Pianist channels Chopin but orchestra disappoints

ACTEWAGL Llewellyn Three

Ravel, Rachmaninov, Hindson and Mussorgsky

Canberra Symphony Orchestra

Llewellyn Hall, August 21

Reviewed by Tony Magee

Pianist Andrea Lam takes a bow with CSO after playing Rachmaninov

FOUR musicians shone brightly in a concert at Llewellyn Hall, presented by the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Wednesday last.

Benn Sutcliffe played a superb saxophone solo and integrated himself in the wind section beautifully during the Mussorgsky/Ravel piece, “Pictures at an Exhibition”, which closed the concert.

Harpists Rowan Phemister and Jo Baee played lush and swirling glissandos of voluminous proportions during Ravel’s “La Valse”, which opened the concert.

Katherine Day on celeste was outstanding in her moving and beautifully respectful deliverance during Matthew Hindson’s wonderful piece, “The Stars Above Us All”, which opened the second half, as well as her contribution in the Mussorgsky.

In a brilliant piece of programming, conductor Nicholas Milton held the fading moments of the Hindson piece and then let silence speak for itself, allowing the audience to reflect on the themes that inspired it – the unstinting, unrelenting devotion of the parents of children undergoing treatment for long-term health issues. The orchestra then segued seamlessly into “Pictures at an Exhibition”.

“The Stars Above Us All” was the highlight of the evening for me. Every single musician in the orchestra seemed at one with the purpose and sensitivity of the piece. It was beautiful.

BUT the standard of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra as a whole has dropped considerably.

The woodwind section was frequently out of tune, the brass section variable in success. The second violins and violas were sometimes out of tune, often delivering a scraping, whining sound. The cello section was acceptable but with some tuning blemishes and missing their usual richness of tone and ensemble sonority. The double basses, first violins and percussion sections were all excellent.

Nicholas Milton is a superb conductor, but despite his best efforts, the orchestra failed to deliver the climaxes necessary to make the opening piece, Ravel’s “La Valse” blow the roof off the hall. The string section did, however, achieve some of the rich, sweeping lushness, almost of Mantovani proportions, that this piece needs and is famous for.

The “Piano Concerto No. 1” by Rachmaninov followed, with piano soloist Andrea Lam.

Ms Lam is a highly experienced pianist and has a sparkling and very accurate technique. This work, as with most Romantic concertos, needs a pianist of massive weight technique to deliver a sound of richness and intensity when required, but the power was not there.

Even so, it was a creditable performance. In particular she played the second movement with sensitivity, beauty and grace. The orchestra, once again, did not deliver on climaxes and still had some tuning blemishes. At the conclusion, a European man sitting next to me whispered “brak miesa”.

As an encore, Ms Lam played Chopin’s posthumously published C sharp minor Nocturne with superb delicacy and beauty. It was also a highlight of the evening. Her performance reflected the accounts of Chopin’s own playing, that being varying degrees of delicate pianissimo.

The only part of “Pictures at an Exhibition” that really worked well, was the final movement, “The Great Gate of Kiev”, where the orchestra did start to hit their straps and deliver an earth-shattering climax and conclusion to the concert. 

LET me draw three comparisons with professional full-time American orchestras from cities much smaller than Canberra. These figures are from the 2018 US census.

St. Louis, population 302,838. The St. Louis Symphony boasts hundreds of acclaimed recordings on major labels Telarc, EMI and RCA and has attracted conductors of the calibre of Leonard Slatkin, whose tenure was from 1979 to 1996. Current music director is Stéphane Denève, formerly music director of the Brussels Philharmonic.

Cleveland, population 383,793. The Cleveland Orchestra is ranked as one of America’s “big five”, the others being New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. In 2012, Gramophone Magazine ranked the Cleveland Orchestra as number 7 on its list of the world’s greatest orchestras. It has released hundreds of superb recordings for CBS / Columbia (now Sony Music), over the last 60 years, being brought to international standard in the 1960s by George Szell, a tradition that continues under current music director Franz Welser-Möst.

