Beethoven 8 Review II

Giving Connex a run for its money, the Hamer Hall box office yesterday afternoon failed to cope with a sudden burst of interest from prospective patrons, so the Australia Chamber Orchestra began its final subscription program for this year quite late.

Not that it made much difference, artistic director Richard Tognetti urging his forces through the Prokofiev Symphony No.1, the Classical, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in brisk time.

In line with the group’s practice, some layers of grime were removed from the Beethoven score with a lilting swing to the first movement and a velocity in the Allegro vivace finale that would have worked to better effect in a hall with less air space.

Tognetti and his forces enjoyed the Prokofiev work, opening unexpected spaces in the string writing and gaining from the services of a group of wind players, some new to the ACO, horn expert Russell Davis from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra among their ranks.

Not that you can find much new in this happy work, which gained from these executants a sparklingly clear timbre complex. The number of lower strings was slightly increased from the norm, to the advantage of balance in both symphonies.

At the core of the afternoon came the Brahms Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, Tognetti’s top-line solo in burnished partnership with the ACO’s principal cello, Timo-Veikko Valve. This combination radiated an intensity and dynamic drive that dispelled any thought of it figuring as an unworthy latecomer to the composer’s output. Valve produced a vital, emotionally charged line right from the opening cadenza and, with Tognetti, worked into the score’s underlying power, avoiding the temptation to take any sentimental short-cuts.

Hear the concert tonight, if you can; the concerto is one of the finest serious music experiences for 2008.

Clive O'Connell, The Age (Melbourne) | 10 Nov 2008