Centenary Remembrance Concert

Perth Symphonic Chorus

Armistice Choir

Perth Philharmonic Orchestra

Perth Concert Hall

reviewed by Neville Cohn

 

It could not have been a more solemn occasion: a performance devoted to the fallen in World War I exactly one hundred years to the day

since the curtain finally came down on a hideously prolonged battle that saw the death and disablement of millions.

copyright Treffpunkt WA

As we listened to The Ode of Remembrance and bugler David Scott playing The Last Post, there was a minute of almost palpable silence to reflect on the

slaughter that was World War 1. Then, as the Australian national anthem was sung by the choirs and a capacity audience, the thoughts of most would surely have focussed on the dreadful events of the years 1914 to 1918. Significantly adding to the memorial atmosphere was the fact that the 4pm start of the concert coincided with 9am in France, that being 100 years to the hour since the Armistice was announced by Prime Minister Clemenceau of France – and the concert’s end at 6pm coincided with the cessation of hostilities in France precisely 100 years before.

Then, Faure’s Requiem, its inherent melancholy revealed to a degree I cannot recall experiencing before. And it was listened to in an almost reverential silence.

Dr Pride has devoted her life to choral training and performance – and in this account of Faure’s masterpiece, the Requiem moved me as never before – no mean achievement given I’ve long lost count of the number of times I’ve listened to the work. From first note to last, Pride, as ever in complete control of her forces, did wonders, coaxing responses which brimmed with the sort of insights that come from a lifetime’s association with the setting. And the Requiem worked its melancholy magic as never before.

copyright Treffpunkt WA

Violins, of course, do not feature in the work, their absence giving the string complement a rather darker sonic quality, wholly in keeping with the mood of the work. Soprano Sara Macliver was in her element here. She sang most movingly, again and again taking up an interpretative position at the emotional epicentre of whatever she sang. What a precious musical asset this soprano has been over the decades, not only to Perth but Australia as a whole.  Christopher Richardson, too, sang with consistent expressiveness and a very real understanding of the text uttered so clearly – but from time to time  rather higher decibel levels might to advantage have allowed his voice to be more emphatically projected towards the rear of the venue.

Millions of the armed forces died in this dreadful war. But there were other deaths, too – of animals ranging from homing pigeons and dogs to horses, each involved in the war effort. The most famous from an Australian perspective was the charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade which captured Beersheba from the Turks. So it was entirely appropriate that, early in the program, a horse was ushered on-stage: Indie, rider Phil Dennis from the Kelmscott – Pinjarra 10 Lighthorse Troop. Indie, behaving impeccably, munched carrots.

Also on a memorable program was Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem.

 

 

 

 

 

Fremantle Chamber Orchestra

Mark Coughlan, conductor

Government House Ballroom

reviewed by Neville Cohn

 

When Felix Mendelssohn wrote the famous overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, his unmistakable style was already firmly established. He was a mere 17 years and six months old at the time. But when Schubert, at 16, composed his Symphony No 1, there was almost nothing in it to suggest he was on a path to musical immortality, with barely a hint of the wonders yet to pour from his pen. But it is nonetheless a most remarkably skilled offering despite it revealing barely a hint of the stylistic magic yet to come.

In the hands of the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra with Mark Coughlan at the helm, Schubert’s First flashed into life. It was given a strong introduction. Its robust, emphatic quality could hardly have been bettered. I particularly liked Georgia Lane’s skill on the flute in the Andante movement. The Allegro, which came across as an almost folksy dance unfolded with a pleasing sense of onward momentum. Tempo choice was ideal,  although the movement’s closing measures were tinged with some uncertainty. Oboes redeemed themselves here. Momentum was well maintained in the finale, its ideas coming across as cheerfully noisy and jovial with strings much on their mettle.

Rossini’s overture to The Italian Girl in Algiers worked its customary magic notwithstanding some uncertainty among upper woodwinds but the music’s inherent insouciance registered most pleasingly.