Pittsburgh, population 301,048. Ranked within the next five within the United States and brought to the forefront of international concert playing by Fritz Reiner, André Previn and Lorin Maazel. It tours regularly throughout the US and internationally. The current musical director is Manfred Honeck.

Now let’s bring it a little closer to home. Hobart, Tasmania, population 206,097 from a state population of 531,529. The Tasmanian Symphony is ranked in with the standards of playing of the Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Adelaide and Western Australia Symphony Orchestras, which are all outstanding. TSO has toured to Israel, Greece, South Korea, Indonesia, Argentina, United States, Canada, China and Japan, as well as throughout Australia. Previous conductors include Barry Tuckwell, Nicholas Braithwaite, Dobbs Franks, Sebastian Lang-Lessing and currently Marko Letonja. Previous concertmasters have included Canberrans Wilfred Jones and Barbara Jane Gilby.

In a city of almost half a million people and one of the most affluent societies in Australia, Canberra currently has a professional orchestra which is not full-time and not up to scratch.

First published in an edited format in City News Digital Edition, August 22 and on Canberra Critics Circle Blog, August 26,

Puccini and Mascagni brought to life - Canberra Opera

"Gianni Schicchi" and "Cavalleria Rusticana"

Canberra Opera

Belconnen Theatre, August 23. 

Reviewed by Tony Magee

In an endearing combination of well seasoned and mature voices and acting skills, combined with the exuberance and budding development of youth, director Kate Millett has done an excellent job of keeping her casts moving and regrouping to create a small stage of continual visual interest and impact.

With the excellent coupling of the two short one act operas “Gianni Schicchi” by Puccini and Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana”, Canberra Opera swept their audience from high comedy, leaving us all chuckling at interval, to tragedy and drama in the second half.

The settings have been altered to relatively modern times. In the case of “Schicchi”,  the concept of a group of relatives squabbling over the contents of a will could be set in any time and place!

In addition, the two works were sung in English, generally with impeccable diction from the cast, which made the engaging stories easy to follow and grasp.

Senior cast members Janene Broere as Zita and Peter Smith as Simone, with mature voices, establish a convivial but frustrating family meeting along with the youngsters, searching for and eventually finding a will from her late husband, whose corpse still lies in the curtained bed chamber within the room. Disappointment follows upon reading its contents.

Enter Gianni Schicchi, played with commanding presence and a suitably robust baritone voice by seasoned performer Colin Milner. With daughter Lauretta in tow, who rushes up to eldest son Rinuccio, played and sung convincingly by Alastair Colgrave, (the two have obviously met before and are in love), Schicchi hatches a plan to try and sort out the mess.

He is viewed with deep suspicion by the elders. Any more plot summary would constitute spoilers, suffice to say that Schicchi turns out to be the deceitful rogue they suspected he might be.

In a compositional style which bears some similarity to “Turandot”, the opera is basically one continuous recitative with one main aria, that being the famous ‘Oh My Beloved Father” sung beautifully by Hannah Carter as Lauretta. There is also a short duet aria towards the end sung by Lauretta and Rinuccio - “You’re Mine Forever More”, which they performed very well.

Stephanie McAlister as Nella and Thomas Nolte-Crimp as Marco also stood out with engaging stage presence and acting flair, combined with voices of substance.

The excellent musical direction for this opera was by Michael Politi.

Cavalleria Rusticana after interval, presented the audience with a simple but highly effective set, suggesting a small village where everybody pokes their noses into everyone else’s business. With a much larger cast, there is a great deal of highly competent chorus singing with excellent harmonies and convincing and interesting staging.

Anna Greenwood as Santuzza and James Penn as Turridu both presented their substantial lead roles with confidence and vocal dexterity. Penn is trained in an early 20th century old school style of operatic tenor, something that is not heard much these days. His English diction is wanting, but his power and projection made up for that admirably. 

As his rival Alfio, tenor Andrew Barrow presented as handsome a hero as one could possibly want. His voice is only at the beginning of development - adequate for the small stage and room, but clearly waiting to bloom forth into what could be a substantial voice as he matures.

