A virtuosos concert - a very unique programming by ACO utilising all its strings principals. But hang on, where's Richard Tognetti?
Anyway, the program notes gave an early warning to the audience by signalling Schreker is a champion of Schoenberg and Hindemith on top of being friends with Berg and Webern. So, 12-tonal or atonal music to start the program? It turns out Schreker's music is very accessible - and it's full of glorious arching romantic melodies. In simple terms, I would describe his music as late-romantic style with modern twist - almost like Schoenberg's Transfigured Night. I enjoy the tight interwoven melodies and counter melodies of both his Scherzo and Intermezzo.
Diana Doherty stole this concert for me, her solo in Vaughan Williams' Oboe Concerto was delicious. Playing freely and providing plenty of body gestures expressing the sound from the oboe, Diana lifted my emotion to the very top at the end of first movement of the concerto. The beautiful dialogue the oboe had with the orchestra was well-executed. The second movement painted a picture of pastoral English village while Diana showed off her virtuosic skills in the demanding last bars of the concerto after a more quiet contrasting episode. Brilliant stuff.
While Vaughan Williams' music convinced me with its lyrical lines, CPE Bach's bored me. The rhythmic drive in outer movements of his A minor cello concerto got tired after a little while and I'm not really convinced with the Andante. Timo's virtuosic skills provided some entertainment in the outer movements, but this concerto is definitely not the best of this genre. I was also disappointed with the lack of harpsichord sound - a must have for me to fully enjoy Baroque compositions.
Matthew Hindson wrote a very challenging double bass solo in his Crime and Punishment. Showing off his talent, Maxime Bibeau impressed the audience by a large array of mad skills - fast pizzicatos (with syncopated rhythms!), tapping the finger boards, and playing beautiful melodies with his double bass. The piece itself while interesting, suffered from thematic development. It has several beautiful cadences which could be developed much further, rather than repeated 3-4 times and then discarded.
The major disappointment of the concert for me is Britten's Lachrymae. I might know the reason..I was bored waiting for big virtuoso fireworks from this performance which never came - as it was written as a 'Reflections on a song of Dowland'. I guess I was eaten by the marketing scheme, huh? Put it simply, I was not in the right mind set anticipating this piece. Stupid me, realising it only now, while I should've changed my mindset in the middle of performance.
Last piece of the concert is Bach's C minor concerto for oboe and violin - a crowd pleaser. Familiar melodies with beautiful Adagio instantly won the audience's heart. Not mine, though - I'm still disappointed with the lack of harpsichord sound. Helena and Diana played wonderfully.
Appreciating and Loving Classical Music Blog | 14 Mar 2010
Showing posts with label Timo-Veikko Valve. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Timo-Veikko Valve. Show all posts
Friday, 19 March 2010
Concert Review: Australian Chamber Orchestra Soloists
Nothing could so eloquently have indicated to what extent the Australian Chamber Orchestra is a convocation of virtuosos than the line up of ace ACO musicians who strutted their stuff as soloists on Wednesday.
Can there be a more temperamental and treacherous instrument than the viola? In Christopher Moore's hands, however, it was tamed to such a degree that it seemed not so much an inanimate construction of wood, varnish, gut and glue than an extension of his musical persona.
With what skill and understanding he revealed the melancholy essence of Britten's excruciating challenging Lachrymae.
Canadian-born Maxime Bibeau did wonders with Matthew Hindson's Crime and Punishment. It's a novel concept, the double bass as solo instrument taking on the role of criminal in a musical representation of a violent transgression of the law. Much of it is informed by a searing intensity with grating dissonances that set the teeth on edge.
Here, Bibeau was, inter alia, required to violently pluck the strings and emphatically slap the body of the instrument with his palm. It’s ominous, threatening stuff leavened by brief moments of tenderness.
ACO cellist Timo-Veikko Valve came into his own in C.P.E. Bach's Concerto in A minor. Valve – and the ACO - seemed positively to relish coming to grips with the concerto’s dramatic rhythmic cut and thrust. This was bracing stuff, a beautifully considered offering.
