Eight seasons

It cost me a gig but it was a worthy substitute.  This was the strings from the Canberra Symphony Orchestra directed by concertmaster (sic) Kristen Williams playing the famous Vivaldi Four Seasons interleaved with Piazzolla's response.  We all know various of the themes from Vivaldi and if I heard right, the Piazzolla was a direct response to Vivaldi and anyway we know the popular tango-styled Piazzolla tunes out of Buenos Aires.  It was a popular program and obviously considered apt for lots of young ones, although the ones near us didn't seem particularly interested, but so be it.  It's good to get them along and they were old enough just to fidget rather than cry.  I was surprised that each Vivaldi season had 3 movements.  I should have known, but I wasn't the only one, with the first movement of each season getting a good applause. It was usually the feature movement anyway.  The playing was lovely, rich and full and unusually big.  This was the strings of the CSO so I guess there were more players who would normally play this piece, certainly more than baroque groups usually sport, like AHE or ACO.  I counted 8xvln1, 6xvln2, 5xvla, 4xclo, 2xbs, plus the director-cum-soloist on violin, so it was a big sound and it neatly filled Llewellyn, which can be cavernous for smaller groups.  I enjoyed the playing and was convinced by the take the Piazzolla.  CSO is doing plenty of varied programs now.  I guess this is the first strings section that I know of.  BTW, two basses on stage even if only one in the program, Kyle and Emma.

The Canberra Symphony Orchestra strings played Four seasons by Vivaldi and Piazzolla at Llewellyn under Kristen Williams (violin solo, director).  Low enders were Kyle Ramsey-Daniel and Emma Meixner (basses).

Biggie B9

I've recently been living off this quote from Dave in the bass section of the CSO: "It's not that hard; it just takes a year to learn it".  He was talking of the bass part of Beethoven Symphony no.9.  I just saw them playing it and the bass section did a fabulous job, clear and present and crisply played.  The next morning I looked at the B9 bass part and I can see what he meant.  Lots of notes over 25 close pages of bass clef, but it's in Dmin so just one flat, and key changes to just 2 flats and 2 sharps at various times and pretty few accidentals, so the fast runs are scalar and mostly consistent.  There are some big intervals and the lower notes that get played on their extensions so some clumsy stuff, and the tempos are not very forgiving although pretty consistent, but it is a work of supreme genius so worth the effort.  The CSO did a great job at a decent tempo.  The singers were satisfying.  The choir was prepared by Tobias Cole and was good but I just wanted it bigger.  I guess ~100 on stage with choir of ~40.  The vocal segment only comes in the final movement, although that's the longest.  The choir sat from the start, but the feature singers entered after the second movement, I guess to allow that transition to the final thrills.  They don't sing masses, but they were lovely to hear: always the presence of the soprano, the fullness of mezzo, the bigness of bass and the humanity of tenor.  But mostly my ears were for the basses.  I did notice a revealing passage where a lines moves from bass to cello to viola to seconds to end with the firsts, not always identical but related.  For me it was a revelation for the violas.  Otherwise, Jessica Cottis was flowing and expressive in her conducting and informative with her introduction, as were the EU Ambassador to Australia, Gabriele Visentin, and CSO CEO, Rachel Thomas, who introduced the concert.  The Ode to joy is the EU's anthem, of course.  And not to forget composer Miriama Young who wrote the introductory piece, a brooding and fairly short Daughters of Elysium, who appeared on stage to applause after.  But it's hard to share with B9.  It was given as 71min duration but it felt nothing like that.  I guess it's a function of how well it's known, although I did notice the repeated themes a few times, especially in the third movement.  But the explosive styles and the uplifting power and the thrilling fugues just take you over.  Perhaps not apt for a classical concert but my head was often nodding and my mouth a grin.  Just so fabulous.  I just hope to play this great work one day.  Congrats to our local orchestra and great to see so many local faces on stage and off.  Bravo and thanks!

The Canberra Symphony Orchestra performed Beethoven Symphony no.9 and Miriam Young in Llewellyn under Jessica Cottis (musical director, conductor).  Kristen Williams (violin) was concertmaster.  Solo singers were Emma Pearson (soprano), Ashlyn Tymms (mezzo soprano), James Eagglesone (tenor) and Adrian Tamburini (bass).  Tobias Cole (chorus master) prepared the CSO Chorus.  The bass section comprised Max McBride (principal), Kyle Ramsay-Daniel, David Flynn and Muhamed Mahmedbasic.

How to live happily ever after

It's our local orchestra and we'd got a good deal but I was not so keen on the program.  So I thought and how wrong one can be.  The program was two commissioned modern-Australian pieces and a Scriabin piano concerto and Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade.  We'd heard Scheherazade several times, even by the Berlin Phil, and I'd listened to some of the Scriabin in the afternoon and I wasn't so taken.  Maybe it's the live effect but, in the end, I loved this all deeply (when I could ignore the immensely offensive plot).  Scheherazade was all the lyrical beauty that it is expected and the storyline, assisted by a rear projection, was clear and gave order to the whole.  Early on I wished for more dynamics, those pp passages that have you leaning in your seats, but then the ff passages worked and the dynamics became stronger and the lyricism leaped forward and Jessica Cottis' urgings fell into place and the main work was a huge pleasure.  But not the first for the night.  The Scriabin presented some busy and expansive piano and was a real pleasure, even if occasionally lost amongst the 55 players of the orchestra.  It's an easy slip up, that.  But nonetheless, a telling performance by orchestra and soloist.  The two commissioned pieces seemed to share some aspects, both ~8 mins, both with busy bows playing big crescendoes although one with more than the other.  Miriama Young's piece was called Kinds of blue.  I expected references to Miles, but rather it referred to various shade of blue in found Rothko paintings.  Interesting but odd for a jazzer given the Miles relationship.  Sine Winther played piano.  The other commission was Harry Sdraulig Beyond the ridge, the ranges far, dedicated to a very recently deceased wife with a pic of her walking amongst mountain peaks.  What a wonderful memorial.  Again, some sort of repetition, with each peak followed by another valley and another peak.  Jessica Cottis programmed the night called Electric Blue and spoke of synaesthesia, in which music is experienced in colours.  At least Rimsky-Korsakov had it and Wikipedia says so does JC, so it's relevant.  I wonder how she funds the CSO after all her Euro experiences.  It's a fine orchestra but I wonder if it's a little comfortable as Australians can be.  It wasn't by the end of the night; it was a blast.  Good on ya, CSO and JC.  Well done.

The Canberra Symphony Orchestra played Young, Scriabin, Sdraulig and Rimsky-Korsakov in Llewellyn under Jessica Cottis (musical director, conductor) with soloist Sine Winther (piano) and concertmaster Kirsten Williams (violin).