Kegelstatt Ensemble. Burnside Ballroom. 7 Jun 2021
It is a joy to hear live performances of seldomly performed works, and the most recent concert of Adelaide’s very own Kegelstatt Ensemble gave that experience to a sizable and appreciative audience in the Burnside Town Hall Ballroom, in spite of the exterior road traffic noise that works its way into the auditorium; Adelaide desperately needs an intimate high-quality concert venue. Unfortunately, Kegelstatt concerts are frequently one-off events and so if you missed this one, then you missed it.
In their own words, the Kegelstatt Ensemble is “dedicated to facilitating approachable experiences of great works and lesser known gems of the chamber music repertoire, especially those rarely heard live due to their scoring for non-standard combinations of instruments.” True to their word, today’s concert included two lesser known works – Emilie Mayer’s String Quartet in G minor, Op. 14, and Dvořák’s Drobnosti (Miniatures) for two violins and viola, Op. 75a. The program finished with Schubert’s well-known String Quartet in A minor, D. 804 “Rosamunde”, which might deserve the tag ‘treasure’, but it’s arguable that the Mayer and Dvořák do!
The Kegelstatt Ensemble also has a focus on “historically informed performance” which results in playing techniques and practices that are closer to how compositions may have been performed at the time they were written. An obvious example of this is playing on period instruments, and for today’s concert the Kegelstatt’s instruments were strung with pure gut strings rather than metal, synthetic or composite strings. In the hands of accomplished musicians, gut strings can produce more brilliant sounds (as more overtones come into prominence) and a warmer and more ‘homely’ tone.
The members of the Kegelstatt are indeed quality players and they elicited beautiful sounds throughout the Mayer string quartet and gave its ample melodic themes both distinctiveness and personality. The opening allegro appassionato movement featured a prominent viola and cello combination from real life partners Anna Webb and Kim Worley who set a high standard for the remainder of the performance. Undeservedly, Mayer is almost an unknown composer of the Romantic period, and this performance was an eye-opener. Mayer deserves to be heard more often.
The performance of Dvořák’s Miniatures was the highlight of the concert. The four relatively short pieces for two violins and viola have the character of a suite, and each piece is rich with character, melody and rhythmic charm. Rachael Beesley and Ben Dollman on violin produced a sweet singling style, even in the enthusiastic folk-song inflected second movement.
Schubert’s so-called “Rosamunde” string quartet was played with superb clarity and articulation, especially in the andante second movement and the allegro moderato final movement. The inner voices came through particularly well, which is a credit to Beesley’s work as leader.
The Kegelstatt Ensemble is a quality performance and educative outfit, and deserves its place on Adelaide’s chamber music calendar.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Burnside Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
Australian String Quartet. Adelaide Town Hall. 24 May 2021
Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus once opined that the only constant in life is change, and change is certainly afoot at the ASQ as its makeup enters a new phase. Tonight’s concert is violist Stephen King’s last (in Adelaide) as a member of the ASQ, and it is Michael Dahlenburg’s first as the new cellist replacing Sharon Grigoryan who left at the end of last year. It was interesting to observe that both Dale Barltrop (first violin) and Michael Dahlenburg both wore resplendent dusty lavender coloured evening jackets, while King sported traditional black as if not to draw attention to himself. But with the announcement of his departure, King was always going to be in the spotlight in some way throughout the evening. More on that shortly. King did however wear lavender coloured socks which might be considered a nod to the fact that he won’t entirely be leaving the ASQ: he will remain in an administrative capacity to manage the organisation’s education outreach program.
The program included Felix Mendelssohn’s lush String Quartet No.1 in E flat major, Op.12, which was sandwiched between Bela Bartok’s String Quartet No.3 and Pavel Fischer’s String Quartet No.3 “Mad Piper”. The bookends stole the show, especially the Fischer which is a very new composition only completed in 2011.
Written to be performed without a pause between its sections, Bartok’s String Quartet No.3 is redolent with motifs derived from Eastern European folk music traditions, including an unexpected droning accompaniment on violin and cello that allowed the spotlight to settle on Stephen King’s honeyed work on viola, at least for time. (Interestingly, the same spotlight shone on him in the third section of the Fischer, which Barltrop described as a “soliloquy for solo viola”.) The Bartok is often played with unconcealed passion - as a nod to the Roma heritage of some of its thematic material - but on this occasion the ASQ played with restraint and carefully exposed the melodic and rhythmic riches of the piece.
Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No.1 in E flat major was written when he was only 14. As the work of a composer who is ostensibly in the grips of classicism at such an early stage of his development, the quartet is unadventurous in its scope and structure, but it is lyrical and often on the verge of ‘breaking out’ into the unexpected. The temptation for the performers is to overplay “one’s hand”, but the ASQ do not fall into that trap and the result, not unlike the Bartok, is a tightly executed performance that allows the fine detail to shine through clearly, especially in the second movement (marked ‘Canzonetta’) that was quite beautiful to listen to.
Pavel Fischer was born in the Czech Republic in 1965 and is the director of the Winterschool program of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. A violinist, Fischer is also a composer of some note and his String Quartet No.3 is a highly enjoyable and notable work that merits being regularly performed around the world. Entitled “Mad Piper”, the quartet is named after Bill Millin who was a Scottish piper who apparently led a company of soldiers into battle at Normandy while playing his bag pipes! Predictably, a stylistic feature of the composition is drone-like accompaniment produced on the cello and violins at various times against which the viola plays. King relished the scope given to his instrument and abundantly demonstrated why his playing is much loved and why he will be greatly missed. The composition also features gypsy-like motifs, rhythmical structures and playing techniques that hearken back to the Bartok at the start of the concert, somehow completing the loop and giving the entire program a satisfying coherence.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed in Adelaide. Until 18 June elsewhere across Australia
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: asq.com.au
Musica Viva. Adelaide Town Hall. 13 May 2021
Musica Viva’s current touring program is a triumph. It features the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) orchestra directed by Sophie Rowell, alumnus Harry Ward (violin), and virtuoso pianist Konstantin Shamray. Rowell addresses the large audience from the stage and in speaking briefly about the program she also suggested that ANAM’s fine work with young elite musicians will ensure that classical music performance in Australia is in good hands. After experiencing such a wonderful concert – a mix of new and not so new, with a dash of youth and daring – we can be in no doubt about that.
The program rolls together strange bedfellows, but it works at a number of levels. Firstly, we have the gentle lyricism of an arrangement for piano and string orchestra of Mahler’s Piano Quartet in A minor. This is then sharply contrasted with the brutal beauty of Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and Strings. After the interval we are soothed and transported to an almost other-worldly place by the diffuse grace and refinement of Lamento for Solo Violin and String Orchestra by contemporary Estonian composer Mihkel Kertem. And finally, as if to impose a sense of familiarity, the evening finishes with the ever popular Serenade for Strings in C, Op.48 by Tchaikovsky. Strange bedfellows indeed, but an extremely comfortable ménage à quatre as it turns out.
Mahler’s Piano Quartet in A minor is a single movement composition for piano, violin, viola and cello, and the arrangement by Ward captures the richness and unrepressed passion of the youthful composition. It was written by Mahler when he was only sixteen. The ANAM orchestra is superbly led by Rowell on violin, and features Shamray at his interpretative best, but his performance of the Schnittke is exceptional and worth the ticket price by itself.
Composed in 1979, Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and Strings is not an easy work to listen to, like much of his musical output. Schnittke himself described his music as polystylistic, but others have been less generous and have suggested it is chaotic. The Concerto is awash with disparate musical ideas and mind numbing crashing chords, but Shamray seems to find its gestalt and wows the audience with his virtuosity.
Kerem’s Lamento was originally scored for cello and strings and the version for violin and strings was commissioned by Musica Viva. Ward tapped the inner beauty of the piece and effortlessly made the COVID-masked audience forget they were in the midst of a pandemic, painting for us a pastoral scene of delicate stillness, contemplation and hope. Rowell balanced the ensemble against this vulnerability.
Tchaikovsky’s Serenade isn’t a pot boiler, but it’s comfortable and safe ground. It is of course a well-known piece and an audience favourite, and therein lays a sting. A young ensemble, like ANAM, have no choice but to play it well, very well indeed, otherwise less generous audience members will soundly criticise them and blame an average performance on relative youth. However, ANAM comes up trumps and gives as good a performance as any. With only twenty in the ensemble, clarity and articulation from each musician is vital. Rowell leads beautifully and ANAM follow with precision and passion. All of Tchaikovsky’s lush melodies and subtle nuances come through with style.
Program notes should not be necessary in order to enjoy a concert – the music should speak for itself. Sometimes however they provide insights into the rationale behind the actual programming, which can enhance the listening experience. Musica Viva’s program notes are always a case in point, and they make for interesting reading and provide motivation long after the event to revisit the program through recordings.
