Toby Thatcher, conductor. Image via Sydney Symphony.
Mozart aficionados may well have been disappointed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra‘s Mad About Mozart concert. It was clearly something of a misnomer for a program that saw Wolfgang Amadeus sandwiched between two unrelated modern works.
The program opened with Schaduw (Shadow), a work for string quartet, string orchestra, and percussion by the Dutch composer Theo Verbey. The ever-popular Goldner String Quartet took centre-stage as the ensemble soloist for this Australian premiere performance. Schaduw was written in 2001, so it has taken a while to come to Australian audiences. The SSO’s own Assistant Conductor Toby Thatcher led from the front, even though Verbey’s original directions place the conductor behind the Quartet.
Schaduw was a difficult piece, challenging for both players and audience alike. Goldner played precisely, as always, but there was a joylessness to the performance from the quartet and orchestra that went beyond the inevitable hesitancy of playing a less familiar work. To say the applause was adequate would be polite.
By contrast, the final work of the evening, The Rave and the Nightingale by Australian composer Matthew Hindson, was well received by the Recital Hall audience. Billed as ‘a fantasy for string quartet and string orchestra based on the first movement of Schubert’s String Quartet no. 15’ this is a mash-up of musical styles from the classical to the contemporary. Seemingly disparate influences find their way into these sixteen minutes, including a passage of foot-stamping that is probably meaningful but felt irrelevant.
Goldner took the lead impressively and encouraged the SSO to embrace the piece with enthusiasm. Hindson was in the Hall for the performance, and leapt to the stage at the end for a well-deserved cheer.
The undoubted star of the show was Mozart’s Symphony no.28 in C Major, a work written when he was just 17 or 18 years-old. It is the last of his Salzburg compositions and there are clear Italianate influences throughout.
This is a glorious symphony, full of big festive, ceremonial phrases and displaying a mature understanding of balance and pace. The strings were magnificently paired with the other sections of the orchestra, finding lightness and grace in the phrasing, and the oboes, horns, trumpets and percussion added a sense of occasion and gravitas. The third movement, Menuetto Allegretto, is especially soulful. The final movement, Presto, has been described as ‘scurrying’, a good descriptor for an exciting finale, even if it is a little unflattering.
It’s always a delight to see the Goldner String Quartet who perform with such insouciant confidence and mastery. A special mention should also be made of conductor Toby Thatcher and concertmaster Sun Yi who were both impressive and together drew out the best of the orchestra.
Rating: 3 1/2 Stars out of 5
Mad About Mozart
Sydney Symphony Orchestra with Goldner String Quartet
PROGRAM
VERBEY Shadow
MOZART Symphony No.28
HINDSON The Rave and the Nightingale
Artists
Toby Thatcher conductor
Goldner String Quartet
City Recital Hall Sydney
One performance only, 6 October 2016