In a beautiful orchestral break which divides the opera into two halves, the main theme which is well known to audiences was stated and played so beautifully by the small ensemble of musicians, with musical direction by Colleen Rae-Gerrard, who were also excellent throughout the entire evening. Curiously, it is never sung by anyone. Well deserved spontaneous applause erupted from the audience at its conclusion.

Conductor and new-comer to Canberra, Louis Sharpe, did a brilliant job of keeping a tight rein on the musicians and the cast. He is very skilled and a most welcome addition to Canberra’s musical family.

With the number of talented young singers in the cast, combined with the experience and wisdom of the more senior players, this all presents a great future for Canberra Opera. 

On the journey home in the car, my friend and I reflected on the fact that we’d had a great night out. You must see it!

First published in City News Digital Edition, August 24 

Sublime vocal heights elicit rapturous applause

“Open Book”

Luminescence Chamber Singers

ANU Drill Hall Gallery, August 18. 

Reviewed by Tony Magee

Photo: Tony Magee

IN a program of song from musical “books” which are a collaboration of works either from an individual like Monteverdi, or a third party, sometimes anonymous, Luminescence Chamber Singers reached, at times, a cappella vocal heights of sublime beauty and exquisite harmony and balance.

Beginning with the Fourth Book of Madrigals by Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643) the singers displayed superb phrasing and all shared moments as soloists where certain parts were brought forward, highlighting seasoned tenor and musical director Dan Walker and soprano Chloe Lankshear whose exquisite voice was one of the highlights of the entire concert.

Two pieces from the Eton Choir Book followed. Firstly “Ave Maria, Mater Dei” by William Cornysh (1465 - 1523), sung by the male section only - bass, baritone and two tenors. Walker has a seamless transition from chest voice to head voice and at times approached the sound of a counter tenor. A unique vocal ability of astonishing beauty. 

I found the blend of the four male voices as a whole to be poor. I’m sure it’s all correctable with more careful attention in rehearsal, but something jarred and the sound as an all male ensemble was jagged and unbalanced.

By contrast, John Browne’s “Stabat Mater”, a substantial and longer work in four sections, had the addition of Lankshear and AJ America and the balance was excellent. The youngest member of the ensemble, 20 year old Alexander Gorbatov brought forth a beautiful tenor solo in the third section of the piece. He is currently on the cusp of transitioning from baritone to tenor and as yet, is undecided which one to pursue as a serious singer.

Two pieces from the anonymously compiled Red Book of Montserrat opened the second half. “O Virgo Splendens” was performed as a trio by Lankshear, AJ America and Veronica Milroy, who sang the solo soprano part beautifully, all from behind the main screen. 

America’s mid range vocal parts in other pieces were another highlight for me during the entire concert. She has the ability to balance herself with the other six in a role where inner voices play such a major part, but are not often showcased. 

It was a soaring and beautiful rendition which could easily have been from the pen of Hildegard of Bingen, although the composer is unknown. “Maria Matrem Virginem” was the second piece, featuring all seven performers, including baritone Patrick Baker and bass Andrew Fysh, whose solid bass foundation was a major factor in holding together the ensemble and harmonic balance of the group throughout the concert.

The works in this book are all mediaeval and display some of the earliest attempts at polyphony. This huge musical advancement from two-part organum was championed by the French composer Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300 - 1377), most notably with his “Messe de Nostre Dame” and his three part secular motets. Much of the choral music from this period also shows a propensity to crossover the melodies from sacred texts into secular works - something that was very controversial at the time. 

Three selections from the Second Book of Madrigals by Gavin Bryars (1943 - ) closed the program. Once again tenor Dan Walker’s seamless tenor voice came through with beauty and precision. Bryars cites Monteverdi as an influence in his composing style, but I heard much more of Don Carlo Gesualdo (1566 - 1613) coming through in his writing. Gesualdo’s harmonies are considered way ahead of their time and can easily be mistaken for contemporary choral writing. Incidentally, his other claim to fame was hacking his wife and her lover to death with an axe, upon discovering their affair. Quentin Tarantino - there is your next screenplay.

