Although we are so often saturated with Bach in the aftermath of Easter, it is a great joy to bask in a musical offering this beautifully constructed.
In one of their more intriguing concert programm in recent memory, the Australian Chamber Orchestra under Richard Tognetti enrich and juxtapose their selection of Bach sacred vocal works with 20th century compositions laid at the altar of the master.
These were structured as an imaginary conversation between old and new expressions of spirituality through music, boldly interspersing movements of Bach’s Missa Brevis with pieces of striking contrast.
The densely complex G minor Gloria dissolves into the transcendent stillness of Arvo Part’s Summa in the same key, the latter played with the luminous calm so captivating in the Estonian composer’s style.
British composer Diana Burrell surely ought to be silenced in a conversation presided over by Bach. The prelude and fugue structure of Das Meer (The Sea) was lost in an indistinct mass of sound, while her gestural, aggressive string writing sounded little more than an oft-exploited bag of tricks.
Schoenbergs lush Litany, arranged for soprano and string orchestra, revealed Sara Macliver to be hair-raisingly good in expressionist repertoire, where her signature sparkling tone, so suited to early music, took on darker hues and even greater dramatic intensity.
As part of the concert’s vocal quartet, Macliver soared over the ACO in the compelling cantus firmus movement of the early cantata Wo gehest du hin?
The intimacy of Bach’s choral music performed with one singer per part (as some musicological research suggests is the approach Bach may have taken) provides an achingly beautiful counterpoint to the ACO’s intonation, playing as pristinely as if they were one instrument per part.
I always enjoy hearing Fiona Campbell and Sara Macliver together in Pinchgut Opera productions; here Campbell’s precision, flexibility and elegance shines throughout the cantata’s alto aria, in which singer and players laugh together in buoyant semiquaver passages. Visiting English tenor and baritone Andrew Staples and Matthew Brook complete a well-balanced ensemble.
This laughter lightened the largely somber sacred tone of the program, as did the Shostakovich Polka, the ACO’s pizzicato spring-loaded with wickedly sharp bite.
Melissa Lesnie | Macarthur Chronicle | 21 Apr 2010
Showing posts with label Bach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bach. Show all posts
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Musical roller-coaster ride with Mr Tognetti
You and I may not always approve of ACO supremo Richard Tognetti's programming choices, but we must agree that he usually makes us think as well as listen.
He interpolated movements by three 20th century composers into three works by the greatest composer who ever lived, the unfailingly inventive Johann Sebastian Bach.
Shostakovitch's sardonic, funny Polka and self-pitying Elegy, segued to JSB's Missa Brevis in G minor BWV 235. Hardly had we settled into wondering at the phenomenally well-matched vocal quartet of Sara Macliver, Fiona Campbell, Andrew Staples and Matthew Brook when in came Arvo Part's pretentiously titled, slow, same-noted Summa.
The energy balloon was pricked, but immediately reinflated by the exuberant Gloria and the unalloyed delight of arias from bass Brook and mezzo Campbell. Schoenberg at his darkest in Litanei from String Quartet No 2 almost earned a place by virtue of Macliver's impassioned delivery of the soul in torment over love betrayed.
Back to the irresistible pleading of tenor Staples to have mercy on all us lowly sinners, enhanced by Shefali Pryor's ever-loving oboe, and the glorious melismas of the Missa's final chorus.
After interval, Bach's motet Lobet den Herrn BWV 230 was uninterrupted, one voice to a part, and heard with the clarity intended by its creator.
Acclaimed British composer Diana Burrell's tone poem Das Meer (1992) gave way to the Bach's Cantata Wo gehest du hin? BWV 166. From the opening query by eloquent bass Brook, it flowed, thankfully uninterrupted, through solos to the final chorale and prayer.
Although I did not approve of Tognetti's adventure, I will fight to the death for his right to take us along with him.
Elizabeth Silsbury | Adelaide Advertiser | 17 Apr 2010
He interpolated movements by three 20th century composers into three works by the greatest composer who ever lived, the unfailingly inventive Johann Sebastian Bach.
Shostakovitch's sardonic, funny Polka and self-pitying Elegy, segued to JSB's Missa Brevis in G minor BWV 235. Hardly had we settled into wondering at the phenomenally well-matched vocal quartet of Sara Macliver, Fiona Campbell, Andrew Staples and Matthew Brook when in came Arvo Part's pretentiously titled, slow, same-noted Summa.
The energy balloon was pricked, but immediately reinflated by the exuberant Gloria and the unalloyed delight of arias from bass Brook and mezzo Campbell. Schoenberg at his darkest in Litanei from String Quartet No 2 almost earned a place by virtue of Macliver's impassioned delivery of the soul in torment over love betrayed.
Back to the irresistible pleading of tenor Staples to have mercy on all us lowly sinners, enhanced by Shefali Pryor's ever-loving oboe, and the glorious melismas of the Missa's final chorus.
After interval, Bach's motet Lobet den Herrn BWV 230 was uninterrupted, one voice to a part, and heard with the clarity intended by its creator.
Acclaimed British composer Diana Burrell's tone poem Das Meer (1992) gave way to the Bach's Cantata Wo gehest du hin? BWV 166. From the opening query by eloquent bass Brook, it flowed, thankfully uninterrupted, through solos to the final chorale and prayer.
Although I did not approve of Tognetti's adventure, I will fight to the death for his right to take us along with him.
Elizabeth Silsbury | Adelaide Advertiser | 17 Apr 2010
Bach and Beyond Review - Australian Stage
What lyrical wax can one wipe on to the ACO that hasn't been already applied, not least by my good self? Quite simply, and unequivocally, it has to be one of the finest small orchestras on Earth, and I wouldn't be at all surprised, if one were to do a an exhaustive comparison, that the very same would prevail. ACO, ACO, ACO; oi, oi oi! but enough of my crass superlatives. Bach & Beyond is characteristic of the savvy of the ACO, in hooking their gentrified loyalist audience with Bach as bait, then slipping some challenging classical hardcore into the programme. In this way, without being in any way patronising, the ACO takes their disciples along with them, almost hanging on every note. They're intent on broadening our horizons, coaxing us out of our conservatism and complacency; qualities that tend to be, let's face it, endemic, if not epidemic. So, it's not just a good thing. It's a great thing.
