Master Series 3. Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Town Hall. 1 Jun 2018
In the third of the Master Series concerts for 2018, aptly (and cleverly) styled Grace and Grandeur, the Adelaide Symphony present two strikingly contrasting works – Mendelssohn’s uber-melodic Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64 and Bruckner’s epic Symphony No.7 in E major.
The Mendelssohn is a delightful first course of lyricism and melody, which reaches stratospheric heights of unbridled sweetness, joy and innocence at the hands of wunderkind violinist Grace Clifford, but the Bruckner is a deeply satisfying main plate that reminds us of the fundamental potential of humanity to rise up and be noble. Under the leadership of Principal Guest Conductor Mark Wigglesworth, the Bruckner raised the spirits of the near capacity audience in the Town Hall and left them wondering why we seldom hear Bruckner in Adelaide’s concert venues.
Clifford is rapidly becoming a darling of the Australian concert platform. Not yet 20, she already has an impressive number of awards and a performance history at home and abroad. Watching her on stage is to take in a musician who is near the top of her game yet who is still on the ascendancy. Her musicianship and technical prowess is only eclipsed by her humility and apparent inner calmness. When in mid-flight it is as if she is tapping an unseen lake of musicality that is reserved for very few. Mendelssohn disliked showiness and virtuosity for its own sake, and in the testing and pacey third movement Clifford brushes the technical difficulties aside as if they don’t exist and focusses the audience’s attention squarely on the music itself. She is a vessel, and not a flashy show piece. Remarkable stuff from someone so young.
Mark Wigglesworth has a richly deserved reputation of distilling performances to their essence. His reading of the Bruckner is well paced, but the energetic tempo is never allowed to impede the clarity of the playing from the orchestra. Indeed, the horns and brass have not sounded better, and the seldom heard quartet of Wagner Tubas that features in the adagio second movement is a highlight. Bruckner’s symphonies mostly have difficult narratives in that there is not always an obvious sense of direction in which the composition is heading. Like the Mendelssohn concerto, Bruckner’s symphony throngs with lush melodies, but, unlike the concerto, the symphony indulges in itself and lyrical moments become extended ideas that lead simply to the next. Bruckner admired Wagner, and it shows. Wigglesworth masterfully ensures that each musical idea is clear and balanced in relation to what precedes and follows it, and the imagination of each and every audience member is unleashed to provide their own storyline.
This is a deeply satisfying concert. More Bruckner grandeur please, and more of Grace!
Kym Clayton
When: 1 & 2 Jun 2018
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
One of the most interesting aspects of being a music journo is discovering tunes that I otherwise would never have come across. It’s no secret that my musical taste resides on the heavier end of the spectrum and encompasses a fairly eclectic mix of styles from rock to world music to reggae to jazz and blues. It’s a wide lasso for sure, but doesn’t normally include folk, pop or country, and yet here I am listing to local songstress Emily Davis, and quite enjoying what I hear!
I’d heard the name Emily Davis before and had some vague idea of what her music might be, but didn’t give it much attention, until her latest offering, You, Me and the Velvet Sea, ended up on my desk. I’m always keen to give new things a go, so I put on Emily’s third album and listened with an open mind. I can’t say I was surprised by what I heard, expecting the gentle yet complex melodies, soft-edged guitar folk, with subtle country overtones. What I was surprised by was how much I enjoyed it… there’s loads of depth here that’s well beyond the over-produced and over-rated pop music industry. There are guitars with bluesy grooves, soulful violins, nice rhythms and sultry melodies. Emily’s voice is rather nice to hear, completely inoffensive and enticing, she draws you in with each listen. Occasionally the pace picks up with an old time feel, but it never feels quaint or old-school folksy.
The first single Hold On is a nice tune, with a decent percussive groove driving things along. The layers of vocal harmonies add complexity that breaches the realms of rock, yet remain characteristic. Other numbers like Eve’s Blues continue the bluesy rock theme, while Moonlight Voodoo ambles along with an interesting gentle swagger, and Lighthouse floats wistfully.
I must say, You, Me and the Velvet Sea was an enjoyable outing that I didn’t expect. The album is available from Fri Apr 13, and you can catch Emily Davis when she launches live at Jive on Sat Apr 14.
