On Ridley Oval at UWA, a full house was introduced to Perth Symphony Orchestra. Their introductory program was wisely made up largely of popular works. It was clever of them, too, to engage much-loved soprano Sara Macliver as a soloist, and Associate Professor Alan Lourens of the UWA music department proved a fine compere. But the star of the evening was undoubtedly the gifted conductor, Jessica Gethin.
Gethin conducts like there’s no tomorrow. Like a well-trained dancer, she moves her arms not from the shoulder, but from the spine. Her movements are graceful and refined, with no waste of energy, and she seems to relate to every player as an individual. She drew some truly elegant playing from what must have been only a few weeks ago a put-together company of performers, turning them into the makings of a fine orchestra.
The program got off to a rousing start with Walton’s Crown Imperial march. Contrasting but no less rousing was the gallop from the William Tell overture. Both works gave the horns a chance to shine, and the Rossini also featured nice clean staccato bowing from the strings.
The next bracket of items featured Macliver. Her rendition of Haydn’s ‘Al tuo seno fortunate’ provided an excellent introduction to her expressive and well-schooled technique, then taking Strauss’s popular ‘Laughing Song’ at a slightly slower tempo than it is sometimes performed gave us the opportunity to appreciate her fine breath control as well as her impressive coloratura bravura. The orchestra’s sensitive contribution to Macliver’s offering demonstrated their potential as part of theatrical performances.
Next the orchestra gave us Elgar’s Enigma Variation #9: Nimrod, followed by another soloist, this time the orchestra’s own concert master, Paul Wright, recently appointed Winthrop Professor of Music at UWA. He dedicated his performance of the andante from Barber’s Violin Concerto to talented young violinist Richard Pollett, who played it in the grand final of the ABC Young Performers Award in 2010. Tragically, this gifted young performer was killed in a road accident only a few weeks ago. The final fading sostenuto of Wright’s rendering was a fitting end to a deeply moving performance. I wonder if anyone else had tears in their eyes? I suspect so.
Ian Grandage’s fanfare All that Glisters brought a change of pace and then a sound- track medley from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies sent us out for interval with a spring in our steps.
Another fanfare greeted us after interval: Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. It was spoilt by being over-amplified and poorly mixed. In fact, this was something of a problem throughout the evening. The players were seated under what looked like part of an aircraft hangar which, far from serving as a sound shell, was at least partly responsible, one suspects, for distorting the acoustics. At times the brass and strings were made to sound downright discordant, and for much of the performance the woodwind section could not make its presence heard.
Fortunately, the Elgar Cello Concerto fared better. It was played in a workmanlike and thoughtful fashion by the conductor’s sister, the award-winning Sophie Curtis. Keeping it in the family, after another soundtrack contribution – this time the theme from the TV series Merlin – paterfamilias Ray Walker came on stage to accompany Sara Macliver on guitar.
This bracket had a mixed reception: Macliver is a fine operatic singer but her voice is not suited to the folk song style and her rendition of Sting’s Fields of Gold could not compete with that of the late, great Eva Cassidy, who will forever, perhaps, provide a yardstick for all who attempt this song. Neither was the next number, I Could Have Danced All Night, suited to Macliver’s range and vibrato. Strangely, she fared much better with I Got Rhythm, in which she put some jazz divas to shame.
In John Williams’ Star Wars theme, the strings and brass were again over-amped and under-mixed but the final offering, Tchaikovsky’s beloved 1812 Overture, redeemed the technicians. There appeared to be at least half a dozen of them. Perhaps it was a case of too many cooks? No cannon being available, Alan Lourens stepped into the breach with a cap pistol, which ended the show on a joyful note and sent us out smiling.
The orchestra already has several more gigs lined up. Your next chance to hear them will be at the Perth Sailing Festival on December 17 at Fremantle.
Rating: Musicians – 4.5 stars. Technicians – 2.5
North Street Music presents
Symphony by the Bay
Perth Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Jessica Gethin
Soloists: Sarah Macliver, Paul Wright, Sophie Curtis and Ray Walker
Ridley Oval, University of Western Australia
November 13
