In her warm welcome, Musica Viva Australia’s CEO, Anne Frankenberg, referred to this concert as “Music Makes Memories”, a celebration of eighty years of the organisation’s recital series, inspiring youth program Strike A Chord, masterclasses and concerts in schools.
Swedish-Norwegian violinist, Johan Dalene, performed with a remarkable 1725 “Duke of Cambridge” Stradivarius, and has, at the age of 24, achieved remarkable international acclaim. Young, sincere, modest and elegant, Dalene has an extraordinary tone quality, his distinctive “voice” gaining recognition as Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year. Matched with brilliant Australian pianist, Jennifer Marten-Smith, for this very special recital, this finely balanced virtuosic partnership gave us an unforgettable and exquisite recital.
From the exciting opening bars of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata in G major, Op. 30 No. 3, we were struck by the extreme pristine clarity of Dalene’s tonal colour, which was so clean and pure, consistently natural and devoid of overstatement on highest notes. He led with clarity and heartfelt musicality, fully sympatico with a most sensitive and equally balanced piano accompaniment. Even in the third movement Allegro vivace, with both instruments flying together in joyful, exciting motion, Dalene’s top string playing and high sustained notes held the purest tone colour throughout every rising melodic phrase.
Dalene introduced Tilted Scales (2025) by Australian composer Jack Frerer as a work that explores the balance between the two instruments (or the lack of), where an abundance of harmonic effects in the upper register could sound like birds and “be a bit chaotic”. In the frequently changing ideas and short punctuations, there were surprising contrasting moments of legato atonality versus sharp staccatos. In this short but well-crafted work, commissioned by Musica Viva Australia for this premier hearing, high glissandos swept up the top string against low clusters on the piano, gently exploiting tension and high sonorities and the metaphor of airy streams of the aurora borealis – those northern lights.
Dalene then spoke warmly to the audience, sharing his pride and affection for his Scandinavian Homeland, with its rugged mountains, fjords, islands and cold mountain regions. Dalene is very fond of Tchaikovsky, particularly his Violin Concerto, and so fine-tuned a detailed and very heartfelt interpretation of much of his music. His choice of Souvenir d’un lieu cher (Memory of a Beloved Place) gave us brooding, nostalgic and dark harmonies, most colourful in the very soulful depths of the Stradivarius’ lowest string. We first held our breath in Meditation, absorbing Dalene’s detailed colour in his finely streamed eerie upper register. The second “souvenir”, Scherzo, was a lyrical, flowing perpetual motion, a new exciting story, like a spirited, rippling barcarolle. The third, Melodie, was like a song without words for the violin, with Dalene adding warm vibrato to the pure melodic expression of love for one’s beloved place.
Following interval, we experienced more of the poetry and storytelling of Nordic culture in Grieg’s Sonata No. 2 in G major. With a calm and modest stage presence, passionate allegro sections demonstrated both sincere intimate expression and fortissimo flair. As always, Darlene’s exemplary pitch and smooth, sweet lyrical tone in the high register continued to impress. Imitative low drones and the folk-dance rhythms of the Swedish mazurka and polska added rich traditional colour, with both instruments sparkling together in an acceleration to a fiery close.
Sadly, the last orchestral score Lili Boulanger worked on in her short life of only 25 years was D’un matin de printemps (A Spring Morning) (1917). Exuberant and positively light-hearted parts flowed, trills were breezy and we could feel the slightly unpredictable wonders of nature and the fresh tastes of new life. Staccato piano clusters added much brightness on the horizon, and the audience response proved this was a stimulating and very well-liked performance.
Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928 – 2016), one of Finland’s most well-known composers, wrote Nocturne for violin and piano in 1993. This was a magical, atmospheric piece with pulsating high piano cluster chords accompanying fragments of silvery melodic phrases. In the form of a gentle prelude, time stood still through this peaceful and calming piano chordal framework, with the slow wandering violin melody, rising and descending through a cold climate, thoughtful, dreamy, and closing with harmony yet without a sense of finality. Very, very beautiful.
Ravel’s Tzigane is a most passionate, vibrant and exotic work, allowing a soloist to seduce us with sophisticated improvisation and free expression. Closing this very full recital program with such a work offered a fresh hearing to a piece made so popular with orchestral colourings. A “stripped back” accompaniment beautifully maintained the aura of Nordic fjords, a harsh mountainous and natural world, where storytelling and folk-dance traditions are passed down through generations. Tonight, a shimmering piano accompaniment suggested harp, bells, strings and percussion, and the duo received a standing ovation after they accelerated to the top of the highest mountain together!
In Nordic tradition, the perfect “encore” is a Lullaby, so Dalene chose a short sweet serenade, a very cool Berceuse, by Sibelius. Traditionally played with plucked lap-harp accompaniment, this short time-less folk lullaby closed a very perfect recital. The last note played on the violin was a very high, sustained pitch – a distant northern shining star.
Photo credit: Cameron Jamieson
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Julie McErlain reviewed “Northern Lights”, presented by Musica Viva Australia at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, on June 10, 2025.