Luke Balzan
Track Listing
1. Bled for You
2. Lighthouse
3. Moonlight Voodoo
4. Stars Grow Cold
5. Oh Lord
6. Bring Forth the Queen of Mexico
7. Hold On
8. You Bury Me
9. Eve's Blues
10. Heartache
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Festival Theatre. 6 Apr 2018
The audience is huge. There is a palpable sense of excitement and anticipation in the air. Sure, Wagner’s Overture from Tannhäuser is going to be enjoyable – it always is – and Bernstein’s seldom heard quirky violin concerto is going to be fresh and interesting, especially at the hands of esteemed violinist James Ehnes, but everyone is there for something else, and that is the booming C-major chord on the J.W. Walker organ at the beginning of the maestoso section of Saint-Saëns’ mighty Symphony No.3 in C minor, Op.78. And it is a blast!
Although conductor Nicholas Carter takes the Tannhäuser at an overall regulation pace, the opening seems slightly on the brisk side and there are initially some timing and dynamics issues. These are quickly overcome and the orchestra settles into a robust reading that brings the expansive melodies to the fore.
Bernstein opted not to call his violin concerto by that name, but rather categorised it as a Serenade. Scored in five movements, it is a quintessentially modern composition that artfully fuses jazz inflected rhythms and melodies on brass with an expansive orchestration with a significant percussion section. James Ehnes clearly enjoys playing it, and there is an obvious sense of camaraderie and in-the-moment music making between he and Carter. The composition features attention-grabbing dialogues between the solo violinist and other principals in the orchestra, and in this regard concertmaster Natsuko Yoshimoto and principal cellist Simon Cobcroft are captivating to watch (and listen to).
But the main game is Saint-Saëns’ so-called Organ Symphony. It is so popular it almost guarantees to sell any concert in which it is programmed. The crashing C-major chord on the organ followed by the triumphal brass fanfares and rolling scale passages for four hands at the grand piano are the stuff of legend. It’s big. It’s exhilarating. It’s almost too much. It is so popular it runs the risk of being a ‘pot-boiler’.
The main theme of the maestoso is so popular that it has been ‘borrowed’ numerous times, such as in the 1977 pop-song If I Had Words by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley. It was also famously used in the much-loved Australian Babe films.
But it would be a huge mistake to think that the maestoso is all that the symphony has to offer – that all roads lead to the maestoso. It has so much more, and hearing (and seeing) it live is the only way to enjoy it – recordings never seem to capture the full sonic soundscape. Carter and the ASO approach this iconic work with the sensitivity it merits.
The occasional dialogue between the organ and plucked strings is sublime. Locating the grand piano near the basses, cellos and brass (rather than to the left of the conductor closer to the woodwinds and violins) gives a distinct point of aural interest. The strict timing and articulation in the fugal sections is reassuring – something to hang on to during the wild ride.
This is the first of the ASO’s Master Series for 2018, and it is adrenaline-charged! Get on board for the rest!
Kym Clayton
When: 6 Apr
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra In Assocation With Adelade Festival. Adelaide Festival Theatre. 16 Mar 2018
Bernstein on Stage is an extravaganza of song and music that surveys the breadth and depth of Leonard Bernstein’s compositional flair. It is a generous concert in every respect: on stage is the full might of the much-praised Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the internationally acclaimed and award winning Adelaide Chamber Singers, four classy vocalists – Lorina Gore, Kim Criswell, Luke Kennedy and Rodney Earl Clark – individually near the top of their game, and (insert drum roll) no less than Maestro John Mauceri who worked with Bernstein for 18 years.
Mauceri is the Founding Director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, has directed many leading orchestras around the world, and has an enviable musical CV. So, what an absolute treat to have on stage someone of his calibre to provide a direct link to Bernstein himself.
Bernstein stands tall in the pantheon of musical greats, and if he were still alive we would be celebrating his hundredth birthday later this year in August. How fitting then that we should celebrate his music as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts, especially noting that he himself conducted the iconic New York Philharmonic on the Festival Theatre stage back in 1974. Bernstein was a pianist, composer, conductor, philanthropist, author, educator, and activist. He was many things to many people from all walks of life, and apparently construction workers tipped their hats calling out "Goodbye, Lenny” as his funeral procession worked its way through the streets of Manhattan. He wrote opera, ballet, musicals, incidental music, film scores, orchestral music, choral and vocal music, and piano music. He wrote both serious and light hearted music, and his ultimate distinction will be to become part of the ‘musical furniture’. Everyone knows something that he wrote, even if they don’t know it.
He was a unique and much loved and admired individual.