And the ride is always thrilling. Indeed, it's the fact that the ACO itself seems so thrilled to be playing the work that makes it so for us. And it's not the instruments that make it so special, as special as the instruments (such as a 1759 Guadagnini violin) may be. It's the hands that play them. And the passion in the hearts that pump blood to those hands.
Just as we might hang on every note, the musicians watch intently for every gesture by their artistic director. These can be subtle, no doubt, as the maestro is so vigorously engaged in playing, himself. It lends a theatrical dimension to the performance. In the kind of slightly naughty, deliberately perverse, schoolboyish kind of way that's accounted for freaky haircuts and other small statements of individuality amongst the orchestra, Tognetti announced a programme deviation at the last-minute. 'Damn! Too late to cancel now.' So we get a little Shostakovich with our Bach.
Dmitri might have a rather more daunting surname than Johann, but he writes a mean Elegy. It is pregnant with melancholy, without ever succumbing to self-indulgent, unrelenting mournfulness; more a lament, perhaps, than anything else. I understand he composed it in a mere three days, whereas it sounds so hauntingly, achingly beautiful I would've easily believed three years. He wrote it, too, for string quartet, so this was a somewhat more expansive, spacious arrangement: eight violins, three violas, two oboes, bassoon, bass and three celli. It's in five movements, albeit continuous, and is in the minor key of C. In an orgy of personal plagiarism, he quotes liberally from earlier compositions, which has biographical significance, as these excerpts tend to refer to works which are very much markers for significant events in his life. This, of course, lends added poignancy. (By the way, the piece is also commonly known as Adagio, so don't be confused by any conflicting nomenclature.) Tognetti and co bring to it a tangible, almost prayerful respect, that truly evinces the very best from an exceptionally elegant, moving work.
But, of course, Mr T tricked us and insisted on reversing the programmatic polarity, playing Shostakovich's curious Polka first; a piece bordering on sarcastic, of not downright so. What was the method in Shostakovich's madness and cynicism? Let's put it in context. The polka was from the second act of his most popular ballet, The Age Of Gold. The scene for which the polka was written depicts a meeting of the League Of Nations. Enough said. If your musical tastes are broad, and extend to the coarseness of pop, you might even know it as Once Upon A Time In Geneva. Clearly, it's intent isn't lost on the ACO, who tilt it steeply towards its comical dissonance and dissidence. It threatens to descend into anarchy and that very threat, of danger and menace, makes it all the more exhilirating. This is the art of the ACO: to capture and distil the essence of what the composer had in mind; thorough research and visceral playing gets them there.
After being jolted from any soporific, post-prandial stasis by the Polka, then seduced into sadness by the Elegy, we were rewarded with a rich rendition of Bach's short mass; in other words, Missa Brevis (G Minor). That a devout Lutheran should involve himself in a musical phenomenon so inextricable from the Roman church might seem remarkable but, apparently, and somewhat against the grain of conventional wisdom, the liturgical distinctions, at least at the time, weren't all that great. In any case, with this mass in particular, Bach really goes for it, showing the full extent of his vocabulary & breathtaking compositional dexterity. But it's more than purely a showcase for an incorrigible showoff. It's satisfying, in the substantial way of a hearty German meal. All the moreso, once again, when delivered by the ACO. I hardly need to labour the point, or elaborate on the ACO's capabilities when it comes to Bach, as Tognetti alone has been much-lauded in that respect. A shining sidelight to this selection is that it brings together a quartet of superlative singers: two from Australia and two from Britain.
Sara Macliver is God's, and Australia's, gift to baroque. She's an enthusiast and is everywhere, including, regularly, alongside all our symphony orchestras. Better yet, she's no stranger to Bach's masses, or anything else, for that matter. If JS himself had chosen a soprano, he couldn't have gone past her: her voice as crisp, clean, clear and pure as driven snow. Similarly, her countrywoman, Fiona Campbell, who fulfilled the roles of mezzo-soprano and alto, as required, never struggles to assert her strong, warm timbre over the instruments. She's a second jewel in the crown of Australian vocal performance and is also at home and adept with JSB's hits and masses.
The blokes (or chaps, given they hail from the mother country) were animated; especially Matthew Brook (bass), whose delivery is assertive; commanding, even. Andrew Staples, tenor, sang as a chorister in St. Pauls, before winning a scholarship to Kings College, and he still looks the part, with his wide-eyed, youthful innocence. With his bright, lively tone, his & Macliver's, particularly, was a vocal marriage made in heaven.
The singers were all the more impressive for the fact they were charged with the daunting task of singing music commonly assigned to a much larger choir. There was certainly no sense of missing parts; far from it, their individual and collective clarity and precision was most edifying.
As with Shostakovich (how this typist wish he had a nickname), Bach's mass reprises much of his earlier works, without the slightest apology or self-consciousness. In many ways, it accentuates and underscores his talents for composition and arrangement, in the reworking. The result is, in short, consummate; Calvin Bowman's organ contributing in no small measure (dare I say, he knows the composer Bach-to-front).
In the 'conversation', of which Tognetti made much in pre-concert remarks, the next bold stroke was to interpolate Estonian composer, Arvo Part, who was happy, it seems, to kiss the hem of Bach's garment. His Summa, apart from being mercifully compact and eloquent by classical standards, is the very quintessence of elegant minimalism: there is nothing extraneous, superfluous or needlessly ornamental in this profound and sublime piece, which the ACO honours with the urmost, restraint, integrity and dignity. Tognetti's apparent penchant for sostenuto & talent for intuiting as well as expressing, the arc and depth of emotion required, assisted greatly the reading and evocation of contemplative, mystical melody. I imagine it's the solemnity of the work which RT hears as paying homage to and being in reverent dialogue with Bach's religious music.
Schoenberg's Litany, the slow third movement from his second (of four) string quartet(s), was imbued, by the ACO & the shattering vocals of Macliver, with all the blueness the text ('deep is the sadness that gloomily comes over me') demands (Schoenberg seems as concerned with as any poet). The strings shone throughout, too. There was some notably invigorated playing from assistant leader, violinist Satu Vanska.