Rapturous applause from the audience followed, with the opportunity to meet and chat with the singers.

First published in City News Digital Edition, August 19

Musical Theatre qualities shine through along with superb piano accompaniments

"Iconic Inspiration”

Artsong Canberra

Wesley Music Centre, August 18

Reviewed by Tony Magee

Photo: Tony Magee

SOPRANO Lisa Cannizzaro, baritone Jeremy Tatchell and pianist Elena Nikulina romped through the comedic, bouncy and theatrical “Well did you evah?” by Cole Porter in a sparking opener to a varied and fascinating selection of songs inspired by or written for people of note through the 19th and 20th centuries.

In a departure from the traditional “Artsong” format which is normally the focus of these concerts, the piece even contained a dance sequence! The song shifts from standard quarter time to waltz time and finally a brisk two-step and was received with great enthusiasm by the audience.

Excellent vocal harmonies were complimented by the outstanding, sensitive and beautifully balanced piano accompaniments from Nikulina throughout the entire concert. She phrases her playing in complete sympathy and poise with the singers and for me, was the star of the show.

Both Cannizzaro and Tatchell present as theatrical performers in their stage presence and singing style, something which I enjoyed immensely. Tatchell’s biography lists an extensive array of serious classical music achievements in opera, oratorio and lieder. Curiously, there is no mention of musical theatre. He would make an outstanding Tevye in every respect - voice, looks, stance, authority and presence.

A superb bracket of four French songs associated with Don Quixote by Jacques Ibert, entitled “Quatre chansons de Don Quichotte” (note the French spelling contrasted with the more usual Spanish version), were performed by Tatchell with excellent phrasing and diction, mostly colla voce in nature, with Nikulina supporting with immense depth and feeling.

“Simple Gifts” and “At the River”, both famous settings by Aaron Copland and performed for the inauguration of many presidents of the United States, were sung beautifully and sensitively by Cannizzaro. Joaquín Valverde’s “Clavelitos” followed, most closely associated with the astonishing Florence Foster Jenkins - one of her specialty encore pieces. Unlike Jenkins, Cannizzaro pulled it off with panache and vocal styling of beauty and warmth. She has a most interesting dark timbre to her lower register, which blooms into a delightful well rounded soprano in the higher register. 

Six Australian Bush Songs by William G. James were shared by the two singers, Tatchell delivering “The Land of Who Knows Where” with a huge dramatic voice and then a thrilling finale with “The Stockrider’s Song”, during which his voice was noticeably warming up. Cannizzaro paid homage to Dame Nellie Melba with the gentle and reflective “Bush Silence” and “Bush Night Song”.

The sparkling duet “La ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni” opened the second half. The program also included a piece by Richard Wagner, dedicated to his long time supporter and champion, Ludwig II of Bavaria. Two duets by Felix Mendelssohn followed, commissioned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, sung with precision and style by the two vocalists.

Of particular beauty both in the compositional style and the performance by the trio were a bracket of three pieces by Gerald Finzi, entitled “Let us Garlands Bring”. These were specially written for and dedicated to English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, celebrating his 70th birthday.

As an encore, the performers surprised everyone, including this reviewer, with the hilarious Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren classic, “Bangers and Mash”, where once again the music theatre qualities of the two singers poured forth most convincingly.

A most enjoyable afternoon of song, garnished with incredible variety and, I will add one more time, the superb piano accompaniments of Elena Nikulina.

First published in City News Digital Edition, August 19

Tarantino delivers the goods wth superb casting and obsessive attention to detail

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Australian Premiere screening

Dendy, Circular Quay

August 15th 2019

Reviewed by Tony Magee

Photo courtesy arilinersillustrated.com

A washed up actor has his confidence boosted and career reignited by a sympathetic and insightful eight year old girl.

