An unlikely forty winks

Apparently someone heard snoring in the audience and was surprised given this was a Shostakovich symphony but Rami was just 6 months old so, so be it.  NCO is generous to its audience!  But jokes side this was a big and impressive gig.  NCO played Shostakovich Symphony 5, Weber Bassoon concerto with Ben Hoadley as soloist and Ella Macens  The space between stars.  Ella had studied with Louis so was close to home, but well regarded in her own light.  The Macens is a work celebrating the night sky, picturing stars, constellations, even meteors, all long notes and slow tempos and defined dynamics moving amongst parts.  The Weber is a renowned concerto on the cusp of classical, neat and ordered, steady with flashy inserted passages, ponderous but pensive second movement, and a quick, lively, buoyant third.  This was fun.  The orchestra could have overwhelmed the solo bassoon, but was delightfully restrained.  I personally loved the light touch this demanded.  And a good ear for Ben and a trained eye for Louis, for there were some very malleable tempos.  Lovely and satisfying to play.  Then to the interval and the main work: Shostakovich Symphony no.5 op,47.  It was all a confusing mess at first but came together with practice and rehearsals and ended in concert as a fascinating, challenging expanse over four movement.  Plenty of action for the basses who start two movements with gutsy melodies.  There's a truly delicious passage for the concert master, explosive runs throughout, odd movements and harmonies (I drooled over a passage running scalar to Bb then dropping to an E to end.  Louis directed with aplomb, the winds were stupendous as they so often are, I'd heard some touchy intonations in the basses, but listening after to a little video I thought the intonation was quite professional.  But it's a complex and different work thus challenging and I can only admire people who enjoyed it if not knowing it before.  This is big and a difficult listen but fascinating.  How wonderful to have played it.

National Capital Orchestra performed Ella Macens, Carl Maria von Weber and Dmitri Shostakovich at Snow concert hall under Louis Sharpe (MD, conductor) with soloist Ben Hoadley (bassoon) and Thayer Preece (concertmaster).  String bottom enders were Henry South (principal), Juliet Flook, Jennifer Groom, Talia Meischke, Jeremy Tsuei and Eric Pozza (double bass).

Thanks to Sophia for the bassists pic.

Tchaiks does hooks

My first up concert for the weekend. Busy.  This was Musica da Camera under Brad Tham, who returned after playing with us a year before.  He's quiet and respectful and a talented musician and recent ANU graduate.  His choice started with a relatively straightforward Brook green suite which was written for a schoolgirls' orchestra.  It's shortish despite its three movements and not difficult despite some tricky, malleable counting and some speed in the last dance movement.  Then Lonely Angel by Peteris Vasks, another modern meditation featuring Brad on violin out front.  Slow but can be difficult to manage without a conductor, given offbeat changes and lines.  But the feature was Tchaikovsky Serenade for strings.  Lovely and inviting and challenging enough.  Again it has speed and occasional tricky lines, a delightful waltz as movement 2, a stirring elegie as movement 3, and some fairly straightforward if fast lines and scales in movement 3.  But it's something everyone knows and is immediately pleasurable.  How well does Tchaikovsky do melody, often with the simplest of lines.  Nicely played by our MdCC led by our quietly talented Brad.

Musica da Camera Canberra played Holst, Vasks and Tchaikovsky at Cook under Brad Tham (MD, violin) with Tanya Jenkin (concertmaster).

Good out

Good to get out for some jazz.  I'm busy with all manner of classical music, which I love and some of which I play, but jazz remains a long love and this was a corker.  A corporate gig with a contented and welcoming audience and we play our music, standards and James', and the sound is good and we are playing well.  Relaxed, welcoming and a nice beer and some nibbles.  Such a nice night out, playing, if too rarely listening these days. Close to home, too.

Tilt were James Woodman (piano), Mark Levers (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass).

