<\/p>\n
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 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.<\/p>\n
In the hands of the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra with Mark Coughlan at the helm, Schubert\u2019s First flashed into life. It was given a strong introduction. Its robust, emphatic quality could hardly have been bettered. I particularly liked Georgia Lane\u2019s 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,\u00a0 although the movement\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Rossini\u2019s overture to The Italian Girl in Algiers worked its customary magic notwithstanding some uncertainty among upper woodwinds but the music\u2019s inherent insouciance registered most pleasingly.<\/p>\n
Whether lyrical or virtuosic, Anne Sleptsova\u2019s playing in Beethoven\u2019s 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\u2019s violin tone, though finely formed, was rather restrained. Throughout, Coughlan secured a pleasingly supportive response from his forces in this too-seldom-heard masterpiece.<\/p>\n
In years \u2013 decades! \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
During the interval, cheese and biscuits were on offer in GHB\u2019s Supper Room.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mark Coughlan, conductor Government House Ballroom reviewed by Neville Cohn 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<\/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":[214,18,207,213,16],"class_list":["post-184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-performance","tag-anne-sleptsova","tag-chon","tag-government-house-ballroom","tag-mark-coughlan","tag-neville-cohn"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Yv33-2Y","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":184,"position":0},"title":"W.A. Symphony Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"October 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 Vaughan Williams\u2019 Fifth Symphony is seldom heard in this neck of the woods. Prior to the weekend, its most recent performance here was as far back as 1999 when Vernon Handley presided over events. It\u2019s a very welcome return. In less than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/concert-814336__340-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":47,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/all-mozart-compilation\/","url_meta":{"origin":184,"position":1},"title":"All-Mozart Compilation","author":"reviewer","date":"August 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"various concerto soloists Symphonies 29, 33 & 35 Concertgebouworkest Eduard van Beinum, conductor Eloquence 482 5525\u00a0 (2CD) TPT: 147\u2019 11\u201d reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 Not the least of the many good things flowing from this re-issue of Philips LP recordings in the compact disc format is making available to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recordings - CDs"","block_context":{"text":"Recordings - CDs","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/recordings-cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mozart CD Cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/4825525_MozartSymphonies_Concertos_Beinum_master-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":123,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/australian-chamber-orchestra\/","url_meta":{"origin":184,"position":2},"title":"Australian Chamber Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"July 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 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 Australian Chamber Orchestra was the ideal ensemble to give point\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ACO Hamer Hall photo Jeff Busby","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ACO-Hamer-Hall-photo-Jeff-Busby_082-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":37,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/sabine-meyer-clarinet\/","url_meta":{"origin":184,"position":3},"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. For Perth audiences, the stand-out name would have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/23-Sabine-Meyer-0607-by-Thomas-Rabsch-EMI-Classics-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra\/","url_meta":{"origin":184,"position":4},"title":"W.A. Symphony Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"April 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn On Saturday, Shostakovich\u2019s Festive Overture was informed by a sense of immense gaiety, an ideal way to launch an orchestral program. Brass calls and woodwinds in fine fettle brought the overture to genial, pulsing life. The joie de vivre that lies at its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/sheet-music-277277__340-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":231,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wasos-festival-of-chamber-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":184,"position":5},"title":"WASO\u2019s Festival of Chamber Music","author":"reviewer","date":"March 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Government House Ballroom reviewed by Neville Cohn Even in so zany and improbable a treatment of Bach originals as Luther Henderson\u2019s arrangements for brass ensemble of some of the Master\u2019s Preludes and Fugues from the \u201c48\u201d, \u00a0the sheer power and universality of the great composer\u2019s musical ideas are wondrously apparent.\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}