Appropriately, the concert is a light-hearted event featuring mostly vocal compositions that traverse Bernstein’s compositional life and has everyone toe tapping and humming along well after the show ends.
There are songs from On the Town, Trouble in Tahiti, What a Wonderful Town, Candide!, and selections from the less well known but fabulously quirky 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Pleasingly, the program includes the hauntingly beautiful Simple Song from his Mass, and of course no tribute to Bernstein would be complete without a selection from West Side Story.
Gore, Criswell, Kennedy and Earl Clark clearly enjoyed what they are doing on stage, and their enthusiasm is infectious. Each brings something special to what the sing, and their ensemble singing is a highlight. Maestro Mauceri extracts every jazz inflected fibre from the very bodies of the members of the orchestra– they haven’t played ‘less serious’ music better.
A personal highlight is Rodney Earl Clark’s performance of Simple Song. He sings it with uncommon reverence but with strength and passion as well.
Perhaps the climax of the evening, and the best of all, is Bernstein himself joining the orchestra and soloists (via a recording of course) in a version of the song Some Other Time. He really is on stage! It sends a shiver down the collective spine of the enormous audience, and leaves a contented smile.
There is one more performance of the show on Sunday 18 March, at 7:00pm (yes, 7:00pm!). Get a ticket fast.
Kym Clayton
When: 16 to 18 Mar
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: bass.net.au
Botanic Park. Foundation Stage. 11 Mar 2018
The ultimate moment of this year’s festival is the masterpiece Place des Anges (Place of Angels) by Gratte Ciel. The spectacle has toured the world since finally convincing an Arles festival director to let them stage the incredible aerial show. The work is the result of a collaboration between technical director Stephane Girard and the late Pierrot Bidon, a rule-breaking French circus director and promoter who is considered a "founding father" of the New Circus movement, which ousted animals, clowns and children from circuses to bring them back to their vaudevillian roots. His circus shows were sexy, dangerous and strictly after hours.
Place des Anges tells the story of a group of angels who, given a day's reprieve from their do-gooder lives in heaven, are lured to the temptations of earth. As they fall from the heavens, feathers falling from their wings, they play and frolic and revel in their freedom. Some float, others glide, and others still shoot across sky so fast that if you are facing the wrong way, in turning you will miss them. It's a heavenly party we are invited to view, and the finale is like nothing you'll experience again.
Set high above the tree line, the show draws the audience’s eyes up to the heavens, re-connecting us with the night sky. Previously, the show has been performed in urban settings, with the zip lines crossing over head between buildings and monuments. The aim was to juxtapose the angels with modern city architecture, highlighting the meeting of the celestial with the industrial.
WOMADelaide is the company's first opportunity to stage the performance within a natural space and it creates a whole new dimension.
The zip lines crisscross the sky above the festivals main Foundation stage, strung between cranes which seemed imposing in the daylight but are obscured by night fall. The anticipation begins some time before the show evens starts, as in the dusky sky you start to glimpse white figures inhabiting the top of the cranes during the show preceding theirs. The mind boggles at what might be coming.
By the time their moment arrives, the sky is dark and you can barely see them. A fierce, otherworldly soundtrack starts and suddenly, angels appear in the sky. Intense spotlights guide your eye, so you don't miss a thing.
As the show progresses, the non-uniformity of the "stage" gives the effect of the angels appearing and disappearing as they fly overhead; the trees masking their entry or exit in the dark. Some fall all the way to the ground and disperse into the crowd, giving many mere mortals a chance to glimpse a white-clad, feathered angel walking among them, sometimes close enough to touch. The angels are excited and happy, their eyes also cast upwards to the aerial show.
A one point, the lights die and the audience gaze around, wondering what comes next. From the left of the stage, a giant white shape looms larger and larger until one can see it in full - a huge cherub floating over the audience, soaring up to the zip lines and dipping back down almost within grasping reach. As it makes its way across the crowd, angels wheel above dropping a cyclone of feathers. What follows can only be described as a feather storm, as they burst from the ground and fill the air like snowflakes; the faces all around a picture of joyful surprise and awe.
The company is comprised of a 16-strong troupe of aerialists, gymnasts and dancers (all brave beyond belief), with another 16 supporting cast and crew integral to making this wonderful performance happen. Every spot on the ground affords a slightly different view of the spectacle, and there are no bad seats in this house. For those with four-day passes, every night is a new experience.
It cannot be guaranteed that no pillows were harmed in the making of this performance.
Nicole Russo
Photography by Paul Rodda