Another glass of wine at interval, and we were launched into a fugal Bach motet; Lobet den Herrn. Since the ACO had employed, whether for fiscal or musical reasons, the smallest possible, one-voice-per-part, SATB choir, the very appearance of this work on the programme rekindles a now decades-old debate: how many voices were their in Bach's choir? Whatever the correct answer, this ensemble proved they had it covered with, I'd venture to reflect, the Aussie sheilas outshining and overpowering the Brit blokes. Not that it's a competition, but if there were orchestral ashes, we might well claim those, too.
Diana Burrell's 'Das Meer' needs no translation. From its first bars, one can hear the thundering roar and unforgiving tempest of the ocean. As with the preceding motet, it takes a (prelude and) fugal form; this, from a Norwich-born composer. And, as with the earlier mass, it borrows, textually, from the Lutheran bible. As much a musical painting as anything else, it ebbs, flows and swells as does the tide, in lunar servitude, mimicking the servitude of man, to God, as in Bach's momentous, ordered genuflection. The ACO embraces Burrell's accentuated dynamics with gusto, rising to the very considerable challenge of this 'players' music. All seafaring creatures great and small, flotillas of notes, danger and principal cellist, Timo, seemed utterly immersed. Stupendous!
The comfort and familiarity of JSB's Cantata posed the eternal, existential, almost unanswerable question, 'where are you going?'. It might have been written by Jean-Paul Sartre, if it hadn't been by an unknown poet, long before. It turns the reported words of Jesus on their head: a surprisingly radical move by the cantor of St. Thomas (Bach), in Leipzig, in the first quarter of the 18th-century. The opening bass aria drives home the brevity of the libretto brilliantly.
Obviously, Bach was, and is, the robust backbone of this tour. But Bach would be the backbone of any tour on which he appears. Bach has bite. But the programme was, as is typical of ACO determinations, made vital, interesting, even confronting, with the likes of Shostakovich, Part, Schoenberg and Burrell, whose music is deserving of more attention. And there's no small orchestral outfit better-prepared, equipped, or endowed, to bring it to our attention. Bach & potent text are the pervasive themes of this tour. Textual healing, perhaps?
Lloyd Bradford Syke | Australian Stage | 19 Apr 2010
And the ride is always thrilling. Indeed, it's the fact that the ACO itself seems so thrilled to be playing the work that makes it so for us. And it's not the instruments that make it so special, as special as the instruments (such as a 1759 Guadagnini violin) may be. It's the hands that play them. And the passion in the hearts that pump blood to those hands.
Just as we might hang on every note, the musicians watch intently for every gesture by their artistic director. These can be subtle, no doubt, as the maestro is so vigorously engaged in playing, himself. It lends a theatrical dimension to the performance. In the kind of slightly naughty, deliberately perverse, schoolboyish kind of way that's accounted for freaky haircuts and other small statements of individuality amongst the orchestra, Tognetti announced a programme deviation at the last-minute. 'Damn! Too late to cancel now.' So we get a little Shostakovich with our Bach.
Dmitri might have a rather more daunting surname than Johann, but he writes a mean Elegy. It is pregnant with melancholy, without ever succumbing to self-indulgent, unrelenting mournfulness; more a lament, perhaps, than anything else. I understand he composed it in a mere three days, whereas it sounds so hauntingly, achingly beautiful I would've easily believed three years. He wrote it, too, for string quartet, so this was a somewhat more expansive, spacious arrangement: eight violins, three violas, two oboes, bassoon, bass and three celli. It's in five movements, albeit continuous, and is in the minor key of C. In an orgy of personal plagiarism, he quotes liberally from earlier compositions, which has biographical significance, as these excerpts tend to refer to works which are very much markers for significant events in his life. This, of course, lends added poignancy. (By the way, the piece is also commonly known as Adagio, so don't be confused by any conflicting nomenclature.) Tognetti and co bring to it a tangible, almost prayerful respect, that truly evinces the very best from an exceptionally elegant, moving work.
But, of course, Mr T tricked us and insisted on reversing the programmatic polarity, playing Shostakovich's curious Polka first; a piece bordering on sarcastic, of not downright so. What was the method in Shostakovich's madness and cynicism? Let's put it in context. The polka was from the second act of his most popular ballet, The Age Of Gold. The scene for which the polka was written depicts a meeting of the League Of Nations. Enough said. If your musical tastes are broad, and extend to the coarseness of pop, you might even know it as Once Upon A Time In Geneva. Clearly, it's intent isn't lost on the ACO, who tilt it steeply towards its comical dissonance and dissidence. It threatens to descend into anarchy and that very threat, of danger and menace, makes it all the more exhilirating. This is the art of the ACO: to capture and distil the essence of what the composer had in mind; thorough research and visceral playing gets them there.
After being jolted from any soporific, post-prandial stasis by the Polka, then seduced into sadness by the Elegy, we were rewarded with a rich rendition of Bach's short mass; in other words, Missa Brevis (G Minor). That a devout Lutheran should involve himself in a musical phenomenon so inextricable from the Roman church might seem remarkable but, apparently, and somewhat against the grain of conventional wisdom, the liturgical distinctions, at least at the time, weren't all that great. In any case, with this mass in particular, Bach really goes for it, showing the full extent of his vocabulary & breathtaking compositional dexterity. But it's more than purely a showcase for an incorrigible showoff. It's satisfying, in the substantial way of a hearty German meal. All the moreso, once again, when delivered by the ACO. I hardly need to labour the point, or elaborate on the ACO's capabilities when it comes to Bach, as Tognetti alone has been much-lauded in that respect. A shining sidelight to this selection is that it brings together a quartet of superlative singers: two from Australia and two from Britain.
Sara Macliver is God's, and Australia's, gift to baroque. She's an enthusiast and is everywhere, including, regularly, alongside all our symphony orchestras. Better yet, she's no stranger to Bach's masses, or anything else, for that matter. If JS himself had chosen a soprano, he couldn't have gone past her: her voice as crisp, clean, clear and pure as driven snow. Similarly, her countrywoman, Fiona Campbell, who fulfilled the roles of mezzo-soprano and alto, as required, never struggles to assert her strong, warm timbre over the instruments. She's a second jewel in the crown of Australian vocal performance and is also at home and adept with JSB's hits and masses.