That's the central plot at any rate. Threaded throughout is a more complex web of intrigue in a vast array of sub-plots in which director Quentin Tarantino has an absolute ball recreating a part of Hollywood and surrounds in 1969.

The setting is actually one year later in 1970, on board Pan Am Boeing 747 "Clipper Victor" from London to New York.

Fictitious actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is sitting in first class. Back in coach, is his minder, driver and stuntman double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt).

Both have been through a whirlwind, mind blowing and unimaginably tumultuous year before, which unfolds on the screen in a vivid tapestry of graphic, lengthy and highly detailed flashbacks, aided by the narration of Kurt Russell, who also plays a character in the film.

DiCaprio and Pitt portray a very close, enduring and believable relationship. It was a joy watching them work together.

Apart from those two characters, everyone else in this movie portrays someone who actually existed. Even the Boeing is real. “Clipper Victor” was the first commercial 747, having taken to the skies with launch customer Pam Am on 22nd January 1970. It was high jacked en route from JFK to Puerto Rico and diverted to Cuba one year later in 1971. It is also the exact same plane which was destroyed in what still remains the world's worst aviation disaster: Tenerife, March 27, 1977.

L-R, Margot Robbie, Quentin Tarantino, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt
at Cannes. Photo courtesy Loic Venance / Agent France-Presse

After the cancellation of his black and white late 1950’s and early 1960s TV series Bounty Law, which is clearly thrown together on a shoe-string budget, our hero is offered the chance to join the so called Spaghetti Western casts in Rome, where a new wave of Westerns are being shot in colour under the directorship of one "Sergio Capucci", which is obviously a tongue-in-cheek character meld of Italian film producer Fabrizio Capucci and Italian director Sergio Leone.

In fact, the title of this film suggests a very big homage, almost at the risk of a sendup, to Leone’s 1968 Once Upon a Time in the West, a film that was offered to actor Clint Eastwood but ended up having dual lead roles played by Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda and also the later Once Upon a Time in America from 1984, Leone's last film.

In a movie that also bears some resemblance to Hal Ashby's Being There from 1979, where period TV footage, radio dialogue and music are used to cement the realism of the setting, including Robert Goulet singing MacArthur Park on the Andy Williams Show, (which incidentally, he pronounces correctly, unlike Richard Harris and Shirley Bassey who both insisted on singing the name as MacArthur’s Park), an extended scene on a journey to a Hippie Commune which is accompanied by Neil Diamond's Travelling Salvation Show and an Audio Technica model AT-3 moving magnet cartridge and stylus lowering onto an LP record on a genuine USA built Scott turntable towards the end of the film, Tarantino explodes with exquisite, almost obsessive attention to detail in order to ram home the year 1969. Okay - we get it!

One special moment for me was the presence of veteran actor Bruce Dern, who usually plays ruthless, viscous, villains, most notably in Mark Rydell’s 1972 cinematic masterpiece, The Cowboys. In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood however, he plays an aged and frail former actor, who has opened up his ranch to the Hippies, led by Charles Manson. Upon being suddenly awakened from a deep slumber by surprise visitor Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), he becomes completely confused and momentarily thinks he is speaking with John Wilkes Booth, and is about to launch into a deliciously absurd and respectfully comic conversation about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

Audio Technica AT-3 with Scott turntable. Photo: New Jersey Audio Society

There are no less than 21 cast members who play members of the Manson family, an aspect which to me was way overdone and seems to suggest some kind of manic obsession by Tarantino. Naturally, Sharon Tate is present, acted beautifully by Australian Margot Robbie, although for the duration of this picture, she is in a relationship with director Roland Polanski. If you don’t know the Manson / Tate story, I’m certainly not going to spoil it for you here, suffice to say that there is a narrational build up from Kurt Russell which ends abruptly, leaving the audience on a cliff hanger.

DiCaprio’s character Dalton, reluctantly accepts the offer of joining Capucci in Rome, making four films. On returning to Hollywood, he opts for some bit parts in the new TV series The FBI, starring Efram Zimbalist Jr, whose father by the way, Efram Zimbalist Sr, was one of America’s greatest classical violinists of the period, along with colleagues Nathan Milstein and Isaac Stern.