A fascinating program also included very rare airings of two brief works for strings by Franz Schreker who, as a German Jew, was hounded to his death by the Nazis. Schreker was a master of wondrously luminous tone colours – and in the hands of the ACO, these were wondrously apparent in his Scherzo and Intermezzo.
Guest soloist Diana Doherty needs no introduction; she is a master of her instrument and was at her enchanting best in Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto. She brought a breathtaking veracity to this exquisitely detailed evocation of the English countryside. It was an interpretation which would surely have melted the heart of the most curmudgeonly of listeners. It was a reading to which the ACO responded with an answering depth of feeling. Bravissimo!
Guest ACO director Helena Rathbone and Doherty joined forces in Bach's Concerto for violin and oboe BWV 1060.
Neville Cohn | The West Australian | 18 Mar 2010
Can there be a more temperamental and treacherous instrument than the viola? In Christopher Moore's hands, however, it was tamed to such a degree that it seemed not so much an inanimate construction of wood, varnish, gut and glue than an extension of his musical persona.
With what skill and understanding he revealed the melancholy essence of Britten's excruciating challenging Lachrymae.
Canadian-born Maxime Bibeau did wonders with Matthew Hindson's Crime and Punishment. It's a novel concept, the double bass as solo instrument taking on the role of criminal in a musical representation of a violent transgression of the law. Much of it is informed by a searing intensity with grating dissonances that set the teeth on edge.
Here, Bibeau was, inter alia, required to violently pluck the strings and emphatically slap the body of the instrument with his palm. It’s ominous, threatening stuff leavened by brief moments of tenderness.
ACO cellist Timo-Veikko Valve came into his own in C.P.E. Bach's Concerto in A minor. Valve – and the ACO - seemed positively to relish coming to grips with the concerto’s dramatic rhythmic cut and thrust. This was bracing stuff, a beautifully considered offering.
A fascinating program also included very rare airings of two brief works for strings by Franz Schreker who, as a German Jew, was hounded to his death by the Nazis. Schreker was a master of wondrously luminous tone colours – and in the hands of the ACO, these were wondrously apparent in his Scherzo and Intermezzo.
Guest soloist Diana Doherty needs no introduction; she is a master of her instrument and was at her enchanting best in Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto. She brought a breathtaking veracity to this exquisitely detailed evocation of the English countryside. It was an interpretation which would surely have melted the heart of the most curmudgeonly of listeners. It was a reading to which the ACO responded with an answering depth of feeling. Bravissimo!
Guest ACO director Helena Rathbone and Doherty joined forces in Bach's Concerto for violin and oboe BWV 1060.
Neville Cohn | The West Australian | 18 Mar 2010
ACO Soloists Review
Being a fine orchestral player and a captivating soloist require quite different skills. But in the ACO’s Soloists program, several principal players showed considerable finesse at both.
Timo-Veikko Valve was the soloist in C.P.E. Bach’s A Minor Cello Concerto. Crisp articulation, especially in the fastest passages, made the whole work seem to dance on tiptoe. Valve played with energy and ingenious precision, but several passages in his lower register were obscured by the orchestra.
In Matthew Hindson’s Crime and Punishment for double bass and strings (world premiere), Bassist Maxime Bibeau’s part involved a series of hair-raising technical feats, which he negotiated with flair and spectacle. Crime would make little sense at face value, but once you know its theme, in which the bass represents a seasoned criminal, it fuels your imagination.
The only guest soloist was the Sydney Symphony’s Diana Doherty, who gave a polished and thoroughly engaging performance of Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto. She bought strong contrasts to this emotionally vivid piece, coasting through speedy virtuosic passages and wallowing in rolling English melodies.
In the rarely performed Scherzo and Intermezzo by Franz Shrecker, the Intermezzo for nine solo strings was particularly enjoyable, with its delicate lines and lush harmonies.
