“What a difference a week can make”, remarked Benjamin Northey, Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor – Learning and Engagement of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and conductor of the final concert in this year’s MSO series at the Sydney Myer Music. Ever fickle, Melbourne’s weather for last Saturday’s concert was 8 degrees on stage; this Saturday it was 33 degrees. Neither deterred the crowds, with numbers surging to more than 10,000 for “Symphonic Showcase”.
Last Saturday was an extra special occasion as the MSO’s Chief Conductor mounted the Music Bowl podium for the first time with what proved to be an wonderfully energising performance of music by Dvořák, Gershwin and Ravel. Encouraged by Maestro Jaime Martín, audience participation was embraced, and, despite the wind and the rain, the concert became an opportunity for many Melburnians to get to know just how warm and engaging our Chief Conductor can be.
For this reviewer, Saturday evening became a musical treat in four distinct parts. The first was hearing the Flagship Melbourne Youth Orchestra’s 6pm “curtain-raiser”. By this time, an army of picnic basket carriers had already staked their claim on choice spots on the lawns as MYO’s Music Director and Conductor, Brett Kelly, guided the young players in a spirited account of Dvořák’s Carnival Overture. In keeping with the theme of youth, we next heard four excerpts from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, which provided an excellent showcase for the players’ skills: the haughty pomp of the Dance of the Knights (complete with saxophone solo); a dark-toned Tomb scene; upper strings scintillatingly deft in Juliet as a Young Girl, and almost a scream of anguish against the drama of weighty brass for The Death of Tybalt, with those chilling 15 orchestral stabs. Music from Legend of the Guardians by Australian composer David Hirschfelder and excerpts from Jurassic Park by John Williams rounded out a program featuring impressive playing.
It seems incredible that not long ago there was a funding crisis that put the viability of Melbourne Youth Orchestras at risk. As Brett Kelly reminded us, MYO is “an ecosystem of music education” that has nurtured thousands of young instrumentalists over the years. This concert was a culmination of a Summer Music Camp where 850 students were tutored by expert teachers, including members of the MSO. There is no doubt that this organisation is vital to our musical culture and its healthy future.
The second treat was the first half of the MSO concert. One of the youngest members of the MSO, violinist Tiffany Chen had the honour of reading Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s Welcome to Country accompanied by a string quartet of Principals players. This work, Long Time Living Here, was premiered on this stage five years ago and now forms a regular introduction to MSO concerts.
For those who had enjoyed the Slavonic dance music of Dvořák’s Overture and Prokofiev’s ballet music, and especially those who had come straight from the Greek Festival in Lonsdale Street, the opening work was a perfect fit. The MSO’s 2025 Cybec Young Composer in Residence, Klearhos Murphy’s new piece, “Leventikos”, was inspired by the Greek folk-dancing tradition. He has written, “I aimed to capture not only the energy of the leventikos, but also its cultural significance, a testimony to Greece’s rich and diverse musical heritage”. An approximately 8-minute work, it encompasses a surprisingly wide range of imaginatively conceived orchestral effects. A quiet string tremolando builds to introduce extended melismatic passages for solo trumpet, soon joined by a big orchestral crescendo that subsides as a highly rhythmic 9/8 plus 7/8 Leventikos metre is firmly established. The clarinet too is featured in more melismatic passages until percussion takes over and leads into big band ebullience harking back to the brass band playing of the area. The piece ends with a flute/piccolo trill and a decisive almost Rite of Spring ending. It is an exciting work given an equally exciting performance much appreciated by an enthusiastic audience. The award-winning composer himself proved to be articulate and charming when interviewed by the evening’s presenter Alice Keith after the performance.
As winner of the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, another young performer, Reuben Tsang, was well equipped to wow the crowd with a brilliant performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (1901-1902). Beginning with a build up of dramatic tolling chords this work encompasses the lyricism and deep romanticism that has made it one of the most popular of all concertos. Even those in the audience unfamiliar with classical music might have recognised some of those gorgeous melodies. It would have taken a very discerning ear to find fault with any part of Tsang’s performance, which conveyed a wide range of emotional colour from passionate to rhapsodic. The MSO were superb, with featured solos from the horn and winds players being particularly fine. Listeners sitting or lying on the grass and looking at the stars must have been transported to another world.
Unfortunately, the heat overcame my young companion, resulting in a retreat to the car during the interval. But not before we heard from what must be the world’s most delightful pianist, Andrea Lam, as we exited. Introducing the next Classic 100 (this time of favourite works for piano), she played a few excerpts from some of her favourites, beginning with Bach, Grieg and Beethoven, and ending with Philip Glass, inviting the audience to guess the composer of some.
Treat number three was hearing the first item after interval on the radio as we drove home. Thanks to ABC Classic FM, many people were able enjoy the luxury of airconditioning (or at least a fan) while listening to the finest of music making. As the second premiere on the program, Red Time, by the MSO’s first Cybec First Nations Composer in Residence, James Henry, kicked a few goals of its own. A musical realisation of the final five minutes of a grand final football match, the composer successfully evoked the ebb and flow of the game’s tension with fast-paced momentum and rhythmic drive involving most orchestral players most of the time. A drum roll and we were off, with a passage of relief coming as the winning goal was kicked two minutes before the siren followed by continued striving and ultimate jubilation. James Henry’s musical idiom was reminiscent of what we had heard from the film composers in the MYO concert. He had been inspired by the thought of a large crowd, so, in the following interview, Alice Keith suggested that the MCG would be a good place to celebrate the upcoming 100th Anniversary of the free concerts – with one hundred thousand listeners. Many would see the loss of the Sidney Myer Music Bowl atmosphere as a great shame though.
Rushing inside to the computer screen for treat number 4, I joined listeners from all over the world for Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra (1943),livestreamed on the MSO’s YouTube channel. And what an Orchestral Showcase this work is; it not only displays the degree of orchestral cohesion but also virtuosity of solo players and sections of instruments. Beginning with a subdued Andante non troppo and ending with a Presto finale for the fifth movement, Bartók’s accessible work is also a wonderful way to introduce a younger audience to the orchestral instruments and their colours.
While these concerts are tremendously enjoyable and an essential part of Melbourne’s cultural life, the fact remains that all of the music was filtered through some kind of electronic device: microphones, loudspeakers, radios and YouTube playing devices. Personally, I can’t wait for the Ryman Healthcare Season Opening Gala with Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony at Hamer Hall this Thursday, February 27.
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Heather Leviston reviewed “Symphonic Showcase”, presented by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on February 22, plus the concert given by Melbourne Youth Orchestra beforehand.