Then comes a break. A starring role in a new TV series, Lancer. Here, Dalton meets one of his co-stars, eight year old child actor Trudi Fraser (beautifully portrayed by Julia Butters), who is at first stand-offish, but during shooting, warms to Dalton and compliments him on his acting skills. Here, we find out the fatal flaw which has prevented him from major success so far. No, I’m not going to tell you what that is either, suffice to say he starts to deal with it.

In fact, it is very difficult to describe much more about this highly unusual film without destroying it with spoilers, so I leave my review to observations and reactions. I can tell you however that Hollywood extra Rachael Redleaf makes a spectacularly convincing appearance as Cass Elliot (aka Mama Cass) in a party scene.

And finally, yes there is one scene of extreme violence, right at the end of the movie. I don’t suggest for a moment that this should be a reason to not see it, however I note that at the screening I attended, many audience members were visibly and audibly shocked and confronted. If you’re not up for that, just look away.

Artistic extremes and enthralling sounds from Bukovsky and de Haan

The Beauty of Living Sound 

Simone de Haan - trombone

Miroslav Bukovsky - trumpet, flugel horn and percussion

ANU Drill Hall Gallery,  August 4. 

Miroslav Bukovsky and Simone de Haan in front of "Gemini", 2017 by Ildico Kovacs.
Photo by Tony Magee and Alexei Salpeter

Reviewed by Tony Magee

The mysterious and secretive sounds and utterances of the creatures of the night in the Outback are not something I’m particularly familiar with. Unlike some other members of my family, this boy generally prefers the comforts of home.

But trumpet and flugel horn player Miroslav Bukovsky and trombonist Simone de Haan transported me there and to a whole range of other places in a fascinating and diverse concert of music making that took the art to extremes at times and at other times washed and cleansed the audience with magnificent melody and harmony.

Beginning with muted trumpet and muted trombone, the first of six pieces contained delicate trumpet phrasing in abstract melodic form, accompanied by drone sounds almost of a didgeridoo nature from the trombone.

The two artists instantly became enraptured within their own personal space of creativity but at the same time listening intently to what the other was creating in order to inspire each other and follow a path of unknown destination and unknown territory. Such was the point and the brilliance of everything they played.

I listened and closed my eyes and then suddenly there is was right in front of me. A thylacine. Long thought to be extinct on the Australian mainland and possibly also in Tasmania since the 1930s, it appeared in the middle of the Drill Hall Gallery. I don’t know if it was male or female, but for the duration of this piece and most of the others that followed, it remained there, circling around and curiously snorting, sniffing, grunting and breathing.

Gallery director Terence Maloon with guests Magda and Larry Sitsky.
"In Flight" by Ildiko Kovacs, 2015 oil on plywood. Collection NGA.

Other pieces in the program were more conversational, the fourth piece in particular starting with a comedic dialogue using just the mouth pieces. Perhaps it was two people who speak different languages, but they found a common ground of expressive understanding and morphed into what for me was the highlight of the event - a mournful, soaring and beauteous rendition of “Body and Soul”.

I misted up as I recalled it was the last song ever performed in public by the late jazz and cabaret diva Gery Scott. That was 9th October 2005 at Hyatt Hotel Canberra.

Throughout the concert, the musicians used the superb backdrop of visual art from the current exhibition “The DNA of Colour” by Ildiko Kovacs as part of their inspiration for their glorious improvised melodies, as well as the guttural, primal, evocative and haunting sounds of colour and depth they managed to produce from their instruments.

This concert was not just about sitting and listening to music. The audience was transported, transfixed, inspired and swept through such a labyrinth of emotions - dramatic, sensual, mystical, primal, rhythmic and melodic. It was one of the most fascinating, unusual and satisfying artistic events I’ve attended for years, presented by two world class musicians.

First published in a slightly edited format in City News Digital Edition, August 5 2019 and complete in Canberra Critics Circle Blog, August 5 2019