In Richard Tognetti’s absence, principal second violinist Helena Rathbone proved an excellent leader and soloist performing J.S. Bach’s popular Concerto for Oboe and Violin with Doherty.
Anna McCallister | Herald Sun | 16 Mar 2010
Timo-Veikko Valve was the soloist in C.P.E. Bach’s A Minor Cello Concerto. Crisp articulation, especially in the fastest passages, made the whole work seem to dance on tiptoe. Valve played with energy and ingenious precision, but several passages in his lower register were obscured by the orchestra.
In Matthew Hindson’s Crime and Punishment for double bass and strings (world premiere), Bassist Maxime Bibeau’s part involved a series of hair-raising technical feats, which he negotiated with flair and spectacle. Crime would make little sense at face value, but once you know its theme, in which the bass represents a seasoned criminal, it fuels your imagination.
The only guest soloist was the Sydney Symphony’s Diana Doherty, who gave a polished and thoroughly engaging performance of Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto. She bought strong contrasts to this emotionally vivid piece, coasting through speedy virtuosic passages and wallowing in rolling English melodies.
In the rarely performed Scherzo and Intermezzo by Franz Shrecker, the Intermezzo for nine solo strings was particularly enjoyable, with its delicate lines and lush harmonies.
In Richard Tognetti’s absence, principal second violinist Helena Rathbone proved an excellent leader and soloist performing J.S. Bach’s popular Concerto for Oboe and Violin with Doherty.
Anna McCallister | Herald Sun | 16 Mar 2010
Soloists shine in wide ranging program
Ably led by Helena Rathbone, the Australian Chamber Orchestra lived up to its reputation as an “orchestra of soloists” last Saturday night with an immensely enjoyable concert at Llewellyn Hall. The wide-ranging but thoughtful program not only gave the orchestra’s members the opportunity to display their virtuosity but also revealed the diverse ways in which composers have explored the expressive potential of the relationship between soloist and ensemble.
The concert opened with a recently resurrected Scherzo by the unjustly neglected Austrian composer Franz Schreker, a delightful work that allowed the 12-member orchestra to demonstrate a richness of sound much greater than their small numbers would suggest.
Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto followed, a work of delicate lyricism belaying its wartime origins. Guest Oboist Diana Doherty’s masterly performance revealed the sinewy power behind the amiable melodic lines, while her engaging stage presence was a welcome reminder of the pleasures of live performance. The lingering high note that ended the piece was a moment of exquisite stillness.
Closing the concert’s first half, the orchestra’s principal cellist, Timo-Veikko Valve, tackled C.P.E. Bach’s hectic and technically demanding Cello Concerto in A Minor, Wq 170 with an effective balance of sensitivity and vigour. Unfortunately, much of the detail of Valve’s performance was lost in the somewhat cavernous surrounds of Llewellyn Hall. Similarly, I would have preferred to hear more of Linda Kent’s harpsichord, which battled ineffectively with the unsympathetic acoustics. The second half began with another piece by Schreker, this time a lovely Intermezzo which opened out from shimmering piano passages into a warm, fin-de-siècle sound world.
Crime and Punishment, a newly commissioned work for double bass by Australian composer Matthew Hindson, gave the ACO’s Maxime Bibeau an opportunity to show off his often overlooked instrument’s extraordinary range of sounds which he evidently grasped with relish. The orchestra’s principal violist, Christopher Moore, brought a concentrated energy to Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae that powerfully expressed the work’s uneasy blend of anxiety and melancholia.
In contrast, the following work, Bach’s Concert for Violin and Oboe BWV 1060, had an oddly diffuse character, Rathbone’s subtle treatment of the violin part sometimes overshadowed by Doherty’s more direct approach.
Such moments, however, amounted to only minor blemishes on a superb evening of music-making.
