The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra had a full house for its 2024 Opening Gala, Jaime conducts The Planets, and Hamer Hall was buzzing well before the concert began.
Those who came early for the pre-concert talk had a “heads up” that the program would open with Cheetham Fraillon’s new Welcome to Country, commissioned by the MSO. The Welcome is set for voice and orchestra. It starts quietly and builds gradually, culminating in a warm and lyrical rendition of the words of welcome. In this performance the Welcome was sung by the composer herself.
In the century since its inauspicious London premiere, Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 has become an immensely popular work, generating many legendary performances. Yet from the arresting crackle of the cello’s opening chord, it was clear that Alban Gerhardt’s performance would stand out. What made it so remarkable? Gerhardt displayed not only the expected technical mastery, but also a vivid musical imagination that resonated with Maestro Martín and the MSO. There are many dramatic, lyrical and tender moments in this concerto, and it was exciting to witness the unselfconscious enjoyment the performers evidently felt and shared with every note that was played.
This performance drew out the interplay between the solo and orchestral parts, with Gerhardt making frequent eye contact with the conductor and other players and miming some passages from their parts. The last, explosive chord in the fourth movement met with an equally explosive round of applause.
The audience clearly wanted more, and Gerhardt returned to the stage to play a Spanish piece, Sardana, from Gaspar Cassado’s solo cello suite, in honour of Martín’s four-year re-engagement with the MSO. Gerhardt exploited to the full the many contrasts in this short work, conjuring up a dance that was alternately playful, forceful and lyrical, but always full of life.
The MSO commissioned Cheetham Fraillon to write Earth to complement The Planets suite (from which Earth is notably absent) in the MSO’s 2024 program. In a recent article on this work for Limelight, Cheetham Fraillon wrote that in 2023, the experience of writing Earth broke her “compositional silence”. Having felt “mute” in the aftermath of The Voice to Parliament referendum, she decided to include a voice in her score for Earth.
Musically, Cheetham Fraillon said at the pre-concert talk, she was inspired by Richard Strauss’ setting of John Henry Mackay’s poem, Morgen! (Tomorrow!). She said she was particularly struck by the image of a “sonnenatmenden Erde” (sun-breathing Earth), and her own lyrics refer to a “ shining world / Sun breathing Earth / glist’ning in space”.
This evocative orchestral work, and Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s performance of the compelling vocal line, received warm applause, with Maestro Martín also clearly moved by the performance.
When the hundred plus members of the “reinforced” MSO took their seats for The Planets, Hamer Hall’s stage look small. Scored for double strength in most sections, an organ, two harps and celeste and chorus, Holst had a rich sonic palette at his disposal.
The piece was inspired, according to Benjamin Pesetky’s program notes, by astrology more than astronomy. Holst was interested in pseudoscience, “fascinated by the possibility that human personalities might be affected by the celestial bodies”. Each movement relates to a planet, and each planet is endowed with a distinctive quality or purpose. While some, like Jupiter, have the same names as classical deities, Holst did not see a connection.
Seeing a live performance of the entire work, after hearing so many excerpts in soundtracks and public events was a reminder of the extent to which this work has infiltrated popular culture. In this performance the MSO maintained consistently tight ensemble playing, while the solos were elegant and assured.
The final movement, Neptune, the Mystic has a transcendental quality. “The most human sound in the entire piece is also the most unearthly, with the last bar repeated until the sound is lost in the distance.” This was a magical moment. The ethereal tones of the MSO chorus floated through the air; the chorus members, seated up in the gods, were effectively “invisible” to most of the audience.
The audience loved this work, applauding after each movement and rapturously at the end. Martin was a galvanising force throughout the evening and was clearly touched by the warm reception he received from the audience and the players.
Photo credit: Laura Manariti
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Sue Kaufmann reviewed “Jaime conducts The Planets: A concert for humanity”, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Ryman Healthcare Season Opening Gala, at Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall, on March 21, 2024.
