OBSERVER: MSO
I am joining a standing ovation, having experienced one extraordinary performance and musical masterpiece after another.
At Hamer Hall, the magnificent Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, under conductor Benjamin Northey and guest pianists, have transported the audience to a place of joy.
Nearly 140,000 votes were cast in this year’s ABC Classic FM Countdown for the 100 most popular piano compositions, according to hosts Jeremy Fernandez and Megan Burslem.
Ten pieces were performed, interspersed with filmed interviews with performers, composers, and others discussing their passion for the piano.
William Barton described ‘setting up the lone rumble of the pedal note, like a didgeridoo’. For others, the piano meant: ‘home’; ‘an equaliser’; ‘enjoyment’ and ‘a whole musical experience’. This year’s top 100 included 27 works by living composers and 11 pieces by female composers.
Voted fourth, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (highlights), was sensuously played by Simon Tedeschi and Andrea Lam in a duet.
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14, ‘Moonlight Sonata’, voted second. was played romantically by the amazing Andrea Lam. Simon Tedeschi then performed highlights from Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer and Debussy’s Clair de Lune sensitively and wistfully.
No. 41, Spirited Away: One Summer’s Day by Hisaishi was seductively played by Aura Go, then D.J. Ha astonished us with his superb rendition (playing with one hand), of Chopin’s Etude’, Optus 10, No. 3.
Elena Kats-Chernin and Tamara-Anna Cislowska gave us a medley of Kats-Chernin’s Russian Rag/Butterflying/Eliza Aria. The jaunty melody was quite magical, featuring the sound of bells.
Nat Bartsch played her composition, Brightness in the Hills beautifully. An insistent rhythm was coupled with a lyrical melody. It was a contrast to Andrea Lam’s passionate performance of highlights from Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
Voted number one, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 The Emperor, was played magnificently by Tamara-Anna Cislowska.
Finally, Konstantin Shamray played the third movement of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, his brilliant rendition bringing the fabulous concert to a triumphant conclusion.
mso.com.au
Review by Juliet Charles