The blokes (or chaps, given they hail from the mother country) were animated; especially Matthew Brook (bass), whose delivery is assertive; commanding, even. Andrew Staples, tenor, sang as a chorister in St. Pauls, before winning a scholarship to Kings College, and he still looks the part, with his wide-eyed, youthful innocence. With his bright, lively tone, his & Macliver's, particularly, was a vocal marriage made in heaven.
The singers were all the more impressive for the fact they were charged with the daunting task of singing music commonly assigned to a much larger choir. There was certainly no sense of missing parts; far from it, their individual and collective clarity and precision was most edifying.
As with Shostakovich (how this typist wish he had a nickname), Bach's mass reprises much of his earlier works, without the slightest apology or self-consciousness. In many ways, it accentuates and underscores his talents for composition and arrangement, in the reworking. The result is, in short, consummate; Calvin Bowman's organ contributing in no small measure (dare I say, he knows the composer Bach-to-front).
In the 'conversation', of which Tognetti made much in pre-concert remarks, the next bold stroke was to interpolate Estonian composer, Arvo Part, who was happy, it seems, to kiss the hem of Bach's garment. His Summa, apart from being mercifully compact and eloquent by classical standards, is the very quintessence of elegant minimalism: there is nothing extraneous, superfluous or needlessly ornamental in this profound and sublime piece, which the ACO honours with the urmost, restraint, integrity and dignity. Tognetti's apparent penchant for sostenuto & talent for intuiting as well as expressing, the arc and depth of emotion required, assisted greatly the reading and evocation of contemplative, mystical melody. I imagine it's the solemnity of the work which RT hears as paying homage to and being in reverent dialogue with Bach's religious music.
Schoenberg's Litany, the slow third movement from his second (of four) string quartet(s), was imbued, by the ACO & the shattering vocals of Macliver, with all the blueness the text ('deep is the sadness that gloomily comes over me') demands (Schoenberg seems as concerned with as any poet). The strings shone throughout, too. There was some notably invigorated playing from assistant leader, violinist Satu Vanska.
Another glass of wine at interval, and we were launched into a fugal Bach motet; Lobet den Herrn. Since the ACO had employed, whether for fiscal or musical reasons, the smallest possible, one-voice-per-part, SATB choir, the very appearance of this work on the programme rekindles a now decades-old debate: how many voices were their in Bach's choir? Whatever the correct answer, this ensemble proved they had it covered with, I'd venture to reflect, the Aussie sheilas outshining and overpowering the Brit blokes. Not that it's a competition, but if there were orchestral ashes, we might well claim those, too.
Diana Burrell's 'Das Meer' needs no translation. From its first bars, one can hear the thundering roar and unforgiving tempest of the ocean. As with the preceding motet, it takes a (prelude and) fugal form; this, from a Norwich-born composer. And, as with the earlier mass, it borrows, textually, from the Lutheran bible. As much a musical painting as anything else, it ebbs, flows and swells as does the tide, in lunar servitude, mimicking the servitude of man, to God, as in Bach's momentous, ordered genuflection. The ACO embraces Burrell's accentuated dynamics with gusto, rising to the very considerable challenge of this 'players' music. All seafaring creatures great and small, flotillas of notes, danger and principal cellist, Timo, seemed utterly immersed. Stupendous!
The comfort and familiarity of JSB's Cantata posed the eternal, existential, almost unanswerable question, 'where are you going?'. It might have been written by Jean-Paul Sartre, if it hadn't been by an unknown poet, long before. It turns the reported words of Jesus on their head: a surprisingly radical move by the cantor of St. Thomas (Bach), in Leipzig, in the first quarter of the 18th-century. The opening bass aria drives home the brevity of the libretto brilliantly.
Obviously, Bach was, and is, the robust backbone of this tour. But Bach would be the backbone of any tour on which he appears. Bach has bite. But the programme was, as is typical of ACO determinations, made vital, interesting, even confronting, with the likes of Shostakovich, Part, Schoenberg and Burrell, whose music is deserving of more attention. And there's no small orchestral outfit better-prepared, equipped, or endowed, to bring it to our attention. Bach & potent text are the pervasive themes of this tour. Textual healing, perhaps?
Lloyd Bradford Syke | Australian Stage | 19 Apr 2010
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Interview with ACO Principals
This month, with an adventurous concert program, the Australian Chamber Orchestra showcases its individual talents with acclaimed guest oboist Diana Doherty. Simon Moore from 2MBS FM chats with the principal artists about playing their favourite pieces.
_________
The Australian Chamber Orchestra has often been called ‘an orchestra of soloists’. This description is put to the test as each of the ACO’s principal artists steps out in front of the orchestra with principal second violinist Helena Rathbone taking the helm to direct.
‘We’ve had good feedback from subscribers in the past when members of the orchestra have played solos’, says Helena, who will be directing the orchestra in a subscription tour for the first time. ‘I’ll be playing the JS Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe with Diana (Doherty). It is such a marvellous piece – it’s always been one of my favourites. I’ve never played a solo with Diana so I’m looking to that. It’s not only a great piece but it will be good to play it with her.’
Guest oboist Diana Doherty, a Sydney Symphony veteran, is also excited by the opportunity.
‘It’s a fantastic work,’ she says. ‘It’s just one of those pieces that is so divine to play.’ Indeed, Diana performed the work with the ACO as part of a CD release of all the JS Bach violin concertos.
I’m curious as to how the items in this concert were selected. Did each soloist get the chance to pick their favourite?
‘It was a group of us that decided what we should do’, Helena explains. ‘Each person was asked what they would like, but it doesn’t always mean that that can be possible, since it might not make a good program all together. The danger in programming something like this is that it can be a bit of a concerto-fest!’
However, Helena is pleased with the final selection. ‘We’ve got a good mixture of works.’
I steer the conversation to the degree of influence Helena has over the soloists as to how their piece is realised.
‘My view is, say, when Tipi’s playing the CPE Bach Cello Concerto in A Minor, he’ll have a very strong idea of where he wants to go, and we’ll work at it together. I’ll be there to lead the orchestra. If one of his suggestions isn’t necessarily working, we might suggest something else – it will be very much a team effort. That’s our normal style of working anyway.’
