlivened for the second and third movements, even if the
flute could be lost amongst the great hubble-bubble. Then the Tchaikovsky. Apparently Tchaiks considered it his best
work. I was his last - he died ~8 days
after the first performance. It starts
quietly, then a 5/4 waltz and a march and the quieter final movement. I can't hear Tchaiks without marvelling at his
ability to create glorious melody from the simple lines, then meld and mould
it. And the CSO did a great job, nice
phrasing and movement and section play, and huge dynamics. We were in the last row upstairs and i
measured volume around 88Db down to a whisper. And Jessica Cottis virtually dances on the
conductor's podium. Interestingly, the
orchestra seemed to be well off her indications, but consistently so, so it all
held together, so good. They were recording,
so many mics around the stage. We left
in some elation, and not just Megan and I, but also muso friends we saw
afterwards.. Plenty of smiles so all
good. Very glad we went.
Jessica Cottis (conductor) led the Canberra Symphony
Orchestra at Llewellyn Hall playing Ives, Kat-Chernin and Tchaikovsky with
soloist Sally Walker (flute).
PS. The following day
I had lunch with Elena Kats-Chernin and it was a very pleasant outing. We talked of music, of course, but not just. Meeting musicians outside the concert hall
gives you a chance to talk of other things. It's a key pleasure when we host CIMF
visitors. We talked of family, home,
history, music and musicians and previous
night's concert (the encore was Eliza's aria from Wild Swans), touched on
politics, national and otherwise. Perhaps
more. Such an interesting, wide ranging
discussion and a pleasant
interlude. Elena, lovely to chat.