Virtuosi Tasmania
Hobart Town Hall, 20 March
Many years ago I worked for a conductor who used to say, “You always need to be coming or going in a phrase. Never just stand still.” His spirit of musicianship glowed in this ensemble of musicians from the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, both individually and collectively. The music was alive, it ebbed and flowed, it spoke, it laughed, it cried.
The outstandingly beautiful tone and virtuosity from Lucy Carrig-Jones on violin, the liveliness of the inner voice work from violist Anna Roach and cellist Martin Penicka’s ensemble skills and responsiveness all contributed to a cohesiveness that created space for individuality. Double bass player Stuart Thomson brought an awareness of harmonic structure that shaped the performance and guided the listener. Clarinettist Andrew Seymour’s phrasing was sublime, while bassoonist Tahnee van Herk both shone and supported with unique character.
The horn was enormously important in this concert, and Greg Stevens elicited from me a silent and joyful “wow” with his every utterance. From the discombobulating effect of Till’s opening theme in Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks – in which the rhythmic displacement is something of a merry prank upon the audience – right through until he dies his ignominious death on the scaffold, the players captured the humour, the gleeful malice, and the effervescent fun of the piece. Hasenöhrl’s arrangement is remarkable. Reducing a full orchestral score to a quintet is no mean feat, but I was rarely left longing for the original scoring. Even the timpani roll which heralds the scaffold was given full dramatic effect by the double bass. The translation of Till’s name is “owl mirror”. The interplay between the voices is indeed a mirror, as one after another they reflect and play with Till’s antics. And there is, perhaps, the wisdom of the owl in a prankster who can laugh to the end, finding humour even in his own death.
After such a promising opening, Beethoven’s Septet, Op. 20, was all I could have hoped for. By turns eloquent, reflective, dramatic, lyrical and fun, Beethoven’s mercurial youthful emotions were faithfully expressed. Despite the occasional blemish, it was on the whole a polished performance that brought the sunshine of the beautiful Hobart day into the Town Hall.
This concert was first presented by the TSO in the north of the state, and then presented by Virtuosi and recorded by the ABC so that Hobart and mainland audiences did not miss out. COVID-19 has presented enormous challenges to both musicians and orchestra managements. All over the world we have seen examples of arts professionals bravely making their creative best of heartbreaking circumstances. This afternoon’s concert was a testament to musicians’ triumph over adversity. Players have grown in stature to fulfil sometimes unexpected potentials in themselves, and our profession can only be the richer for it.
Jo St Leon
Limelight 23 March 2021
Virtuosi Tasmania
Hobart Town Hall, 30 October
It was a cold, rainy, miserable night in Hobart, and a disappointingly small audience braved the weather to attend this recital. For those of us that did, it was a memorable evening. Jonathan Békés (newly confirmed Principal Cello with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) and Karen Smithies (one of Hobart’s most loved pianists) are a match made in heaven. Their performance last night was a dialogue of complete equality; the art of musical conversation at its best.
The highlight in this feast of Romanticism was Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70. The opening phrase created a sense of profound intimacy that took my breath away, and promised much. It was as if the duo took me by the hand and whispered, “Come with us, we’ve got something to show you.” As the Adagio unfolded I was not disappointed. Beautiful phrasing, a wonderful palette of colours, and a dance-like interweaving of foreground and background created magic and set my spine a-tingling. I felt the rhythmic energy, passion, and excitement of the Allegro almost as if I were up there, playing it with them. For me, this level of involvement is rare, and is a mark of a truly special performance.
Tcherepnin’s three sonatas for cello and piano are rarely heard. Since moving to Hobart four years ago, Békés has been on a mission to bring these unjustly neglected works to Tasmanian audiences. He has presented the first two sonatas at previous Virtuosi recitals, and here he introduced us to the third. It is a short work in three movements, unified by the recurrence of the opening theme. Filled with rhythmic and harmonic complexity, the understated virtuosity of Smithies and vibrant lyricism of Békés highlighted its glories. The Hobart Town Hall is not always kind to the middle register of strings – phrases can get mislaid in a kind of acoustical soup – and the cello line occasionally suffered from this. Nonetheless, it was a great introduction to a sonata worthy of further listening.
Mendelssohn’s Second Cello Sonata is a work in four movements, all of which are notable for the conversational, almost constant interplay between cello and piano. Despite the acoustical challenges, Smithies and Békés handled this with elegance and style. Together they created an infectious insouciance of deceptive simplicity. The opening chorale of the third movement, a tribute to Bach, was played by Smithies with a gentle religiosity that was nevertheless distinctly Mendelssohn. The final movement, by turns virtuosic, lyrical and occasionally profound was a glorious end to the evening.
The partnership of Békés and Smithies has an indefinable quality about it that renders it greater than the sum of its individual parts. I have been listening to Jonathan Békés perform as soloist, chamber player and orchestral musician throughout his time in Tasmania. A couple of years ago I would have described him as a rising star, but on the evidence of this evening that would no longer be true – he has developed into a mature artist of considerable stature. As a duo, they are versatile and sensitive, and they complement each other with intelligence and style. I hope to hear more.
Jo St Leon
Limelight Magazine 30 October 2021