The ACO’s principal cellist, Timo-Veikko Valve, known as Tipi, relishes the research he can do before performing a piece.
‘CPE Bach often would just write concertos, then later on specify the actual instrument’, says Tipi. ‘But in three cases it’s very clear that he was thinking about the cello – so people call them the three cello concertos. I’ve played the A major one with the ACO before, which is probably the best known CPE Bach Concerto – Steven Isserlis played it with us. I really wanted to get to know the other two, and to try to bring forward the other two that don’t get played so much, and really fell in love with the A minor one. It has a fireworks character, lots of turmoil. I just thought that would be great with the ACO and the energy the orchestra has on stage.’
Tipi is also interested in some of the other historical aspects of this concerto, and speaks about the music with genuine passion.
‘He was the first one to develop what you might call more of a theme line, playing with harmonies and melodies. He was a pioneer of putting more blood and tears into the music. His music is always very powerful.’
The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s principal double bass, Maxime Bibeau, also speaks with passion about the solo he will be playing – a new work by Australian composer Matthew Hindson.
‘I’m thrilled with how the piece is going. Definitely a challenge for me and the orchestra, but a most worthwhile one’, he says. ‘I’m well aware that Matthew had a few challenges in writing a piece for double bass and strings, but he has crafted a work that uses the rich expressive tone of the instrument for lyrical passages, and he’s amalgamated a whole range of techniques for sound production and jazz-like short motifs to make the piece extremely rhythmic.’
One of the joys of working on a new composition has been, Maxime finds, that he was able to make some creative input.
‘Thank God for Skype!’ he says. ‘Matthew has been sending me ideas and sketches, and I’ve been reacting to these, giving him some feedback as to how I could render his concepts as best as possible on my instrument. I do believe that it has been an extremely fruitful relationship.’
The new Hindson work is not the only piece in this concert that the ACO has not played before, as Helena explains, speaking about the Intermezzo and Scherzo by Austrian composer Franz Schreker.
‘It’s always very exciting for us to find a new piece, because the chamber orchestra repertoire is not enormous’, Helena tells me. ‘It’s written around 1900, so it’s got a lot of very romantic lush string playing which we all love. And that will show off the whole orchestra!’
Something that Helena regards as a centrepiece of the concert is the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto, which will once again feature Diana Doherty. The work holds a special place for Diana.
‘I remember living and breathing the piece when I was in year 12!’ she says. ‘I was 16, and trying the ABC Concerto Competition for the first time.’
Diana points out that the Vaughan Williams will be challenging in the conductor-less environment of the ACO.
‘It’s not easy with a conductor. It’s not so complex, but it’s rhapsodic, and I think that makes it tricky. It has moments that are very dreamy, and then the orchestra has to accompany me, then suspend a chord while I go off on a kind of reverie. So it will require the orchestra to be incredibly familiar with the piece. Also, being a soloist without a conductor gives you a whole other layer of responsibility. For example, if you are a violinist, you can actually lift your head from the instrument, and show some kind of facial expression, whereas with the oboe, your face is so much involved in what you’re doing. It’s going to be very interesting to see how we cope with that challenge!’
‘But I’m really looking forward to the nitty-gritty of it all – having such a hands-on involvement with it. I think it feels a lot more like chamber music, where everyone is taking responsibility for the whole.’
Violist Christopher Moore will be performing what Helena describes as a particularly beautiful piece, Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae.
‘I’d like to see it as the core members showing that we can put on a good show,’ Helena says. ‘And we don’t necessarily require famous international soloists and a guest director to make a really good concert. My feeling is that this gives members of the orchestra the chance not only to shine as a soloist but the chance to speak as a musician.’
This article is from 2MBS Fine Music Magazine.
_________
The Australian Chamber Orchestra has often been called ‘an orchestra of soloists’. This description is put to the test as each of the ACO’s principal artists steps out in front of the orchestra with principal second violinist Helena Rathbone taking the helm to direct.
‘We’ve had good feedback from subscribers in the past when members of the orchestra have played solos’, says Helena, who will be directing the orchestra in a subscription tour for the first time. ‘I’ll be playing the JS Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe with Diana (Doherty). It is such a marvellous piece – it’s always been one of my favourites. I’ve never played a solo with Diana so I’m looking to that. It’s not only a great piece but it will be good to play it with her.’
Guest oboist Diana Doherty, a Sydney Symphony veteran, is also excited by the opportunity.
‘It’s a fantastic work,’ she says. ‘It’s just one of those pieces that is so divine to play.’ Indeed, Diana performed the work with the ACO as part of a CD release of all the JS Bach violin concertos.
I’m curious as to how the items in this concert were selected. Did each soloist get the chance to pick their favourite?
‘It was a group of us that decided what we should do’, Helena explains. ‘Each person was asked what they would like, but it doesn’t always mean that that can be possible, since it might not make a good program all together. The danger in programming something like this is that it can be a bit of a concerto-fest!’
However, Helena is pleased with the final selection. ‘We’ve got a good mixture of works.’
I steer the conversation to the degree of influence Helena has over the soloists as to how their piece is realised.
‘My view is, say, when Tipi’s playing the CPE Bach Cello Concerto in A Minor, he’ll have a very strong idea of where he wants to go, and we’ll work at it together. I’ll be there to lead the orchestra. If one of his suggestions isn’t necessarily working, we might suggest something else – it will be very much a team effort. That’s our normal style of working anyway.’
The ACO’s principal cellist, Timo-Veikko Valve, known as Tipi, relishes the research he can do before performing a piece.
‘CPE Bach often would just write concertos, then later on specify the actual instrument’, says Tipi. ‘But in three cases it’s very clear that he was thinking about the cello – so people call them the three cello concertos. I’ve played the A major one with the ACO before, which is probably the best known CPE Bach Concerto – Steven Isserlis played it with us. I really wanted to get to know the other two, and to try to bring forward the other two that don’t get played so much, and really fell in love with the A minor one. It has a fireworks character, lots of turmoil. I just thought that would be great with the ACO and the energy the orchestra has on stage.’
