reviewed by Neville Cohn<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Over the decades, I have lost count of the number of times I\u2019ve listened to Gershwin\u2019s Rhapsody in Blue. Many of these performances were impressive \u2013 but Shuan Hern Lee\u2019s account of the much loved<\/g> Rhapsody was in a class of its own: it was unforgettably fine. With fingers that know few fears, young Lee reached for \u2013 and touched – the stars. Stylistically impeccable and presented with rare clarity, this was a performance to cherish. Unsurprisingly, young Lee\u2019s virtuosity prompted a blizzard of cheers, with some of the audience standing as they clapped in appreciation of an extraordinarily<\/g> fine reading. If ever there was a reason to offer an encore, it was this audience reaction. Instead, and oddly, conductor Elena Schwarz came on stage and took the WASO through a frankly lacklustre<\/g> reading of \u00a0Dvorak\u2019s Slavonic Dance opus 48 no.8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, we listened to bass James Clayton in Madamina, il\ncatalogo e questo from Mozart\u2019s Don Giovanni. Clayton\u2019s account bordered on the\nfaultless. Blessed with a beautiful voice, he sang as if the aria had been\nwritten specially for him. Strings played beautifully here. This was a\nhighlight of the afternoon. Later, Clayton was joined by tenor Paul O\u2019Neill in the\nmuch loved In the depths of the Temple\nfrom Bizet\u2019s The Pearl Fishers. As well, O\u2019Neill sang Nessun Dorma from Puccini\u2019s\nTurandot with a finely focussed voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The WASO Chorus earned laurels as well. Its contribution\ngave splendid point and meaning to Borodin\u2019s ever popular Polovtsian Dances.\nThis was a consistently sensitive offering. We need to hear this polished\nchoral ensemble more frequently. The Polonaise from Tchaikowsky\u2019s Eugene Onegin\nneeded a more emphatic beat, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Glinka\u2019s rousing overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla made its\nmark in a most positive way. So, too, did the famous Intermezzo from Mascagni\u2019s Cavalleria\nrusticana. Under Elena Schwarz\u2019s direction, WASO\u2019s playing of its opening\nmoments was informed by an entirely appropriate tenderness. But in Aaron\nCopland\u2019s Appalachian Spring, the playing sounded rather uneven. Lee\u2019s\nbrilliance in the Rhapsody, however, more than made up for this disappointment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn Over the decades, I have lost count of the number of times I\u2019ve listened to Gershwin\u2019s Rhapsody in Blue. Many of these performances were impressive \u2013 but Shuan Hern Lee\u2019s account of the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":228,"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":[],"class_list":["post-225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-performance"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Rev-Lee.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Yv33-3D","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":56,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/silver-sands-guitar-trio\/","url_meta":{"origin":225,"position":0},"title":"Silver Sands Guitar Trio","author":"reviewer","date":"July 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Town Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 Outside, it may have been raining with a teeth-chattering-chilly wind as well \u2013 but Perth Town Hall provided a cosy, pleasantly warm environment as we listened to a charm-laden program featuring three classical guitarists of high accomplishment, collectively known as Silver Sands\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\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Guitarists-300x191.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":73,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/love-story\/","url_meta":{"origin":225,"position":1},"title":"Love Story","author":"reviewer","date":"March 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Valentina Lisitsa (piano) BBC Concert Orchestra Christopher Warren Green\/ Gavin Sutherland, conductors TPT: reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 For many, especially those of a certain age, the often nostalgia-drenched items in this selection of music from the movies will trigger many memories, some carefree and positive but also of consternation,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recordings - CDs"","block_context":{"text":"Recordings - CDs","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/recordings-cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Love Story","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/0028947894544_Lisitsa_LoveStory_cvr-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":168,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/australian-string-quartet\/","url_meta":{"origin":225,"position":2},"title":"Australian String Quartet","author":"reviewer","date":"October 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Government House Ballroom review by Neville Cohn \u00a0 It was a fascinating experience listening to James Ledger\u2019s 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\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":175,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":225,"position":3},"title":"W.A.Symphony Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"October 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 If you haven\u2019t heard of Grace Clifford, make a note of her name because, one the evidence of her performance with the WASO at the weekend, she is on a fast track to the stars. This young violinist is still an undergraduate\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":58,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/pacifica-quartet\/","url_meta":{"origin":225,"position":4},"title":"Pacifica Quartet","author":"reviewer","date":"June 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 In its original and accurate sense, chamber music, by definition, is intended for performance in a small space \u2013 perhaps, say, in the lounge room of a suburban home or the entrance hall of a mansion or, at most, in a small commercial space. Intimacy\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\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Musica-VIVA-57sm-300x119.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":108,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/geoffrey-lancaster-fortepiano-james-huntingford-fortepiano\/","url_meta":{"origin":225,"position":5},"title":"Geoffrey Lancaster (fortepiano) James Huntingford (fortepiano)","author":"reviewer","date":"July 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"WAAPA Music Auditorium reviewed by Neville Cohn Prior to the performance at WAAPA Auditorium on Saturday, how many concertgoers, I wondered, would have realised that the opening item on the program, listed as Bagatelle in A minor, was,\u00a0 in fact, \u00a0the much-loved Fur Elise? And as Geoffrey Lancaster ushered in\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\/225","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=225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n