There is never any doubt about the exciting connection between Melbourne Chamber Orchestra performances and their audiences, where camaraderie, love for playing excellent chamber music and sharing the highest levels of artistry and instrumental skill is their trademark. MCO’s Artistic Director, Sophie Rowell, welcomed us to “the first sounds of the 2025 season” highlighting the repertoire choice of “forgotten jewels programmed with new works and old favourites”. She connected this Daybreak program with ideas of change and new beginnings, quoting a poetic line “the awakening of eyes long closed”, then introduced Melbourne violist and composer Matt Laing’s newly commissioned work, “This Waking Moment”.
Lights dimmed, bringing a pre-dawn atmosphere to the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, and through the dark stillness low sustained strings emerged, slowly increasing in timbral changes, building and climbing with a sprinkling of descending glissandos. With extreme high pitches, sounds wafted through the air like suspended, filtered streaks of light. Increased variations of string bowing broadened the spectral colours of daybreak. In a fascinating close, tones lightened, rose higher, thinning and dissipating. Rowell invited Matt Laing to join the MCO musicians on stage for extensive applause.
Softer orange light warmed the hall’s wooden panels for the true favourite gem: Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A, featuring the ever popular and passionate soloist David Griffiths. Known for performances that are always a display of outstanding woodwind virtuosity, creative interpretation and admirable memory work, with his new basset clarinet, Griffiths moved and danced with the free spirit of Mozart himself! He is energetic and a risk taker, exploring new expression in “old themes”. Opening the well-loved Andante with a caressing, Romantic style, the MCO accompaniment moved from tenderness to a more definite rhythmic pulse in a gorgeous recapitulation. Rowell urged the strings to mirror Griffiths’ buoyancy, zest and joy of Mozart’s final Allegro movement, which brought lengthy audience applause and callbacks.
Interval had to wait as a fanfare-like orchestral chord suggested a major encore. Above the footfalls of a slow dance pulse, Griffiths began a cadenza like plaint, with soulful bent notes and percussive inflexions bringing us the rare gem: authentic klezmer music. Freely accelerating in the tradition of this exciting instrumental folk music, the clarinet danced with colorful “licks”, scoops and dazzling ornaments to Kovacs’ score “Sholem Aleichem” (Peace be with you), a concert tribute to the King of Klezmer, Giora Feidman. This was indeed a foot- stamping success.
Following interval we were treated to a very gorgeous “forgotten jewel” for strings by Afro-American prize-winning composer, George Walker. His “Lyric For Strings” immersed us in absolute warmth and luxuriant harmony. Almost hymn-like, lovely melodies infiltrated the steady majestic tempo of a broadly textured orchestration. Again, the MCO communicated much love and passion for this expressive string work.
MCO cellist Blair Harris introduced one of Ravel’s most popular masterpieces: Petite symphonie à cordes (after String Quartet in F). He spoke of the affirmation and richness added by the double bass (Emma Sullivan) to Ravel’s variety of colouring, bowings, dynamic pizzicato, tremolo and syncopated rhythms in this fine work. With many favourite moments in this concert, how eerie and special was that well-known phrase when first violin and viola are paired two octaves apart in the popular second movement! Cross rhythms, forthright 5-time folk melodies and thoughts from exotic lands were finely executed, leading to a bold fortissimo close.
Well done MCO for producing another feast of grand musical designs.
Photo credit: Lucien Fischer
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Julie McErlain reviewed “Daybreak”, presented by the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra at the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Elisabeth Murdoch Hall on March 6, 2025.
