W.A.Symphony Orchestra

CONCERT W.A.Symphony Orchestra

reviewer Live Performance August 31, 2018Bach’s Prelude No 1, bartok, Cedric Tiberghien, Chon, Cohn, Concert, perth concert hall, 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!

reviewer Live Performance July 4, 2018July 4, 2018asher fisch, Chon, Cohn, perth concert hall, W.A.Symphony Orchestra, WASO

Perth Concert Hall

reviewed by Neville Cohn

Stefanie-Irányi_Credit_Christian-Debus I have been attending – and reviewing – WASO concerts for more than 35 years.

During that time, I have experienced some of the most satisfying listening I could have hoped for.

And in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, Asher Fisch and the WASO played up to and even above that standard of excellence.

Indeed, Fisch did wonders in coaxing often gloriously satisfying moments – as well as half hours! – from his forces in this massive work.

And time flew by as measure after immaculate measure worked its aural and emotional magic.

In one of the most imaginative program compilations I’ve encountered in a long time, we heard, before the symphony, Mahler’s orchestration of the variations movement from Schubert’s Death and the Maiden String Quartet. This was frankly magical music making by players surrendering to the Muse in the most satisfying way. They were at the top of their game with phrasing so refined and meaningful as to take the breath away. Stand up, WASO players, and take a thoroughly deserved bow, not least for blended sonorities that bordered on perfection. Bravo!

There was magnificent musicmaking, too, in the first performance in Perth of Luciano Berio’s Folk Songs.

Here, I cannot too highly praise Stefanie Iranyi ‘s singing. Here was impeccable revelation of mood with the sort of phrase shaping critics dream about but only very rarely encounter in reality. And did this singer know how to enchant her listeners with notes clothed in ravishingly mellow tone! As well as a rare ability to evoke, precisely, the mood of the moment, Iranyi’s total absorption of the composer’s ideas was wholly convincing.. It was a triumph enhanced by the finesse of Asch’s direction. It came across as a compendium of sonic and expressive marvels. A storm of applause greeted its conclusion; it was a thoroughly deserved response.

If the concert had ended at that point, I’d have left more than satisfied – but more magic was in store: Mahler’s Fourth Symphony.

In the symphony, conductor and players responded to the score as if it had been written specially for them. Here were subtleties of phrasing, tempi that sounded entirely appropriate with, as well, a rare expressiveness that allowed the work’s manifold beauties to register at an impressively high level. And, in the closing movement, Iranyi’s singing added yet more lustre to the evening.

To usher in the evening, we listened to an account of Schubert’s famous lied – Death and the Maiden – accompanied at the piano by Fisch. This was less than entirely successful. The piano (because so much of stage space was taken up by players and their instruments) was positioned far too far to the right side of the stage. And because Iranyi’s voice was not as clearly audible as would have been the case had she sung from the front of the stage – the same could be said of the piano accompaniment – this was a too insubstantial offering to make its mark in a meaningful sense.

A Night in Vienna

reviewer Live Performance July 4, 2018A Night in Vienna, Chon, Cohn, perth concert hall, W.A.Symphony Orchestra

W.A.Symphony Orchestra

Perth Concert Hall

reviewed by Neville Cohn

A Night in Vienna was made memorable by Asher Fisch’s gratifyingly meaningful direction as his forces, much on their musical toes, served up memorable moments from Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. I savoured every moment of this magical music given point and meaning at every turn. Its sensuous, passionate moments were impressively evoked.

This was far and away the high point of the program, an offering presented with rare flair and elan. Baron Och’s Waltz, in particular, could hardly have been bettered. It was delivered in high style with the WASO playing as if inspired, especially strings and French horns which were in finest fettle – as was Liz Chee on oboe.

Alexandre Da Costa gave us a Fritz Kreisler feast on his Stradivarius violin with those timeless gems – Liebesfreud, Liebesleid and Schon Rosmarin – working their usual magic. Swaying to the rhythms of these much-loved delights, Da Costa delivered sonic nostalgia in spades.

Earlier, Da Costa’s virtuosic solo introduction to Kreisler’s Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta – and first rate double stopping – raised expectations that were less than fully realised as the work unfolded. Here, the solo line might to advantage have stood out more emphatically against the orchestral background.

Rather uncharacteristically, WASO’s account of the overture to Die Fledermaus bordered on the lacklustre as did the celebrated Emperor Waltz which struck a dull patch.