{"id":123,"date":"2018-07-08T06:55:22","date_gmt":"2018-07-07T20:55:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/?p=123"},"modified":"2018-07-08T06:55:22","modified_gmt":"2018-07-07T20:55:22","slug":"australian-chamber-orchestra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/australian-chamber-orchestra\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Chamber Orchestra"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perth Concert Hall<\/h2>\n

reviewed by Neville Cohn<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ACOOver decades, I\u2019ve lost count of the number of times I\u2019ve listened to Haydn\u2019s Symphony I04 in D minor. It is one of the glories of the classical era \u2013 and the Australian Chamber Orchestra was the ideal ensemble to give point and meaning to this supreme utterance. Much of the performance \u2013 whether in moments of high drama or introspection – bordered on perfection, leaving this critic in the rare and pleasant position of having to do little more than sit back and acknowledge artistry at a consistently impressive level.<\/p>\n

There were also two premieres:\u00a0 Movements (for us and them) by Samuel Adams\u00a0 and A Knock One Night\u00a0 by the indefatigable Elena Kats-Chernin, the latter\u2019s new work in turn dramatic, sinister, occasionally charm-laden and quirky \u2013 and, as with all her work, instantly accessible..\u00a0 Adams\u2019 piece is music of a very different stripe, often dark in mood and tone, music suggestive of anger, fear and confrontation expressed in torrents of notes.<\/p>\n

In Shostakovich\u2019s Cello Concerto No 1, Steven Isserlis, as ever, brought formidable ability to bear on his stunningly complete account of the work. Behind the printed note lurks an anguished demon \u2013 and Isserlis revealed it to the nth degree, presenting the cello line in the first movement with an impassioned, searing intensity that brooked no opposition. At its most intense, there was about the performance an urgency that drew me to the edge of my seat. The lengthy cadenza (which is the concerto\u2019s third movement) was a model of what impeccable cello playing is all about.<\/p>\n

Much hair flopping and facial contortion were a distraction but, as in the past, looking away from the soloist on-stage enables one to savour to the full the near-matchless quality of Isserlis\u2019 profoundly meaningful playing. Shostakovich\u2019s concerto is one of the most disturbing works he ever produced \u2013 and it takes a soloist such as this and an orchestra of highest calibre to encompass its daunting terrain in so complete a way \u2013 and so do full justice to the work.\u00a0 An avalanche of thoroughly deserved applause prompted an encore, Isserlis playing Song of the Birds, a Catalonian folk song made famous by the legendary Casals and here offered in an arrangement for unaccompanied cello.<\/p>\n

Isserlis played on the superb Nelsova Stradivarius of 1726 on loan to him from London\u2019s Royal Academy of Music \u2013 and he is worthy of it.<\/p>\n

A lavish bouquet in particular to Premsyl Vojta, that master of the French horn. His contributions were like a golden thread through the evening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn   Over decades, I\u2019ve lost count of the number of times I\u2019ve listened to Haydn\u2019s Symphony I04 in D minor. It is one of the glories of the classical era \u2013 and the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[182,181,18,17,183,184],"class_list":["post-123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-performance","tag-aco","tag-australian-chamber-orchestra","tag-chon","tag-cohn","tag-isserlis","tag-premsyl-vojta"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Yv33-1Z","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":184,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/fremantle-chamber-orchestra\/","url_meta":{"origin":123,"position":0},"title":"Fremantle Chamber Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"November 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Mark Coughlan, conductor Government House Ballroom reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 When Felix Mendelssohn wrote the famous overture to A Midsummer Night\u2019s 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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/sabine-meyer-clarinet\/","url_meta":{"origin":123,"position":1},"title":"Sabine Meyer (clarinet)","author":"reviewer","date":"March 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Alliage Quintet Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn It was an evening of pure delight with six players, each at the very top of their game, delivering the sort of musical magic critics long for but so rarely encounter in reality. 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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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photographer: Samuel Jozeps Australian String Quartet with Adele Conlin (3rd from left) and James Ledger (2nd from right)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Australian-String-Quartet-Schubert-Ledger-Shostakovich-8-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":94,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/eileen-joyce-the-complete-studio-recordings\/","url_meta":{"origin":123,"position":4},"title":"Eileen Joyce \u2013 The Complete Studio Recordings","author":"reviewer","date":"June 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"DECCA 482 6291\u00a0 (10 CDs) reviewed by Neville Cohn I was a junior school boy when Eileen Joyce came to Cape Town and I still recall the thrill of hearing the great Australian pianist playing Beethoven\u2019s Fur Elise as an encore \u2013 and her predilection for wearing a different gown\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recordings - CDs"","block_context":{"text":"Recordings - CDs","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/recordings-cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eileen Joyce","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/T1619_Eileen-Joyce-Australian-pianist-230x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":123,"position":5},"title":"W.A. 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