Whether lyrical or virtuosic, Anne Sleptsova’s playing in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto was a model of its kind. This fine pianist sounded in her element here. So, too, did Louise McKay. Her cello playing, as ever, stylistically beyond reproach with notes clothed in a warm tone, reached the back row of the Ballroom in finest fettle. Rebecca Glorie’s violin tone, though finely formed, was rather restrained. Throughout, Coughlan secured a pleasingly supportive response from his forces in this too-seldom-heard masterpiece.

In years – decades! – of attending concerts at Government House Ballroom, I cannot recall any event which drew a bigger audience than that which flocked to this splendid FCO concert.

During the interval, cheese and biscuits were on offer in GHB’s Supper Room.

 

 

 

 

Royal Schools Music Club

Fiddling with Castanets:

Deanna Blacher (castanets)/ Neville Cohn (piano)

Callaway Auditorium

reviewed by John Meyer

 

photo Maree Laffan.

 

Following on from their very successful concert last year, Deanna Blacher and Neville Cohn again combined their remarkable talents in an entertaining October recital entitled Fiddling with Castanets.  The programme consisted of piano works by the famous Spanish composers Enrique Granados and Isaac Albéniz, including popular pieces such as Andaluza (Granados),  Asturias and Cadiz (Albéniz), as well as some that are not as well known.

It would have been well worth attending the concert just to hear Neville Cohn draw such stylish and absorbing sounds from the Callaway Auditorium’s Steinway.  But his playing was greatly enhanced by Deanna Blacher’s skillful use of the castanets, complementing not only the rhythmic impetus but also the melodic contours of this very appealing Spanish music.  Theirs was a coordinated understanding, obviously honed over many years of practice and performance together, and for which no praise could be too great.

Blacher also contributed informative comments about castanets and the various pairs she chose to use – including a “fat” pair sent to her from a maker in Seville, which helped to project the strong sound required to match Cohn’s robust playing in Sardana by Granados.

On a lighter note, Cohn kept the audience entertained with delightful anecdotes about the two composers who had completely different experiences on trans-Atlantic sea voyages.  Granados drowned when his ship was torpedoed in the English Channel in 1916, while he was returning from the successful premiere of his opera Goyescas in New York – allegedly taken under by the weight of the gold bars which he received as payment, and which were strapped in a belt around his waist.  On the other hand, the child prodigy Albéniz stowed away at the age of twelve and paid his way by playing the piano each evening in the first-class saloon of an ocean liner – and then in a New York bar, astonishing patrons by tickling the ivories with his back to the keyboard.   At one stage, Blacher played with her hands behind her back – but not surprisingly, Cohn did not!

 

 

Australian String Quartet

Government House Ballroom

review by Neville Cohn

 

It was a fascinating experience listening to James Ledger’s String Quartet No 2. It was played by the visiting Australian String Quartet which is giving the work its world premiere performances on its current tour of Australia.

When it comes to predicting success or otherwise for compositions being given their first performances, critics have a terribly unreliable reputation. Music history brims with instances of critics giving the thumbs up for this or that new work but in very many instances, these compositions extolled as works of genius have quietly sunk into oblivion.

On the other hand, there’s many a new work which critics have slammed for any of a long list of reasons – and an embarrassingly high number of these critically panned works have gone on to universal recognition as masterworks! Consider just a few of those which were initially given the thumbs down: Puccini’s La Boheme (“silly and inconsequential”), Tosca (“distinctly raw-boned and hideous”), Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (“baffles verbal description:, “to say that much of it is hideous as sound is a mild description”), Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (”trite, feeble, conventional – fussy and futile counterpoint”). The list is very long.

This notwithstanding, and while not a betting man as a rule, I’d put money on Ledger’s latest offering.

As pointed out in a useful program note, each instrument plays into its own microphone, the sound travelling to a computer where it undergoes a series of manipulations whereby the sound is recorded and instantly played back in a continuous, repeating loop. This is the essence of the work’s electronic dimension. The loop alters in a number of ways according to the score. The beauty of this process is the discreet manner in which electronics are utilised. They never dominate proceedings but complement the players’ contributions in the most effective ways. The combined effect is consistently pleasing, often fascinating, with Adele Conlin doing wonders as electronics cum sound engineer positioned at the rear of the hall.