Keys of a different ilk

I usually think of Linus Lee as an organist and I love his performances and I love organ, especially for the dramatic, deep, pensive nature of the thing.  But this concert was called Interesting Oz Composers and the music was of the early C20th by composers with obscure names, sometimes with pseudonyms, Hall as Morel, Zelman, Mareo as Marsden, Knox, de Chaneet, and titles with subtitles, like Elaine: Marceau brillant or In the gloaming: romance or Glowing embers: narrative-intermezzo.   It was James who suggested music for silent movies, and it's quite likely, being varied and emotive and narrative.  Other than a few ordinary titles, Hungarian dances op.17 no,5,8 and Elegy for the violin, that is.  These were all on piano, but even the organ tunes to end had a similar presence, so Gates of Baghdad, Norwegian cradle song: tone picture and Lady Pompadour: a court dance, all by F Hall as Gabriel Morel.  But whatever the theme and compositions, they were inviting and pleasant and nicely played for a wonderful outing by Linus, even with limited 32' double open diapason or contra violine.

Linus Lee performed early C20th Australian composers on piano and organ at Wesley.

Movies and more

I caught Stuart Long doing a lighter piano concert than normal.  This was music of films and Satie and Glass and Nyman and Morricone and Ye.  Ye?  Yes, a tune from when he was Kanye West.  It a change from Prokofiev and Schubert and Beethoven that I'd heard from him before.  And from from the compositions of Alan Hinde that we'd recorded recently and that we will complete sometime soonish.  Some film tunes are deeply moving and melodically inviting, like Nyman form The Piano and Morricone from Cinema Paradiso.  Just lovely.  Then an encore from Sally Greenaway which was again lyrical and luscious.  Nice outing.

Stuart Long played film and other musics at Wesley.

Guts most pleasant

It was a very busy night.  We had a jazz gig that I couldn't do, and thank you tickets to Luminescence that we couldn't take up and a Motown show band was live at the Germo, but we'd bought tix to the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra at our local concert hall and we had hosted one of their two MDs for a CIMF in the past, so it was meant to be.  In the end, the other MD came but it was an excellent performance.  This group has a myriad of albums!  They play superbly capable baroque with authentic instruments and their members sit in with plenty of important baroque orchestras around Europe.  I was not so sure of the first set perhaps, perhaps the fortepiano concerto was less frequently played.   The keyboard could get lost in the mix and it wasn't quite so together, but the second set was settled and blissful, probably tunes they play incessantly and they were superb: accurate, together, intoned, expressive.  I was eyeing the bass lying on stage in the interval then Dina Kehl came to tune up and we chatted.  Violine, gut, frets, tuning (perhaps FADF♯A), bow (big, convex, German).  I looked up Dina later and she has all manner of interesting musical projects: take a look.  Mostly her task was pretty simple if nicely done, but there were some semiquaver runs that had me in awe, so fast and clear and not at all faked.  But as it should be with a group at this level.  The music as pretty obvious: JC Bach symph Gmin, Mozart piano conc no.9 Eb, Mozart violin conc no.5 Amaj, Mozart symph no.40 Gmin.  And a final, short encore.  Impressive but also just so lovely.  And nice to meet Dina and to catch up with various friends in the audience.  This was a big and satisfying one.

The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra performed at Snow Concert Hall with soloists Kristian Bexuidinhout (pianoforte) and Gottfried von der Goltz (violin, MD) and bass ender Dina Kehl (violone).

Bass alt.

It feels a strange outcome for me to be bass in the string section assisting at a jazz big band gig.  But there I was.  Nice that the jazz bassist, Evan, did a great job, and I could enjoy a listen in.  I liked the role of providing colour and hits and tonal washes against the drive and excitement of 13 or so wind instruments and a 5 part rhythm section.  This was ConneXion Big Band and we were playing the return gig of their 64-Bit Big Band Videogame Music Night.  So there were costumes and music very unlike the clicks and buzzes I remember from Asteroids.  Games are different now: sophisticated and complex and filmic with some great composition.  We played two sets, mostly all in, about 1/3 with just the big band, several tunes with singers.  It was a load of fun and, at least earlier on, a challenge for the syncopations which can be a job to read.  I was blown out by sax and brass hits, some blaring guitar solos, some great bass, nice drums and percussion, a few memorable solos from all manner of horns not least from Justin B upfront.  Interesting, too, to see the mix of ages, with some very capable players of little ages, not least Nicole who sat in front of me.  And it all sat together in the end and the audience and band enjoyed it all and I was perfectly happy to sit in the accompanying strings.