Tipi is also interested in some of the other historical aspects of this concerto, and speaks about the music with genuine passion.
‘He was the first one to develop what you might call more of a theme line, playing with harmonies and melodies. He was a pioneer of putting more blood and tears into the music. His music is always very powerful.’
The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s principal double bass, Maxime Bibeau, also speaks with passion about the solo he will be playing – a new work by Australian composer Matthew Hindson.
‘I’m thrilled with how the piece is going. Definitely a challenge for me and the orchestra, but a most worthwhile one’, he says. ‘I’m well aware that Matthew had a few challenges in writing a piece for double bass and strings, but he has crafted a work that uses the rich expressive tone of the instrument for lyrical passages, and he’s amalgamated a whole range of techniques for sound production and jazz-like short motifs to make the piece extremely rhythmic.’
One of the joys of working on a new composition has been, Maxime finds, that he was able to make some creative input.
‘Thank God for Skype!’ he says. ‘Matthew has been sending me ideas and sketches, and I’ve been reacting to these, giving him some feedback as to how I could render his concepts as best as possible on my instrument. I do believe that it has been an extremely fruitful relationship.’
The new Hindson work is not the only piece in this concert that the ACO has not played before, as Helena explains, speaking about the Intermezzo and Scherzo by Austrian composer Franz Schreker.
‘It’s always very exciting for us to find a new piece, because the chamber orchestra repertoire is not enormous’, Helena tells me. ‘It’s written around 1900, so it’s got a lot of very romantic lush string playing which we all love. And that will show off the whole orchestra!’
Something that Helena regards as a centrepiece of the concert is the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto, which will once again feature Diana Doherty. The work holds a special place for Diana.
‘I remember living and breathing the piece when I was in year 12!’ she says. ‘I was 16, and trying the ABC Concerto Competition for the first time.’
Diana points out that the Vaughan Williams will be challenging in the conductor-less environment of the ACO.
‘It’s not easy with a conductor. It’s not so complex, but it’s rhapsodic, and I think that makes it tricky. It has moments that are very dreamy, and then the orchestra has to accompany me, then suspend a chord while I go off on a kind of reverie. So it will require the orchestra to be incredibly familiar with the piece. Also, being a soloist without a conductor gives you a whole other layer of responsibility. For example, if you are a violinist, you can actually lift your head from the instrument, and show some kind of facial expression, whereas with the oboe, your face is so much involved in what you’re doing. It’s going to be very interesting to see how we cope with that challenge!’
‘But I’m really looking forward to the nitty-gritty of it all – having such a hands-on involvement with it. I think it feels a lot more like chamber music, where everyone is taking responsibility for the whole.’
Violist Christopher Moore will be performing what Helena describes as a particularly beautiful piece, Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae.
‘I’d like to see it as the core members showing that we can put on a good show,’ Helena says. ‘And we don’t necessarily require famous international soloists and a guest director to make a really good concert. My feeling is that this gives members of the orchestra the chance not only to shine as a soloist but the chance to speak as a musician.’
This article is from 2MBS Fine Music Magazine.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
West Australian Review
With his bow dipped in the stuff of high inspiration, Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto, a diminutive figure with a colossal talent, took the Australian Chamber Orchestra to impressive heights in a re-working for string orchestra of his famed compatriot Sibelius' String Quartet in D minor.
Here was an opportunity to savour the excellence of the ACO's playing. With admirable, uniform tonal sheen and, at climaxes, gloriously rich, organ-like sonorities, the players responded to the score as if drawing on a shared reservoir of musical inspiration.
In Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, the first movement frequently sounded earthbound and bass heavy with an at-times overly grainy corporate tone. The finale, though, was pleasingly buoyant and fluent. Here, we also heard the faintly wheezing tone of the harmonium played throughout the evening with unassuming artistry by Milla Viljamaa.
Kuusisto was soloist in Bach's Violin Concerto in E in which much of the opening allegro was informed by an agreeably joyous quality. The finale was no less appealing. But in the extended
adagio which, movie fans may recall, was used to profoundly moving effect in Pasolini's The Gospel according to St Matthew, the playing lacked that element of poignancy which lies at the heart of the music.
As curtain-raiser, we heard Andrew Ford's Bright Shiners which is being premiered across the country on the ACO's current tour. With its imaginative writing Bright Shiners might well have a future in the repertoire of string orchestras. It initially has an eerie, faint and fragile quality with, later, charming suggestions of twittering birdsong in response to what sounded like the mournful cry of some disconsolate fowl. Also new to Perth audiences was Finnish composer Timo Alakotila's Sketches from Folkscenes, completed earlier this year and written in the tradition of Finnish folk fiddling. But despite the energy with which it was dispatched, its intriguing, syncopated rhythms and pleasing use of pizzicato sounded overlong for its material. Kuusisto played on a fine Guadagnini violin dating from 1752.
Neville Cohn | West Australian
Here was an opportunity to savour the excellence of the ACO's playing. With admirable, uniform tonal sheen and, at climaxes, gloriously rich, organ-like sonorities, the players responded to the score as if drawing on a shared reservoir of musical inspiration.
In Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, the first movement frequently sounded earthbound and bass heavy with an at-times overly grainy corporate tone. The finale, though, was pleasingly buoyant and fluent. Here, we also heard the faintly wheezing tone of the harmonium played throughout the evening with unassuming artistry by Milla Viljamaa.
Kuusisto was soloist in Bach's Violin Concerto in E in which much of the opening allegro was informed by an agreeably joyous quality. The finale was no less appealing. But in the extended
adagio which, movie fans may recall, was used to profoundly moving effect in Pasolini's The Gospel according to St Matthew, the playing lacked that element of poignancy which lies at the heart of the music.
As curtain-raiser, we heard Andrew Ford's Bright Shiners which is being premiered across the country on the ACO's current tour. With its imaginative writing Bright Shiners might well have a future in the repertoire of string orchestras. It initially has an eerie, faint and fragile quality with, later, charming suggestions of twittering birdsong in response to what sounded like the mournful cry of some disconsolate fowl. Also new to Perth audiences was Finnish composer Timo Alakotila's Sketches from Folkscenes, completed earlier this year and written in the tradition of Finnish folk fiddling. But despite the energy with which it was dispatched, its intriguing, syncopated rhythms and pleasing use of pizzicato sounded overlong for its material. Kuusisto played on a fine Guadagnini violin dating from 1752.
