The Australian Youth Orchestra photograph via AYO.
Having only just returned from its 22nd International Tour with concerts in Europe and China, the Australian Youth Orchestra presented two Australian performances as its ‘victory lap’ in Melbourne and Sydney. Under the direction of Viennese conductor Manfred Honeck and honoured by distinguished French pianist Hélène Grimaud, the orchestra exceeded expectations in Hamer Hall before an enthusiastic audience of many proud mums and dads and other fans in a concert comprising Carl Vine’s exuberant Celebrare Celeberrime (1993), Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major (1929-31) and Mahler’s First Symphony (1893).
Vine’s composition is five minutes of pure frisson that well suited the occasion. Out of a sweeping vertiginous rumination comes, bit by bit, a Latin extravaganza that well suited the feeling of elation we felt for the return of the AYO. It showed the orchestra in fine form with good tuning, clear phrasing and an enthusiastic sense of the work’s ‘vibe’. Reminding me of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, it was a perfect opening to the concert.
Hélène Grimaud was an elegant presence from the start of Ravel’s concerto. She perfectly understood the sinewy and bluesy feel of the opening movement (Allegramente), though I wished her timing with the orchestra had been more exact. This formed a frustration for the rest of the Concerto: an attractive fluidity in some sections was not matched by exactitude when required. All fanfare and flourish, the first movement delighted. The slow movement (Adagio assai), a dreamy waltz with a tragic heart, smooth as silk, was delightfully conveyed. Particular mention needs to be made of cor anglais player Madison Hallworth whose solo delivered against the piano’s treble descant was deeply moving. The third movement (Presto) was once again all energy and verve but this time a grotesquery sets in which could have been more clearly articulated and enjoyed. Tetsuya Lawson (trumpet) was alert, precise and exhilarating throughout.
As a general comment, Mahler’s First Symphony was a most valiant effort which deserves celebration. My criticisms are small but fundamental, for they relate to a concern that the work deserved a more mature understanding of its emotionally unsettled core that could hardly be expected from an orchestra under the age of 25. This does not mean greater force; on the contrary, at times a profound gentleness and sense of loss is required. There were no glaring deficits throughout, other than a tendency to favour elated passages without fully comprehending the softer regions of melancholic rhetoric and through patient reflection the realisation of deep despair. Certainly the finale was all psychodrama with ominous recapturing of the birdlife material from the first movement. Tegan LeBrun and Katie Thomas were extraordinary and excellent timpanists.
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Australian Youth Orchestra
Manfred Honeck, conductor
Hélène Grimaud, piano
Hamer Hall, Melbourne Arts Centre
Presented by Australian Youth Orchestra
Saturday 6 August 2016
