Did you know that Grieg\u2019s opus was the very first piano concerto ever recorded? It happened more than a century ago – as far back as 1909. The soloist was a very young Wilhelm Backhaus. It\u2019s a compressed version of the work \u2013 a mere nine minutes\u00a0 – but it is beautifully played. Listen to it on Youtube. And Andrey Gugnin\u2019s offering at the weekend was no less meaningful, not least for its blissful clarity and range of tone colourings.<\/p>\n
An audience that packed the Concert Hall to capacity \u2013 it was standing room only \u2013 listened to the concerto in its entirety featuring a soloist with the world at his feet. And in his hands, Grieg\u2019s masterpiece flashed into pulsing life.\u00a0 The clarity which this young Russian-born musician brought to the solo part could hardly have been bettered. And the range of tone he coaxed from the Concert Hall\u2019s Steinway \u2013 from whispered pianissimi to thunderous blocks of sound hurled into the auditorium like some pianistic Zeus – made for most satisfying listening. The first two movements were beyond reproach, in the best sense meaningful. It was only fleetingly in the finale, though, that one felt that more emphatically stated rhythms were required. At times, it was too lyrical here.<\/p>\n
Throughout, Asher Fisch took the WASO players through a first rate accompaniment. I particularly liked the introduction to the central Adagio during which Fisch coaxed an exquisitely hushed response from a much-in-form strings section.<\/p>\n
A veritable tidal wave of applause and cheers greeted the conclusion of the concerto, its insistence persuading Gugnin to offer an encore. With house lights dimmed and the soloist in a pale pink spotlight, we listened to a relentlessly virtuosic account of the toccata-like finale to Prokofiev\u2019s Sonata No 7. Yet again, the audience erupted into enthusiastic applause.<\/p>\n
As curtainraiser, we were offered the world premiere of young Perth composer Lachlan Skipworth\u2019s Hinterland, a work inspired, inter alia, by Western Australia\u2019s rock formations. Homeland incorporates a swarm of ideas, too many too assimilate on a single hearing. I hope we can listen to it again soon. Its final notes were followed by sustained and vigorous applause.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was indeed able to listen to it again \u2013 on ABC FM \u00a0a few days later \u2013 and how much more meaningfully the work came across second time around. Skipworth has real skill, producing, through clever orchestration, variants of tone colour that fell most pleasingly on the ear.\u00a0 On second hearing, though, it sounded a shade too long for its material. Some judicious pruning might well enhance the overall impact of a work full of good ideas.<\/p>\n
Also on the program was that much loved symphony \u2013 Dvorak\u2019s From the New World. Asch\u2019s focussed direction did wonders not least his skill in injecting enthusiasm into his forces but without ever allowing this to degenerate into mere showiness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn Did you know that Grieg\u2019s opus was the very first piano concerto ever recorded? It happened more than a century ago – as far back as 1909. The soloist was a very young<\/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":[32,222,220,221],"class_list":["post-199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-performance","tag-asher-fisch","tag-dvorak","tag-grieg","tag-wso"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Yv33-3d","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony\/","url_meta":{"origin":199,"position":0},"title":"W.A. Symphony","author":"reviewer","date":"March 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 There was a near-capacity audience\u00a0 to listen to Veronika Eberle making her WASO debut as soloist in Beethoven\u2019s Violin Concerto. Glamorously gowned in yellow, she played on a Stradivarius violin \u2013 \u00a0known as the \u00a0Dragonetti and dating from 1700 \u2013 on loan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Veronika Eberle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Masters-1_Veronika-Eberle_%C2%A9Felix-Broede_preview-247x300.jpeg?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":199,"position":1},"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":199,"position":2},"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":32,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":199,"position":3},"title":"W.A Symphony Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"March 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 Aristotle had a poor opinion of the flute. \u201cIt does not have a good moral effect. It is too exciting\u201d. But if, through some miracle of time travel, that ancient philosopher had come along to the Concert Hall, I\u2019d like to think\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Flute","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Andrew-Nicholson_Principal-Flute_preview-226x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":123,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/australian-chamber-orchestra\/","url_meta":{"origin":199,"position":4},"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":22,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra\/","url_meta":{"origin":199,"position":5},"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. 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