Daniel Sanderson | Canberra Times | 16 Mar 2010
The concert opened with a recently resurrected Scherzo by the unjustly neglected Austrian composer Franz Schreker, a delightful work that allowed the 12-member orchestra to demonstrate a richness of sound much greater than their small numbers would suggest.
Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto followed, a work of delicate lyricism belaying its wartime origins. Guest Oboist Diana Doherty’s masterly performance revealed the sinewy power behind the amiable melodic lines, while her engaging stage presence was a welcome reminder of the pleasures of live performance. The lingering high note that ended the piece was a moment of exquisite stillness.
Closing the concert’s first half, the orchestra’s principal cellist, Timo-Veikko Valve, tackled C.P.E. Bach’s hectic and technically demanding Cello Concerto in A Minor, Wq 170 with an effective balance of sensitivity and vigour. Unfortunately, much of the detail of Valve’s performance was lost in the somewhat cavernous surrounds of Llewellyn Hall. Similarly, I would have preferred to hear more of Linda Kent’s harpsichord, which battled ineffectively with the unsympathetic acoustics. The second half began with another piece by Schreker, this time a lovely Intermezzo which opened out from shimmering piano passages into a warm, fin-de-siècle sound world.
Crime and Punishment, a newly commissioned work for double bass by Australian composer Matthew Hindson, gave the ACO’s Maxime Bibeau an opportunity to show off his often overlooked instrument’s extraordinary range of sounds which he evidently grasped with relish. The orchestra’s principal violist, Christopher Moore, brought a concentrated energy to Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae that powerfully expressed the work’s uneasy blend of anxiety and melancholia.
In contrast, the following work, Bach’s Concert for Violin and Oboe BWV 1060, had an oddly diffuse character, Rathbone’s subtle treatment of the violin part sometimes overshadowed by Doherty’s more direct approach.
Such moments, however, amounted to only minor blemishes on a superb evening of music-making.
Daniel Sanderson | Canberra Times | 16 Mar 2010
String Soloists stand and deliver
Outstanding orchestras exemplify collective brilliance: cohesive musical expression, unified sound, shared precision. Yet every orchestra is an amalgam of musical personalities and individual performances, each player contributing something distinct, though ultimately subsumed into the whole. The smaller the group, the keener the tension between soloists and ensemble.
The Australian Chamber Orchestras second national tour for the year aims to unravel this relationship, placing four string section principals under the solo spotlight.
Framing this concept were rarely heard miniatures by Franz Schreker, an Austrian composer whose compositional career straddled Vienna's divergent late 19th and early 20th-century musical strands.
Early works, Sehreker's Scherzo and Intermezzo embody late romantic and nationalist preoccupations: from lilting folk tune paraphrases, ethereal atmospherics and pastoral dances to the breathless momentum of arching phrases that soar between grandeur, melancholy and foreboding. In each, the ensemble demonstrated its celebrated capacity for intensity and depth of tone, sustained phrasing and dynamic contrast.
The highlight arrived early: guest artist Diana Doherty rendering Ralph Vaughan Williams's Oboe Concerto with sublime pathos, capturing the wartime work's equivocation between restless energy and weary introspection. Disregarding Doherty's distracting physical punctuations, the sound was superb, even tone and exquisite dynamic control combining with crisp fingering and faultless articulation to deliver rich expression and technical precision in equal measure.
Opportunities for the lower string soloists involved Timo-Veikko Valve executing a scintillatingly crisp rendition of C. P.E. Bach's Cello Concerto in A minor, and Maxime Bibeau energetically premiering a commission by Australian composer Matthew Hindson.
Entitled Crime and Punishment, this work casts the double bass as a marginalised criminal, and the ensemble as modern-day, punishment-obsessed Greek chorus. A frenzied solo part hints at subtext, heavily exploiting contrasts between the instrument's shadowy, rumbling lower registers and the piercing, urgent clarity of its highest notes: a voice of tragedy emerging from a sinister and oppressive underbelly.