Neville Cohn | West Australian
Friday, 20 March 2009
Herald Sun Review
ACO leader Richard Tognetti is off duty for the orchestra's current tour and the guest leader is young Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto. Finnish music has a special place in this strings-only program: besides Kuusisto, the orchestra has two permanent members and a visiting harmonium player from Finland. Kuusisto's fine arrangement of the String Quartet in D minor by Sibelius brought a new richness to the work.
Also from Finland was Sketches from Folkscenes (world premiere) by Timo Alakotila. It weaves folk music and original material together and uses the harmonium, a key instrument in Finnish fiddle bands whose timbre enhances the open sound of folk string playing. The chunky, pop and jazz-influenced second movement looked a pleasure to play.
In the Bach E major Violin Concerto, Kuusisto took a free, joyous approach to the first movement. A few improvised details in the third added a spontaneous feel.
Bright Shiners by Andrew Ford, a new commission, was an enjoyable piece with vivid textures and effective, flattering string writing. Its duration suited its musical concept perfectly.
Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.3 took a fresh, modern approach with a lively bowing style, choppy but never rough. There was an exciting primal energy to the final movement. Rather than the more usual harpsichord continuo, ACO again used the harmonium - a logistical choice perhaps, but it worked. Kuusisto's playing explores many musical styles and his artistic imagination seems boundless. Best of all, hi inspiration spread to the other players and audience alike.
It says excellent things about Tognetti and his intentions for the orchestra that he engages guest leaders of Kuusisto's calibre in his absence.
Anna McAlister, Herald Sun
Also from Finland was Sketches from Folkscenes (world premiere) by Timo Alakotila. It weaves folk music and original material together and uses the harmonium, a key instrument in Finnish fiddle bands whose timbre enhances the open sound of folk string playing. The chunky, pop and jazz-influenced second movement looked a pleasure to play.
In the Bach E major Violin Concerto, Kuusisto took a free, joyous approach to the first movement. A few improvised details in the third added a spontaneous feel.
Bright Shiners by Andrew Ford, a new commission, was an enjoyable piece with vivid textures and effective, flattering string writing. Its duration suited its musical concept perfectly.
Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.3 took a fresh, modern approach with a lively bowing style, choppy but never rough. There was an exciting primal energy to the final movement. Rather than the more usual harpsichord continuo, ACO again used the harmonium - a logistical choice perhaps, but it worked. Kuusisto's playing explores many musical styles and his artistic imagination seems boundless. Best of all, hi inspiration spread to the other players and audience alike.
It says excellent things about Tognetti and his intentions for the orchestra that he engages guest leaders of Kuusisto's calibre in his absence.
Anna McAlister, Herald Sun
Finn finds Inner Voices
Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto is fresh from a conversation with school kids about classical music. The dialogue is one aspect of music and performance that inspires the celebrated musician who is in Australia as guest director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra for its Inner Voices tour.
"Most musicians who perform in concert halls seem to expect the world to come to us all of the time ... because we play music from a certain period," Kuusisto explains. "We have to be ready and willing to reach out to other people and offer others what we have to give."
Kuusisto brings to Australia an impressive performance history which includes an association with London, Scottish and Irish chamber orchestras, the Britten Sinfonia and stints as the artistic director of Finland's Lake Tuusula Chamber Music Festival. In 1995, Kuusisto was the first Finn to win the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition. One of the world's top three violin competitions, it is held every five years in recognition of the composer's musical legacy in his homeland, Finland, and worldwide.
Kuusisto is known for his diverse tastes which have seen him embrace classical music as well as folk, electronic, jazz, rock and improvisional styles. He says while he has fostered diversity in his musical taste, he realises that certain genres are not for all. "(Classical) music is not for everyone. It's just in the same way some people like Rembrandt and some people like Andy Warhol," he says.
Performing with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, including a stint as guest director in the past, means Kuusisto knows exactly what to expect on this visit Down Under. He says he loves the opportunity to get into the rehearsal room with the orchestra and this time will lead the group in a Finnish inspired program. "It's a great collection of people who are really wonderful people and great musicians," he says. Kuusisto has arranged Sibelius' Voices Intimae for the performance. The orchestra will also play Bach's Violin Concerto No. 2 in E and the Brandenberg Concerto No. 3 and premiere Alakotila's Finnish Folksong Suite for Strings. Kuusisto says initially he had reservations about arranging and playing a Sibelius piece with the chamber orchestra. "That idea came from the orchestra and I was a little bit reluctant at first," he says. "But if there's one orchestra that can play the personality and intimacy of the piece in a large venue, then this is the orchestra."
KILMENY ADIE, ILLAWARRA MERCURY
"Most musicians who perform in concert halls seem to expect the world to come to us all of the time ... because we play music from a certain period," Kuusisto explains. "We have to be ready and willing to reach out to other people and offer others what we have to give."
Kuusisto brings to Australia an impressive performance history which includes an association with London, Scottish and Irish chamber orchestras, the Britten Sinfonia and stints as the artistic director of Finland's Lake Tuusula Chamber Music Festival. In 1995, Kuusisto was the first Finn to win the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition. One of the world's top three violin competitions, it is held every five years in recognition of the composer's musical legacy in his homeland, Finland, and worldwide.
Kuusisto is known for his diverse tastes which have seen him embrace classical music as well as folk, electronic, jazz, rock and improvisional styles. He says while he has fostered diversity in his musical taste, he realises that certain genres are not for all. "(Classical) music is not for everyone. It's just in the same way some people like Rembrandt and some people like Andy Warhol," he says.
