Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Town Hall. 7 Jun 2013
Usual format: overture, followed by a concerto, and a symphony to finish off, but, as Meatloaf famously and melodically once said, two out of three ain’t bad! The program opened with Australian composer and Elder Conservatorium graduate Natalie Williams’ Whistleblower overture. It is a heavy, dark, pulsating but richly orchestrated composition. However, it is melodically uninspiring but did set the scene for what was to follow. In some ways it was a musical equivalent to the motorsport invitation ‘gentlemen, start your engines’! By the time Whistleblower came to its abrupt finish, the orchestra was well and truly primed for the onslaught that was to follow. It was a warning to the audience to buckle in, because the ride was about to get adventurous!
Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is an exceptional work and is often thought to be his best. It is melodic, satisfyingly orchestrated, and sufficiently inventive to be always interesting. At the heart of it is a difficult piano score that requires not only utmost concentration but also a light and playful touch, and young Russian virtuoso Denis Kozhukhin gave a superb interpretation with outstanding support from Arvo Volmer and the ASO. Kozhukhin, resplendent in a black Chinese-collared evening coat and blond hair gently pulled back into a pony tail, played every phrase as if it were a character in a play script and he the consummate actor. He played with clarity, deep feeling, precision and an almost youthful arrogance, especially in the third allegro movement. Kozhukhin periodically brushed a fallen silky lock of hair from his face, sat back on the piano stool and forced Prokofiev’s arguing musical themes into submission. If it takes a Russian to truly understand Prokofiev’s music, then Kozhukhin has its measure. The audience erupted with immediate applause on the final note and was rewarded with a gentle and sensitive performance of Bach’s Prelude in B Minor as an encore
Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony followed the interval and, like numerous sections in the Prokofiev, it was distinguished with a superb performance from the ASO’s woodwinds. Manfred is a programmed work: Tchaikovsky was commissioned to compose it as a response to Lord Byron’s dramatic poem Manfred which follows the tragic life of a Faustian noble who is tormented by a mysterious guilt and eventually dies but refuses to seek absolution from the church for his sins. The symphony begins with tormented strains from the woodwind as if to typify Manfred from the outset, and the bass clarinet and bassoons were superb. Volmer asked the orchestra to play at ‘full wind’ and the result was almost overwhelming. It was a delight to see Concertmaster Natsuko Yoshimoto and Associate Concertmaster Ike See palpably exchange meaningful glances at each other as they strove to deliver what Volmer demanded.
Bravo, ASO.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
