Review: 3rd Subscription Series, KOEHNE, BRAHMS AND MENDELSSOHN. Canberra Symphony Orchestra conducted by Werner Andreas Albert

Canberra Symphony 

Orchestra

Charmian Gadd - violin

David Pereira - cello

Werner Andreas Albert - conductor

Llewellyn Hall

Canberra School of Music

September 7th 1995

Reviewed by Tony Magee

Canberra Symphony Orchestra under the direction of guest conductor Werner Andreas Albert presented a fine concert at the Thursday night performance of the Third Subscription Series for 1995.

As for the second series, the audience was treated to a suite as an opener rather than the traditional overture - and an interesting and excellently played work it was too - Graeme Koehne's Once Around The Sun, adapted from the score for the ballet of the same name.

A soulful, mournful, solitary clarinet opened this piece - just wafting through the huge expanse of Llewellyn Hall - slowly being befriended by others around it - strings silkenly oozing their way into the musical picture. At times it was a luscious sound and at others we were returned to the original plaintive mood. This was a very evocative work, played accordingly.

Brahms' Concerto in A Minor for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, Op 102 followed. It gave me a little glowing feeling inside when I read that the violinist in the 1950 performance of this work with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Eugene Goosens was Ernest Llewellyn.

The most obvious thing that I would say in favour of this performance was the excellent way in which the two soloists - Charmian Gadd, violin and David Pereira, cello - worked together: passing lines between each other with grace and style and balancing harmonies beautifully.

Occasionally, I felt that the orchestra/soloist balance went slightly against the cello, however this is also perhaps an inherent problem in the construction of the concerto as much as anything else, and one that Brahms himself restled with considerably when drafting the work.

Also occasionally, I felt the intonation of the orchestra as a whole drifted, however these were only minor blemishes in an otherwise enjoyable performance, with notably excellent playing from the wind section throughout.

My second encounter with Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony (No 4) in as many days concluded this concert (I picked it up on the way home from Sydney the night before on ABC FM). What a delightful happy work this is and what an excellent performance it was given by our orchestra. 

This, more than the other works on the program, portrayed the influence of the conductor - brisk tempos and confident playing with greater conviction. The wind section made an outstanding contribution to this symphony with very tight ensemble playing, a large amount of very quiet but very fast tonguing and perfectly executed solos and duet passages. The strings also played extremely well - fast and lively, and the horns exuded a mellifluous ensemble sound.

Overall, a most enjoyable concert.

Originally published in Muse Arts Monthly (Canberra), October 1995