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

An aural homecoming

Violinist Pekka Kuusisto tells Anna King Murdoch about his journey of musical self-discovery.

After becoming the first Finn to win the marathon International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition 14 years ago while still only in his teens, Pekka Kuusisto felt that something wasn't right. "I was not really happy playing and I couldn't really tell why because I was on the verge of having the kind of life I had always wanted — gorgeous concerts with great orchestras and playing the Sibelius violin concerto everywhere. I couldn't understand it myself."

Read the full article in The Age.

Learn more about Pekka Kuusisto's tour with the ACO.

Pekka on the blogosphere

Here's the first feedback about the tour with Pekka Kuusisto from the blog 'Appreciating and loving classical music'.