Benjamin Britten's Lachrymae is a spiritual exercise of reflection and lament, requiring timbral subtlety, balance and sustained lines rather than showy virtuosity. Violist Christopher Moore's interpretation was moving in its simplicity, humility and delicacy, wisps of hushed melancholy lingering in the air.
A good-natured rendition of J. S. Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe concluded proceedings, Helena Rathbone's sweetly focused tone and easy execution sitting comfortably alongside Doherty's warm and expansive treatment of this popular concerto.
Eamonn Kelly | The Australian | 18 Mar 2010
The Australian Chamber Orchestras second national tour for the year aims to unravel this relationship, placing four string section principals under the solo spotlight.
Framing this concept were rarely heard miniatures by Franz Schreker, an Austrian composer whose compositional career straddled Vienna's divergent late 19th and early 20th-century musical strands.
Early works, Sehreker's Scherzo and Intermezzo embody late romantic and nationalist preoccupations: from lilting folk tune paraphrases, ethereal atmospherics and pastoral dances to the breathless momentum of arching phrases that soar between grandeur, melancholy and foreboding. In each, the ensemble demonstrated its celebrated capacity for intensity and depth of tone, sustained phrasing and dynamic contrast.
The highlight arrived early: guest artist Diana Doherty rendering Ralph Vaughan Williams's Oboe Concerto with sublime pathos, capturing the wartime work's equivocation between restless energy and weary introspection. Disregarding Doherty's distracting physical punctuations, the sound was superb, even tone and exquisite dynamic control combining with crisp fingering and faultless articulation to deliver rich expression and technical precision in equal measure.
Opportunities for the lower string soloists involved Timo-Veikko Valve executing a scintillatingly crisp rendition of C. P.E. Bach's Cello Concerto in A minor, and Maxime Bibeau energetically premiering a commission by Australian composer Matthew Hindson.
Entitled Crime and Punishment, this work casts the double bass as a marginalised criminal, and the ensemble as modern-day, punishment-obsessed Greek chorus. A frenzied solo part hints at subtext, heavily exploiting contrasts between the instrument's shadowy, rumbling lower registers and the piercing, urgent clarity of its highest notes: a voice of tragedy emerging from a sinister and oppressive underbelly.
Benjamin Britten's Lachrymae is a spiritual exercise of reflection and lament, requiring timbral subtlety, balance and sustained lines rather than showy virtuosity. Violist Christopher Moore's interpretation was moving in its simplicity, humility and delicacy, wisps of hushed melancholy lingering in the air.
A good-natured rendition of J. S. Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe concluded proceedings, Helena Rathbone's sweetly focused tone and easy execution sitting comfortably alongside Doherty's warm and expansive treatment of this popular concerto.
Eamonn Kelly | The Australian | 18 Mar 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.
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
ACO Tiny Desk Concert: Short Video
If you have a spare 15 minutes this is a video well worth checking out!
A quartet of ACO musicians (Richard Tognetti, Helena Rathbone, Christopher Moore and Timo-Veikko Valve) perform around a desk at the National Public Radio office in the USA. They play some Ravel and are joined by Joseph Tawadros on the oud for an Egyptian-Classical piece.
Click here to see the ACO Tiny Desk Concert.
A quartet of ACO musicians (Richard Tognetti, Helena Rathbone, Christopher Moore and Timo-Veikko Valve) perform around a desk at the National Public Radio office in the USA. They play some Ravel and are joined by Joseph Tawadros on the oud for an Egyptian-Classical piece.
Click here to see the ACO Tiny Desk Concert.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
ACO2 Review from Australian Stage Online
ACO2 is by design an ensemble created to give up and coming young classical musicians the opportunity to hone their skills by playing alongside veterans in the industry. This trans-generational group of wandering minstrels certainly gave new life and energy to some age-old pieces of music in their robust performance. What became evident from the very first note struck was that these musicians have already emerged! It was impossible to discern who the new recruits were in this select team of superb performers. Read full review.
Monday, 16 March 2009
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.
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.
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