It says a great deal for the skill brought to bear on\nRachmaninov\u2019s Symphony No 2 that, at work\u2019s end, I\u2019d have been more than happy\nto listen to it all over again. It\u2019s a lengthy work; it runs for an hour. But\nhere, time flew. The Second was written when the composer was 35 and, at last,\nfully recovered from the devastating effects of depression that had made some\nof his earlier years almost unbearable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If, by some miracle of time travel, the composer had been\nable to attend and listen to this performance, I\u2019d like to think he\u2019d have gone\nbackstage afterwards to shake the conductor\u2019s hand \u2013 and even to give a very,\nvery rare smile. It is so easy, in a work like this, for a listener\u2019s attention\nto wander if the performance is an indifferent ramble. But not here.\nThroughout, there was an intensity of focus that allowed every measure of the\nwork to exert its magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the very first moments, with cellos and double basses uttering\ntheir dour notes in the most impeccable way, the entry of the violas left one in\nlittle doubt that we were on a journey likely to be memorable in the best\nsense. And that it most certainly turned out to be. It was abundantly clear,\ntoo, that Nicholas Carter was the man for the job. Musically astute, focussing\non fine detail but never losing sight of the overall dimensions of the work, he\ntook his players through a performance to be remembered for the best reasons. Spacious but never extravagantly so, with finest\nfocus on detail (but never for a moment sounding fussy), we listened to responses\nnow noble, now passionate, and at times gentle \u2013 and near-volcanic at moments\nof high emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Scherzo, joyful brass in impeccable form very\neffectively evoked the movement\u2019s celebratory essence. And in the Adagio, we\nlistened to Allan Meyer\u2019s impeccable skill on clarinet as the inherently\nyearning quality of the score registered. Here was the very apotheosis of\nbeauty that embraced the listener in a shawl of sonic delight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is there a more joyous symphonic finale that that of\nRachmaninov\u2019s Second? It was a paean of joy delivered with impressive skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet again, this audience of senior folk was impeccable in\nits concert manners, never clapping between movements \u2013 only at the end. And was\nthat splendid response deserved? I\u2019ll say it was. Bravo!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn It says a great deal for the skill brought to bear on Rachmaninov\u2019s Symphony No 2 that, at work\u2019s end, I\u2019d have been more than happy to listen to it all over again.<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-performance"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Yv33-4l","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":69,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/grigory-sokolov-piano\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":0},"title":"Grigory Sokolov (piano)","author":"reviewer","date":"March 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Schubert, Beethoven, Rameau DG 479 5426 reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 During the years when I taught music criticism, I would, early on in the course, ask how many of the students had listened to Beethoven\u2019s Hammerklavier piano sonata, either \u2018live\u2019 or\u00a0 recorded. Not a single student had done so.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recordings - CDs"","block_context":{"text":"Recordings - CDs","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/recordings-cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sokolov","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/028947954262-Cvr-300x270.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":161,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/defying-gravity\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":1},"title":"Defying Gravity","author":"reviewer","date":"September 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"WAAPA Music Auditorium reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 It is one of Western Australia\u2019s most meaningful musical success stories. For years. Defying Gravity has brought performances of the highest order to invariably full houses. This is a particularly remarkable achievement in that, firstly, the performers are still students and, secondly,\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\/09\/IMG_6873-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":56,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/silver-sands-guitar-trio\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":2},"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":173,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":3},"title":"W.A.Symphony Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"October 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 Sibelius\u2019 name and reputation are inextricably linked to his symphonies. They are the bedrock of his fame. But, these aside, he was a most prolific composer. A fair number of these works could fairly be described as tripe \u2013 but there are\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":42,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":4},"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":199,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra-8\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":5},"title":"W.A.Symphony Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"November 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"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 Wilhelm Backhaus. It\u2019s a compressed version of the work \u2013\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\/269","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=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}