ConneXions Big Band performed computer games music at the Belconnon Community Theatre under Aaron Michael (MD) with singers Zanelle Ramsay-Daniel (vocals) and Justin Buckingham (vocals, alto, MC).  Bottom enders were Evan Teece and Eric Pozza (basses) and Nicole Philipse (cello) approached the bottom end.

All is well

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.

Observations

 

This was a combination of bassoon and harpsichord from Ben Hoadley and Ariana Odermatt at Wesley.  It's not a common combination, but quite lovely.  And it's not a pairing of baroque instruments as the bassoon was modern, but nonetheless, quite lovely.  And also not all baroque music, and again quite lovely.  Ben mentioned playing the modern bassoon with harpsichord and how it was a different experience, bigger and louder, I guess, and maybe more fluent.  Whatever, they sat nicely together.  He also highlighted the period of the musics: the first three were Marcello, Telemann and Couperin, all early 1700s, and the last Francois Devienne, late 1700.  It was obvious when you were made aware of it.  The earlier period was of royal courts; the later was of the people, entertainment, post-revolution and clearly more classical-styled.  I'd quipped to Ariana earlier that the harpsichord didn't change volume and she'd responded with louder, dirtier sound.  Then sure enough, the first and second courante by Couperin did exactly the same, quiet and delicate, then dirtier and louder.  So lots to observe and some lovely playing to just enjoy.  What's better?

Ben Hoadley (bassoon) and Ariana Odermatt (harpsichord) performed at Wesley.

Being the blues

The Canberra Blues Society jam session is a blast from the past in several ways, not least that I return to an e-bass.  Fretted or fretless was the decision this time.  I was conservative and stuck with my fretted JB.  Someone asked why not double, but it's so enjoyable to race over the neat neck with soft strings and it's a more apt sound anyway to my ears.  Maybe Peter Barta was in two minds as his instrument was an Ibanez with a mixed fretted 4-string/fretless 3 string neck (SRAS-7 Ahula).  It's weird, but proof that Ibanez is adventurous.  I got a chance to play with Gary France for a first time, if only for a standard 3-song jam, and our group was all round a great pleasure: John van Beuren, Ross Buchanan, Gary, Steve Hartnett and singers Dan Litts and Lily (not sure of these names).  But of course it's the one group I don't have a photo of.  The host band this month was Blues Accelerators: a guitar blues band with horn section, here baritone and tenor saxes, but normally also with a alto.  They were playing tight and tonal as I arrived and the bari in Midnight hour just confirmed how nice the horns were in a blues context.  There were 4 or 5 other jamming groups and some younger performers and a few dancers.  And it's a relaxed event with excellent sound and tables and chairs and German beers so a nice, dark, sun-free way to spend a Sunday arvo.  I had a great time.  And for those who don't know of it, that's a genuine piece of the Berlin Wall outside club.

The Canberra Blues Society jam session is held monthly at Harmonie German Club.

Jack

Luminescence Chamber Singers needed a host for a member joining temporarily from Melbourne.  We do this stuff and it's fun and intriguing to chat with musicians and generally just with people from other places.  Thus Jack came to stay with us for a few days during the preparation for the next Luminescence concert.  Interestingly, they replaced a woman with a man and changed various roles within the choir.  Jack ended up singing tenor although he can sing considerably higher.  They are touring NSW over coming weeks including a gig at the ACO pier, no less.  Sadly our calendar has a triple conflict on the night they are performing in Canberra, so we will not even see Jack with LCC.  But nice to meet Jack and chat regardless. 

Jack Jordan (singer) visited Canberra to rehearse then tour Carlo Gesualdo Tenebrae Responsories with Luminescence Chamber Singers.

