Review: 3rd Subscription Series, RACHMANINOV, BERLIOZ AND VINE. Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Braithwaite. At Llewellyn Hall, September 12 1996.

Canberra Symphony Orchestra

David Nuttall - Oboe

Nicholas Braithwaite - Conductor

Llewellyn Hall

Thursday 12th September 1996

Reviewed by Tony Magee

Canberra Symphony Orchestra's performance of Rachmaninov's Symphony No 2 in E minor was simply outstanding at Thursday night's concert. This was the major work for the evening and was presented as the second half of the concert. Even with the cuts (omission of repeats) which nowadays are the norm for this symphony, it is still a long work in four movements but characteristically exciting and uplifting.

The first movement revealed a very smooth sound with lush playing from the strings and well executed melodic lines tossed from horns to woodwind. A slightly over-aggressive opening to the second movement resulted in a ragged first few bars - nothing major however. This movement also gave the Timpani a real workout - excellent playing from Murray Hickman.

Alan Vivian delivered a beautifully modulated clarinet solo for the opening of the adagio movement which also contained a small moment of glory for the violas whose smooth melodic lines continued underneath precisely executed and diminishing pizzicato from the rest of the strings to a whispered finish. Conductor Nicholas Braithwaite's control here was outstanding and indeed he displayed a masterful command throughout the whole symphony.

In the finale the orchestra demonstrated fine dynamic control and rhythmic certainty, one highlight being exciting and vibrant playing from the four horns leading to a final orchestral whirlpool and the four syncopated chords which bring this great symphony to a close.

The concert opened with Le Corsair Overture by Berlioz, a work inspired by the sea and undergoing various revisions and even name changes from the time of its first sketch in 1831 to well in to the 1850's. The delivery of this piece was fast and controlled - a rich and powerful sound concluding with a huge brass fanfare over full orchestration. Stirring stuff played and conducted with precision and style.

Carl Vine's Oboe Concerto, Monody,  received it's world premier at this concert with David Nuttall as the soloist. The concerto is an excellent work combining tuneful and melodic writing with interesting rhythmic interplays and contrasting passages of furious scalic work and seductive adagios.

David Nuttall chose a very bright sound in the faster passages, I guess out of necessity to cut through the orchestral support, whilst also being able to deliver a more subtle tone in the softer and slower passages. Even so, he does favour brightness in his playing and it was interesting to note the enormous difference in tone production when David's colleague from the SSO, Guy Henderson who filled the principle chair that David had vacated to perform the concerto, took a brief cameo solo in the Rachmaninov Symphony.

This concert more than any other I have heard, demonstrates that CSO is coming of age.

Originally published in Muse Arts Monthly (Canberra), October 1996