Government House Ballroom

Fremantle Chamber Orchestra

reviewer Live Performance November 4, 2018Anne Sleptsova, Chon, Government House Ballroom, Mark Coughlan, Neville Cohn

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.

Australian String Quartet

reviewer Live Performance October 9, 2018October 9, 2018ASQ, Australian String Quartet, Chon, Cohn, Government House Ballroom

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.