Vasse Felix Review

Photos by Greg Ross

West toasts Tognetti's vine-tuning
Australian Chamber Orchestra. Vasse Felix Winery, Margaret River, Western Australia, December 5-7.
Mark Coughlan for The Australian:

The late afternoon sun cast a golden hue across the vineyard as patrons made their way past Wilyabrup Brook, through the sculpture walk and into the winery for pre-concert drinks and canapes.

Vasse Felix, Margaret River's oldest commercial winery, is an idyllic setting for a series of three concerts over three evenings by the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Owned by arts advocate and philanthropist Janet Holmes a Court, Vasse Felix is set on a hillside among the vines and includes an award-winning restaurant and gallery showing works from the Holmes a Court collection.

The ACO formerly had a long association with the Huntington Estate winery at Mudgee, NSW, which ended in 2005. The orchestra first performed at Vasse Felix in 2006, and that relationship will continue for at least another three years. With minimal publicity, the event has slipped under the West Australian arts radar to a degree but, given the gallery seats only about 220 people, there isn't much room to grow.

Artistic director Richard Tognetti programmed a blend of popular and less familiar works and showcased the versatility of the orchestra's 11 string players.

Arrangements of string quartets for string orchestra showed a range of approaches: Shostakovich's seventh had a dark intensity, the Ravel was more intimate, with some moments of sensuous delicacy, and Beethoven's quartet in F minor had a more symphonic character.

Three of the ACO's violinists were featured as soloists. Helena Rathbone gave a poetically enticing account of Elgar's Salut d'amour, Satu Vanska tossed off Paganini's La Campanella with ease and Tognetti gave a wonderfully stylish performance of Mozart's fifth violin concerto. Tognetti and Rathbone teamed up for Bach's double violin concerto, and harpist Marshall McGuire joined the orchestra for Debussy's rarely heard Danse sacree et danse profane.

The orchestra capitalised on this intimate setting, creating a hushed and beautifully warm sound for Sibelius's exquisite Impromptu for string orchestra. By contrast, in the closing performance of Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, it sounded like a group twice its size. This was vibrant and passionate playing, technically dazzling yet heartfelt, eliciting a standing ovation from an audience that realised how privileged it was to hear this performance at such close quarters.

At the end of a busy year of touring, the ACO players were relaxed on stage and clearly enjoying their Margaret River experience. Despite the weekend's low profile, there is no doubt these will become the hottest tickets in town.