I’d really like to listen to this work again because there was so much intriguing detail here, that it wasn’t possible to assimilate it at a single hearing. It certainly deserves the widest listenership. Hopefully, it will soon become available on CD.

Schubert’s Rosamunde Quartet opened the program. Incredibly, this was the only chamber work of Schubert’s that received a public performance during his tragically short lifetime. Knowing this, it is impossible to listen to the work and remain unmoved by the sheer unfairness and tragedy of the composer’s all-too-short life.

How beautifully it was played by the ASQ. I particularly admired the andante movement unfolding seamlessly with notes clothed in splendid corporate tone. There was excellent internal balance here. Most importantly, its poignancy was impeccably evoked. And the bittersweet essence of the Menuetto was no less convincingly conveyed. The finale was essayed with high finesse.

Photographer: Samuel Jozeps   Australian String Quartet with Adele Conlin (3rd from left) and James Ledger (2nd from right)
Photographer: Samuel Jozeps
Australian String Quartet with Adele Conlin (3rd from left) and James Ledger (2nd from right)

 

Prior to the concert and during the interval, finest cheeses and biscuits on exquisite, white napery were available to concertgoers in the ballroom’s undercroft.

Defying Gravity

WAAPA Music Auditorium

reviewed by Neville Cohn

 

It is one of Western Australia’s most meaningful musical success stories.

For years. Defying Gravity has brought performances of the highest order to invariably full houses. This is a particularly remarkable achievement in that, firstly, the performers are still students and, secondly, that the make-up of the ensemble constantly changes as WAAPA students graduate and take their skills to an ever-widening audience. And Tim White, percussionist par excellence, shares, as ever, a priceless understanding of the medium with his students.

Overwhelmingly, works on offer are of recent vintage so it was with particular interest that we listened to a work dating as far back as 1695 when King Louis XIV occupied the French throne. Here, on two timpani, Jesse Vivante brought a sense of high occasion to Philidor’s Batterie de timbales. This was an impressive and stylish summons to attention.

Moving forward 323 years, Germaine Png and Gabrielle Lee did wonders on vibraphone and marimba in Emmanuel Sejourne’s Losa. In high style, this young duo did wonders in evoking the essence of the music. Much of the playing was informed by a frankly delightful peekaboos insouciance and engaging rhythms.

Jonathan Jie Hong Yang’s Rainforest was given its world premiere performance. A program note refers to the music’s ‘mesmerising tranquillity’ – and 16 players pooled their skills to charming effect in evoking this gentle mood. In contrast to these islands of quietness, there were more emphatically stated ideas that fell most agreeably on the ear. I’d very much like to listen to this again, a view probably shared by most of the audience if the intensity of applause that greeted its conclusion is anything to go by.

In Steven Rush’s Mas Fuente, ferocity was well to the fore with savage attacks on drum surfaces and much energetic use of cymbals. A good deal of the performance was informed by a savage, unyielding intensity – but there were also moments where softer tones provided some aural relief.

If the name  Pavan Kumar Hari meant little to concertgoers who thronged the auditorium, world premiere performances of three of his works involving both music and dance will almost certainly ensure his name is well remembered – and for all the best reasons. The middle work – Vichara – played on the vibraphone by the composer provided a charming interlude separating the dance offerings.

I am not in any sense an authority on traditional Indian dance styles which were a significant component of Hari’s Svatantrya and A Little Touch of India but to my uninformed eye, the dancing was fascinating and gripped the attention from the moment performers entered the darkened auditorium from different points while carrying small trays of tiny, lit candles which were deposited on the perimeter of the stage. Then followed dance episodes of grace and power that were both fascinating and satisfying. They were strikingly costumed.

Of particular quality were Shweta Baskaran’s accompaniments on sitar and Sivakumar Balakrishnanl on tabla.

Defying Gravity players positioned behind the dancers brought additional sonic muscle to the proceedings. Bravissimo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCERT W.A.Symphony Orchestra

 

Perth Concert Hall

reviewed by Neville Cohn.

 

Cedric Tiberghien is a highly accomplished pianist. I recall with please his stunningly fine accounts of some of Messiaen’s most complex works at a Perth Festival some years ago. His flawless fingers are up to any challenge – and this was again very much the case in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3. Only the most skilled of musicians would dare essay a work such as this in public. It’s a closed book to any but top-end virtuosos. Throughout, in purely physical terms, Tiberghien could not be faulted – but on this occasion, the presentation as a whole was something of a disappointment: the raging demon that lurks behind the printed note was here only fitfully apparent. And another distraction was the late arrival (just as the slow movement commenced) of numbers of late-comers. Swarming in as they headed for seats, often mid-row, there was much standing-up and sitting down by patrons already seated. All this demolished the gentle atmosphere of the concerto’s exquisite adagio. In the ferociously difficult finale, Tiberghien was at his thrilling, virtuosic best but again, taking up an interpretative position some distance from the emotional epicentre of the music. Throughout, Fisch took the WASO through an impeccable, finely supportive accompaniment.

There was an encore: Bach’s Prelude No 1 in C from Book 1 of Bach’s famous ”48”: it was a marvellous moment: a little miracle of gentle beauty.

Bartok’s music for orchestra can be, and often is, very challenging and tricky to bring off successfully. And that was certainly the case as Fisch took his players through the rhythmically complex Dance Suite to emerge from the maze with honour intact. Bassoon, trombone and tuba were much to the fore in the opening pages – and flutes were frankly delightful. And in the second movement, robust brass conjured up images of rough peasants energetically stamping away.  Abrasive, jubilant, ear-grating and glowering were adjectives that came to mind as Fisch and the WASO steered a splendid way through the suite. Bravo!

OPERA- Carmen (Bizet)

 

W.A.Opera Company and Chorus

His Majesty’s Theatre

reviewed by Neville Cohn

 

Ian Westrip
Ian Westrip

More often than not in opera reviews, comments on the chorus are usually found towards the end of the commentary. But, if ever this group of singers deserves top billing, it’s the W.A. Opera Chorus. I cannot praise their contribution to Carmen too highly. Not only did they sing beautifully – a tribute to guest chorus master Ian Westrip’s detailed training – they were a crucial visual factor in Lindy Hume’s production. The boys’ chorus did particularly well, their mischievous taunting of the soldiers outside the cigarette factory very effective. The soldier choristers, too, were on the ball. Throughout the scene, choral co-ordination was frankly excellent.

 

Since cigarette smoking has, to an almost total extent, become a no-no in Australia – and this is something to be celebrated –  the Act 1 scene in which cigarette girls come outside the factory for a mid-morning fag or two might pose an ethical problem for some. If there are lit fags on stage, are some members of the audience likely to rush out at interval (or even mid-performance) to buy a packet of cigarettes for a hasty puff? I very much doubt it. This isn’t to suggest the chorus smokes real cigarettes while singing the famous song – but surely there are skills enough backstage to provide fake ciggies that look like the real thing – and stage smoke to enhance the impression even more.

 

As we’ve seen from Hume’s earlier productions of the work, she eschews glamour for its own sake. Verismo is well to the fore. The clothes of the locals look grubby and most of the men look down at heel. There aren’t any government pensions here. Reality is high on the production list and it is almost everywhere apparent – but not in the tavern scene where a ‘dancer’ turns around and around and around – and around. What can this mean? This is the sort of locale where the traditional dance  – flamenco – would be as natural an expression as breathing.  But the fight scene between Don Jose (Paul O’Neill) and Zuniga (Paull-Anthony Keightley) was effectively choreographed.

 

The sets are cleverly designed to underscore and enhance the action. The outside of the tobacco factory where Carmen works has a time-worn, tacky look – and that enhances the overall grubbiness of the area, reinforcing an overall impression of a rather rundown, neglected part of town.

 

Many  – most? – productions of Carmen still go to great pains to ensure the eponymous (anti?-heroine) comes across as the apotheosis of a Hollywood siren, a clone of a glamorously garbed Rita Hayworth. Not so here.  I recall one of Hume’s Carmen productions of more than 20 years ago in which I commented on Carmen coming across “as charming and mischievous rather than insolent and provocatively seductive”. Milijana Nikolic’s Carmen differs vastly, manner- and appearance-wise. Here is a characterisation that is utterly convincing, a Carmen who is a vulgar tease, a tough-as-nails type, a trouble-maker. It’s a performance that radiates reality.

 

How very different is Emma Pearson’s characterisation of Micaela. It was spot-on, Micaela’s inherent goodness beautifully evoked, the very antithesis of Carmen’s darkness. Here was a performance of utmost finesse, certainly the most moving I’ve encountered in the many Carmen productions I’ve attended over the last half-century and more. Bravo!

 

The W.A.Symphony Orchestra was directed with care by Antony Walker.

Emma Pearson
Emma Pearson
Milijana Nikolic
Milijana Nikolic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • All photos except, that of Ian Westrip, by James Rogers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Due to illness – and much to my regret – I had to leave midway through the performance.

CONCERT Ray Chen (violin)  Julien Quentin (piano)

 

Perth Concert Hall

reviewed by Neville Cohn

 

Julian Hargreaves
Credit:Julian Hargreaves

When Ray Chen puts bow to string, it instantly triggers memories of violin greats: Yehudi Menuhin, Heifetz, Elman in their prime. There is about his playing a seeming effortlessness, a lyricism that places him well to the forefront of the world’s current line-up of fiddle greats. The magic so gratifyingly in evidence when Chen gave a recital with Timothy Young here in Perth a few years ago, was no less splendidly in evidence on this occasion.

 

This was wondrously apparent in his account of Ysaye’s Sonata for solo violin in D minor. It’s from opus 23, one of a number of solo violin works which are ferociously difficult, no-man’s-land for any but the most skilled of fiddlers. I think of it as an extended, ruthlessly demanding cadenza – and in every sense, Chan was more than up to the challenge. Now lyrical, now passionate, the playing was informed by an immediacy that brought one face to face, as it were,  with the composer.

 

Matthew Hindson’s Violin Sonata No 1 – Dark Matter (2018) – has been given its world premiere performances on Chen and Quentin’s current Musica Viva tour. With an alert and very skilled Julien Quentin at the piano, we were taken into Hindson’s idiosyncratic musical world.

 

The Sonata is dedicated to the composer’s father who passed away shortly after the work was completed. In a program note, Hindson tells of his childhood years when he and his siblings were taken to violin lessons by their father, “learning the violin alongside us”. Much of the first movement is quiet – it comes across like a gentle, melancholy song, rather like a sad lullaby. In the second movement, virtuosity comes to the fore. Presented with considerable intensity, it’s an essay in passionate virtuosity.

 

Attributed to Vitali, the Chaconne in G minor was the perfect curtain raiser, those oh-so-well-known notes here sounding as fresh and beautiful as a flower just opened. And its moments of defiant power were no less impressively presented.

 

Whether gently introspective or passionately virtuosic, Chen and Quentin were much on their mettle in Franck’s too-frequently programmed Sonata in A – but not even intrusive, ignorant applause between movements could detract from the frankly stunning wizardry these two musicians brought to their offering. And then the duo gave us a sizzlingly virtuosic account of Ravel’s Tzigane. Bravissimo!

 

CONCERT

Perth Symphony Orchestra

Perth Town Hall

reviewed by Neville Cohn

 

Jessica Gethin and PSOWhat would most office workers do when it’s time to leave for the day? I imagine some might head for a drink at the nearest watering hole or perhaps do some hurried shopping for dinner before walking to a train station, bus stop or parking garage to head home. But the people who run Perth Symphony Orchestra came up with another possibility: offering city workers the chance to listen to a symphony concert before going home – and getting a little handy advice on yoga relaxation techniques for good measure.

On my way to the concert at Perth Town Hall, I wondered how many office workers would take the opportunity to attend a symphony performance straight after work rather than getting home as quickly as possible to put their feet up before the telly (if someone else was looking after dinner) or going into the kitchen to fix the evening meal.

In the event, the venue was packed out – and how inviting it was. Subdued lighting, small clusters of candles in tumblers set on window sills – and a range of pre- and post-concert drinks on offer in an adjoining room. And there were yoga mats on the stage floor for those who preferred that to conventional seating. And as concertgoers arrived by elevator or staircase to access the first floor hall, they were greeted by the sound of musicians offering pre-concert music in the tiny foyer. I was particularly impressed by Julia Watson’s finely considered offering of extracts from a Bach partita for unaccompanied violin. It was a frankly beautiful idea, a beautiful moment.

There was an almost palpable air of anticipation before the start of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, his 41st and last essay in the genre. With Jessica Gethin in top form directing proceedings from the podium, and the orchestra led with characteristic authority by Paul Wright, the work unfolded in exemplary fashion. There was a fine balance of power and grace in the opening allegro vivace. Cellos were in excellent fettle here. The andante cantabile was beautifully considered with as much focus on detail as on conveying the overall sweep of the movement. And the playing in the minuet was an essay in graceful strength with a frankly delightful buoyancy of both mood and momentum. The finale brought joyous energy in abundance as it flashed and glittered with fine detail.

CALM Concert with PSOAs was customary in Mozart’s day, the orchestra played standing (other than the cellists, of course). Audience seating was arranged around the orchestra, the players casually garbed in blue jeans and white tops. And from first note to last, there was about the playing a disciplined commitment which augurs well.  Laurels, in particular, to the cellists and flautist; their contribution was particularly pleasing. The same could be said of the horn and trumpet players who were much on their mettle.

This was an important event. I hope there will be more of them. There’s clearly a demand for it.

Opera

 

Tristan and Isolde (Wagner)

W.A.Symphony Orchestra

Perth Concert Hall

reviewed by Neville Cohn

 

He was a horrible person. He treated women appallingly. His vanity was exceeded only by his vanity. He was ferociously anti-semitic – but never hesitated to appoint top-flight Jews to interpret his music when he needed them. So he was a hypocrite as well. Wagner also engaged in the German revolution of 1848-1849). He took part in the Dresden uprising and had to flee the country when a warrant for his arrest was issued. But he was, as well, a genius, a composer of unique and profound operas. And this was breathtakingly in evidence at the Concert Hall on Sunday when Asher Fisch presided over an account of Tristan and Isolde, presented in concert version.

In incompetent hands, Tristan and Isolde can all too easily sound dismayingly, endlessly dreary. But when there’s a conductor of highest accomplishment on the podium, an orchestra consistently on its musical toes and a cast of A1 singers, the result can be immensely rewarding – and this was most certainly the case on Sunday.

Star of the afternoon was that most gifted of singers: Stuart Skelton. As the eponymous hero of Wagner’s masterpiece, this extraordinary musician was beyond reproach, his every utterance as meaningful as one could ever hope to experience. With flawless diction, he gave point and meaning to the subtlest detail. Again and again, one listened to incontrovertible evidence of Skelton’s right to be considered heldentenor par excellence. He brought immense physical presence to his performance, moving about the front of the stage as if it was his natural milieu, his every gesture meaningful. Within moments of his first utterance, it was unequivocally clear we were in the presence of a Wagnerian master.

Gun-Brit Barkmin, standing in at very short notice to replace an indisposed Eva-Maria Westbroek, sang Isolde with care and understanding. Her voice blended well with that of Skelton – and their extended duos brimmed with an emotional power that was almost palpable. Their combined contribution bordered on the sublime. Bravissimo!

Bearing in mind that this was a concert version of the opera with singers positioned in a row in front of the orchestra on a stage devoid of theatrical lighting and props, the interpretative intensity brought to bear on the work was frankly astonishing – and gratifying. Throughout, Fisch’s powerful identification with the work enabled him to extract maximum effect from his forces. Trumpets, trombones and horns were in exceptional form as were the strings.

While Tristan and Isolde dominate the opera, there are crucially important supporting roles. I was particularly impressed by the singing of Ain Anger as King Marke. In fine voice and the epitome of regal dignity, he conveyed very effectively, his disappointment and anger towards Tristan who has taken the monarch’s intended bride (Isolde) from him. And as Brangane, Isolde’s maid-in-waiting, Ekaterina Gubanova sang with impressive confidence.  Boaz Daniel, too, brought presence and vocal skill to the smaller role of Kurwenal.

Sally Kester, drawing on her immense knowledge of Wagner and his works, offered, as ever,  fascinating insights into the opera in her pre-performance talk.