Loss, grief and healing

As I write this I regret that I hadn't read the generous and informative program notes before this performance.  This was Oriana Chorale performing at Wesley Church and the title/theme was We are not ready : Music of loss, of grief and of healing.  Not an easy topic and the program even came with a warning of possible emotional triggers.  The music was of various eras, several modern, several regarding a passage of the King James version of the Bible on a son's loss, several on other losses, in various wars or otherwise.  I might have listened differently.  I just noted the modern dissonances and chromatics and the comparisons with the sweet harmonies of Monteverdi.  The lyrics were not included in this program and maybe they would have guided the appreciation.  Whatever, I've recorded it so look forward to a relisten after reading the excellent program notes .  But otherwise, this is a wonderful choir, with high notes towering above with SATB males and female voices with wonderful skills and clear enunciation under two excellent directors, one having composed one piece, and the other arranged another.  The tunes were from Weelkes, Olivia Swift, Prestini, Makaroff, Monteverdi, Eric Whitacre, Ella Macens and that arranged Trad piece.  This is music of richness and complexity and variation and I feel I just touched on the experience in my first outing.

Oriana Chorale performed music of loss, grief and healing at Wesley Church under Dan Walker (director, conductor) and Olivia Swift (conductor).

Shirley's sun shines

 

I should advise a potential conflict of interest but it is nice when the Canberra Theatre Centre invites you to a performance.  I guess it's my blog that does it.  Does this make me an influencer?  Maybe, but very much i- not I-.  I wonder if this is relevant for the performance I attended, Shirley Valentine.  Perhaps so.  It was a film about 30 years back, and massively popular, here resurrected for our times.  A story of a woman who wishes to make her life, break free of a limiting marriage and social conventions, escaping England for Greece when her best friend wins two tickets for a 2-week holiday.  Well there's always truth in that: travel is very immediate and enlivening and breaking habits enlivens the soul.  It may have downsides but mostly it's just days of escape.  She hesitates but finally takes up the offer and has a fling and expands her horizons and her husband chases her to return and the final words are hers, sipping white wine on a beach and hailing her husband who has come to find her but who hadn't recognised her in her satin and relaxation, to sit for a drink.  It's not Tolstoy but it is relevant and obviously understood by a welcoming female-dominated audience and even held some touching and telling moments.  And the performance was something to take awe at, a one-woman show of almost 2 solid hours, excluding  the interval, speaking to walls and rocks and a pretty-much full house.  I liked that she could question herself along with others: she has a go at men through her husband, but it's not an identity-wide anger.  And I found a few stories that cut to home, not least about how men can take over conversations.  So an impressive performance of a worthy little piece of rom-com-ish fiction that has real-world resonances.  As for Greek beach life, I might choose otherwise, but then I'm not a moderately-deprived Liverpudlian.

Natalie Bassingthwaighte (actor) performed Shirley Valentine at Canberra Theatre. 

Thanks to old workmate Kirsty Young for some great pics from the previous day's media call.  (And one of mine).  See more of her pics on Instagram kirstyyoungdigitalart

Two Roberts

It's been a break for family visits and long drives but now it's back on for young and old.  First up is my regular Wesley Lunchtime concert, this time with pianist Robert Schmidli, one of my early classical recordees, playing Robert Schumann.  As ever, nicely prepared and performed with aplomb.  These were his well known Arabesque and the set of variations called Symphonic Etudes op.13.  Lovely and varied on the piano and powerful and later loud in the space of the Wesley concert hall, and a worthy and demanding outing for Robert.

Robert Schmidli (piano) performed Robert Schumann at Wesley.

Doing the drum rounds

I'd played with Hugh Magri-Bull but it was only at a jam session and a jam session is just a few tunes on different gear and nothing like a decent gig over three hours.  This was a Tilt outing at the Dickson Taphouse and it's a great place to up the energy for essentially jazz musicians.  Most of the DT bands are blues or rock so the background is noisier and the audience is involved.  At least the audience that's close in and there are spots throughout for eating, listening, sunning and more.  We had some recurrent listeners from pervious gigs and some musos and dancers to please and even a few staff of Better Music.  Otherwise, a little quiet given Enlighten Festival but much enjoyed.  Hugh was our latest invitee in the drum stool and a worthy player, inventive in solos and responsive in ensemble.  A great night even if I forget a pic until too late.  And many thanks to Hugh.

Tilt performed at Dickson Taphouse comprising James Woodman (piano), Hugh Magri-Bull (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass).