Host and presenter Nicholas Bochner welcomed us to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers’ Program, aptly describing it as a wonderful celebration of the huge range of things the MSO does, significantly, starting the MSO schedule each New Year with fresh, new works. Sponsored by the Cybec Foundation, this innovative project allows the MSO to commission four short orchestral works by young leading Australian composers, with more than 70 composers having mentors and MSO musicians available to showcase their compositions in an annual highly applauded public concert. Conductor Carlo Antonioli introduced each of the four young composers, inviting them to share their thoughts on how their ideas first formed, to becoming truly inspired further by a wide range of themes that were then “turned into a world of sounds”.
From Sydney, Christine Pan shared her interest in theatre and storytelling. Her opening work Sunburnt Lichen was inspired by the small organisms of nature that grow by magic into the flora and fauna of an enchanting Alaskan wilderness. Opening with a crisp, joyful short flute motif, pizzicato strings entered as clearly defined sections of short themes, some hints of folk melodies and varied couplings of instruments produced a gentle harmonic blend as ideas “grew”. A surprising change into a brief waltz section gave an energetic and robust growth of orchestral colour. A return to the opening theme on flute and oboe closed the work with some quirkiness and an optimistic musical response to the idea that from little things big things do magically grow.
Klearhos Murphy described his music Nipsis – meaning watchfulness and mindfulness – as drawing on theological and philosophical concepts from Western art, Byzantine chant and Greek folk traditions. With the MSO represented by a team of 26 musicians, all orchestral colours were fully represented and well balanced. Solo cellist Elina Faskhi, was located front and centre as a principal voice, superbly imitating flowing vocal solos and plaintiff emotive, gentle wails. Moments of calm, contemplation and questioning were felt through traditional modal and liturgical open harmonies – most colourful with shimmering vibraphone and strings adding sustained church organ-like chords. A contrasting section added a sense of gentle confusion and cacophony, with improvisatory-like contemporary freedom and distinct Middle Eastern folk melodic flavours. Regularly, the cello asserted its voice, at times with long shimmering and sustained cries, gently piercing and most poignant. I found this piece to be a richly coloured and effective musical incarnation.
With her interest in composition and performance art, Katia Geha was deeply affected and inspired by the reality of violence and death against women globally, in particular the murder, dismembering and disposal of a young woman (Shraddha Walkar) in India in 2022. Katia calls her work – and they leave me in the dark – experimental, and believes in relating true life events to art. She was deeply shocked by the alienation of body parts, so we were prepared for a strong and moving piece. The orchestra was indeed fragmented at the beginning, with short individual solo tones and glissandos separated and spaced by irregular silences. Scattered muted sound effects, bowed cymbals and raucous brass interjections were added to agitated tremolo strings and broken shapes on piccolo and harp with poignant oboe tones. Strings were lightly bowed as they became weaker and breathless, and suggestions of wind and sand came from percussion with bowed cymbals, hands and fingernails perhaps sweeping the timpani heads while orchestra members rustled plastic garbage bags. Each musician gradually ceased to play, music diminished, silence increased, as each performer quietly tore up their piece of music and put the fragments in the garbage bags at their feet. The percussionist ceremoniously tore his sheet in half, then all stood silently in a dramatic final united gesture for a full minute’s silence.
Martin Cheney proudly described his work, Penchant, as initially being inspired as a theatre piece, but the work grew with its own harmonic development and became his first work for a symphony orchestra. Opening with high strings and colorful wind instruments, the piece established pastoral ambience, before growing slowly and broadly with more fully textured orchestral energy. Trumpet, harp and vibraphone added shiny rhythmic punctuation, and themes became more panoramic, flowing like surging waves. A more energetic and active episode brought galloping strings and percussive sounds into the picture, with mounted toms, woodblock and timpani increasing rhythmic interest. Short contrasting sections surprisingly took us to a close, as an episode of slow resolution suddenly then led to increased excitement and energy for a few bars, before also suddenly changing the scene to a gentle conclusion. The two ideas of “restlessness and contentment” and ambiguity, “forward motion and timelessness” were perhaps musically surprising for audiences for their very first hearing.
How wonderful to hear audience members going home and discussing their favourite works. This Cybec and MSO collaboration is a true gift for aspiring young composers and a truly delightful new musical experience for Melbourne audiences.
Photo credit: Laura Pemberton
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Julie McErlain reviewed Cybec 21st Century Australain Composers’ Showcase Concert Showcase, presented and performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the Iwaki Auditorium on January 30, 2024.