Performing with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, including a stint as guest director in the past, means Kuusisto knows exactly what to expect on this visit Down Under. He says he loves the opportunity to get into the rehearsal room with the orchestra and this time will lead the group in a Finnish inspired program. "It's a great collection of people who are really wonderful people and great musicians," he says. Kuusisto has arranged Sibelius' Voices Intimae for the performance. The orchestra will also play Bach's Violin Concerto No. 2 in E and the Brandenberg Concerto No. 3 and premiere Alakotila's Finnish Folksong Suite for Strings. Kuusisto says initially he had reservations about arranging and playing a Sibelius piece with the chamber orchestra. "That idea came from the orchestra and I was a little bit reluctant at first," he says. "But if there's one orchestra that can play the personality and intimacy of the piece in a large venue, then this is the orchestra."
KILMENY ADIE, ILLAWARRA MERCURY
Folk trips of Finnish brilliance
There is a paradox at the heart of this Australian Chamber Orchestra program, a joyous celebration of the growing musical ties between Australia and Finland. The ACO already has two Finns and here they are joined by two guests, harmonium player Milla Viljamaa and guest leader Pekka Kuusisto. Part cherub, part elf, Kuusisto is relatively well known here from previous tours and as the wintry soloist in the recent film 4, of Vivaldi's Four Seasons.
Clearly the ACO adores him; audiences, too. Radiating joy and cheer, he plays with the improvisatory abandon of a folk fiddler.
Read the full article in The Australian.
Clearly the ACO adores him; audiences, too. Radiating joy and cheer, he plays with the improvisatory abandon of a folk fiddler.
Read the full article in The Australian.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
RT's Bach Hat Trick
Richard's set of violin sonatas with keyboard won an ARIA award for Best Classical Recording last night at the ARIA Fine Arts Awards at City Recital Hall. This makes a tidy hat trick: both the previous releases of solo sonatas and violin concerti won ARIAs too!
The ACO team congratulates Richard and associate artists Neal Peres Da Costa (harpsichord/organ) and Daniel Yeadon (viola da gamba) and the ABC production team of Virgina Read, Robert Patterson and Lyle Chan.
Bach Sonatas for Violin and Keyboard is available at the ACO Shop individually and as part of an excellent-value 5 CD set of Tognetti's complete Bach for violin. Visit the shop.
Monday, 25 August 2008
Vivacious Further Reading and Viewing
Welcome to the ACO Blog. We trust you you enjoyed Vivacious - Vivaldi's Four Seasons directed by Alina Ibragimova. Tell us what you thought. Feel free to submit your feedback here as a Blog Comment or by using the online form on our website.
Visit Alina Ibragimova's website: www.alinaibragimova.com
KURTAG Signs, Games and Messages
Gyorgy Kurtág's epigrammatic and mysterious works can be explored further on several releases on the brilliant ECM Label.
Signs, Games and Messages ECM 1730 (more). The complete set of string pieces.
Játékok (Games) ECM 1619 (more). A collection of solo and duo piano works performed by the composer and his wife. Includes his luminous Bach transcriptions. 'Perpetuum mobile' from Játékok, performed by the composer on YouTube.
Kafka Fragments for Soprano and Violin ECM 1965 (more). Perhaps Kurtág's best-known work, Kafka Fragments is a dream-like, bitterly humourous exploration of the jottings of Franz Kafka, who, like Kurtág, favoured the elliptical, the compressed, and the subconscious in his works.
Further Reading:
Franz Kafka, Collected Stories, Everyman Hardcover Edition.
BACH The Art of Fugue
Glenn Gould, one of the greatest Bach exponents of the 20th century was one of the greatest explainers of Bach. Thanks to YouTube we can enjoy some of his observations.
Gould performs Contrapunctus I (on YouTube).
Gould talks about the fugue
So You Want to Write a Fugue? is Glenn Gould's witty essay in Bachian fugue writing.
The Emerson Quartet performs Contrapunctus IX
Musica Antique Koln performs Contrapunctus XIV (unfinished)
Further Listening:
The Art of Fugue Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Piano, Deutsche Grammophon 477 7345
The Art of Fugue (arr. Simpson for string quartet) Delme Quartet, Hyperion CDA67138
Further Reading:
Douglas Hofstadter Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid (Basic Books)
A meditation on consciousness, artificial intelligence and language (and a whole lot more), intertwining the life and works of the mathematician, the artist and the musician. Hard to explain in a single sentence but quite simply astonishing. (Amazon.com)
Christoph Wolff Bach: The Learned Musician (WW Norton & Co.)
Life and works. Aimed at the educated layperson but with a fair bit of analysis that could be on the dry side for the casual music-lover.
VIVALDI The Four Seasons
Further Listening:
Classical music recording website Arkivmusic.com lists some 225 versions of The Four Seasons. If you're like us, you probably already have a recording or two. Some favourites include:
Simon Standage, Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert (DG/Arkiv 474616)
Arranged for flute by James Galway with I solisti di Zagreb (RCA Victor Gold Seal 60748)
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica (with Piazzolla's Four Seasons of Buenos Aires) (Nonesuch 79568) The moody Piazzolla seasons contrast nicely with the Vivaldi. Stylish performance.
Isaac Stern, Schlomo Mintz, Pinchas Zuckermann, Itzhak Perlman and the Israel Philharmonic (DG 419214) The lavish cast has a lot of fun playing one each of the concertos.
What's your facvourite recording? Drop us a note and let us know.
Further Reading:
Read the sonnets in the original Italian at Wikipedia, here.
HC Robbins Landon Vivaldi: Voice of the Baroque (University of Chicago Press)
Short but solid life and works.
We haven't read it, but there's a historical novel about Vivaldi's time at the Pieta rather racily entitled Vivaldi's Virgins by Barbara Quick (Harper Paperbacks). Vivaldi is the first-person narrator. If you've read it, share a quick review?
BERG Lyric Suite
Explore expressionism, yearning, decadence and the unconscious with these key works of Viennese (and German) art.
Further Listening:
Alban Berg Alban Berg Collection, Various Artists, DG (Violin Concerto, Songs, Operas etc)
Richard Strauss Elektra and Salome
Further Reading:
Arthur Schnitzler Reigen (AKA La Ronde) (Methuen)
Sigmund Freud The Interpretation of Dreams (Oxford University Press)
Thomas Mann Doctor Faustus and The Magic Mountain (Penguin)
Music and madness in Mann's allegory of a country's slide into Nazi complicity. The Magic Mountain examines pre-World War I Europe throught the microcosm of an alpine sanatorium.
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
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