Musica Viva’s next tour in Adelaide is on 17 June 2021, and features horn, violin and piano repertoire from Mozart and Brahms, as well as a world première of Australian composer Gordon Kerry’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, which was commissioned for Musica Viva by Julian Burnside. This promises to be another intellectually and aesthetically pleasing concert.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
Henry Wagons & The Martyrs. The Gov. 28 Apr 2021
I’m a bit bemused as to how one can perform an entire tribute show to the life and songs of Warren Zevon and not mention his astounding sidekick guitarist Waddy Wachtel, who played on the vast majority of his recordings. Yet there it is.
For the sake of posterity, Zevon gave us Werewolves Of London as well as the Linda Ronstadt hit Poor Poor Pitiful Me, both being presented tonight.
Henry Wagons is a consummate craftsman of the stage, quick with a joke or to light up your smoke, and there’s no place he’d rather be. With four piece band The Martyrs backing him up, Wagons is an engaging and vibrant host, at times MC and announcer, at times the singing embodiment of Zevon who (I am astounded to recall) died back in 2003. Time truly does fly.
The show opens with Lawyers, Guns & Money then moves smoothly on to Excitable Boy; how is this going to work when there are so many Zevon penned songs to choose from? Henry Wagons introduces himself, leaping around the stage, nervous energy personified.
I Was In The House When The House Burned Down from 2000s album ‘Life’ll Kill Ya’ comes next, followed by the amazing Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner (back to 1978) allowing Wagons to leap back and forth through time and space though this is for the most part a chronological tale. Somehow it all makes sense and the audience are lapping it up; over three hundred committed Zevon fans and very few of ‘em under the age of fifty.
The songs keep coming: after the mid-time break drummer Holly Thomas takes the microphone for a rendition of Poor Poor Pitiful Me, which is lovely, and yet something is missing. The Martyrs seems to be stuck in second gear, destined not to develop the torque necessary to do these songs (and this performance) justice. And it is a great performance in the hands of musical director and pianist Lachlan Bryan; or it certainly should be. Carmelita is a dead set highlight and it is Werewolves Of London which somewhat predictably closes out the show. Bassist Damian Cafarella gives that jaunty piano signature a solid underpinning.
Finally, in the encore, guitarist Michael Hubbard shows real animation and for a glorious three minutes, or so, The Martyrs (without Wagons onstage) are able to show just what they’re capable of. In The Mutineer, just for a moment or two, the persona of Waddy Wachtel had arrived onstage.
Alex Wheaton
When: 28 Apr
Where: The Gov
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Festival. Musica Viva Australia. Adelaide Town Hall. 2 Mar 2021
Presented as part of the Adelaide Festival, Musica Viva’s first tour of 2021 features the celebrated Streeton Trio (Emma Jardine, violin, Umberto Clerici, cello, and Benjamin Kopp, piano) in concert with the phenomenal Diana Doherty (oboe).
The programme also features a world première performance of a new composition. Before tonight, the art music repertoire for this particular combination of instruments was very limited – a handful of pieces – and so to have a brand new composition (and by an Australian composer to boot!) is indeed a special event.
The Streetons and Doherty are all based in Sydney. They are acclaimed around the world and are part of the musical elite.
The programme begins with Bohuslav Martinů’s 1947 composition Quartet for Oboe, Violin, Cello and Piano. Martinů is infrequently heard in the concert hall and his compositions are characterised by short melodic and rhythmic motifs that are ‘mined’ for additional musical material. The Streetons ensure that the quartet’s motifs are clearly stated and unmistakeably heard again as they re-appear in various guises.
Composed about one hundred and ten years earlier, Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No.1 in D minor is an entirely different proposition. The melodies are expansive, and the thematic and rhythmic structures are more emphatically stated and carefully developed. There is potential for the dense score to come across as leaden but the Streetons ensure the piece retains luminosity and lightness even in the fortissimo passages.
The highlight of the evening is the world première of Skipworth’s Oboe Quartet. It is scored in three movements – allegro moderato, misterioso molto rubato, and allegretto giocosa – and was commissioned for Musica Viva Australia in memory of Anne and Alan Blanckensee, by their son Andrew, family and friends. The work is intensely melody driven, and the oboe in particular shines throughout and infuses the melodic contours with style and momentum. The short dialogues between the oboe and the other instruments, and particularly with the cello at the start of the misterioso, are key to the coherency and enjoyment of the work.
Skipworth’s quartet is an important addition to the repertoire for the particular instrumental combination and, judging by the audience reaction, it is destined to become ‘part of the furniture’.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed in Adelaide. Concerts available in other capital cities.
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: musicaviva.com.au