Poetic Visions

There was a nice synchronicity on Saturday, as Australian cricket fans were scenting victory in the second Test in Adelaide, while the Melbourne Recital Centre featured concerts by the Benaud Trio with soprano Greta Bradman.   The Trio has loyal audiences, most of whom would know that brothers Lachlan and Ewen Bramble, together with Amir Farid, named their Trio ‘Benaud’ simply because they liked cricket. Similarly, Don Bradman’s granddaughter could hardly escape enthusiasm about her famous connection, however much she might protest, ‘This concert has nothing to do with cricket’.   What the concert was about – as always with the Benauds – was a program that combined the familiar with less-known works, and performances that made the most of the Recital Centre Salon’s superb acoustics. Ewen Bramble’s resonant cello, Lachlan’s sweet but strong violin, and Farid’s always perfectly matched piano were heard to advantage in the opening work, Brahms’ Piano Trio No.3 in C minor Op.101.   The sureness of the opening attack was carried through a long sequence of dotted notes, followed by the strings in unison, with gentle harmony supplied by the piano. (Farid always impresses with his ability to contribute exactly the right piano sound for chamber music, even if that means the grand is at times the softest instrument).   The Brahms has moments of sonorous beauty but also plenty of energy with dance rhythms, syncopation and an exciting climax. The Benauds meet any challenge that comes their way, and perform with relish – as they continued to do when guest soloist Greta Bradman joined them for the second work, the world premiere of Paul Stanhope’s two Lorca songs: Songs of the Seven Maidens and Madrigals.   Beautiful in basic black, Bradman commanded the stage, even in the more intimate space of the Salon. Her voice is powerful without being strained, and her resonant legato was secure above the pizzicato and driving rhythm of the first song. Just as the violin had some interesting effects (Sighing? Bird cries?) so Bradman’s rising and falling tones emphasised words like ‘dying’.   Madrigals began with subdued strings and the piano seeming to explore the score, bringing Bradman’s pure voice to the forefront. Her diction, secure high notes and equal command of the lower register were all noteworthy, but above all was the conveying of emotion. Farid’s reaching inside the piano to achieve a last, very soft note, concluded Stanhope’s work which was given the best possible premiere – and deserves many more performances.   Shostakovich may be a (musical) household name but his Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok is far from being his best-known work. This may be because the composer wrote the series of songs for friends to perform. It also requires a particular voice, with the power to hold its own against a strong accompaniment. Bradman has this, and also impressed with the way she delivered the round, Slavic sound of the words.   The composer wrote sympathetically for both cello and violin, as the first ‘Ophelia’s Song’ was for the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya , wife of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and the next for violinist David Oistrakh. Shostakovich himself was the pianist – meaning that all three members of the Benaud Trio had worthy material to address.   Bradman’s performance showed the emotional as well as the technical range of her voice, as Blok’s poems addressed subjects from gentle memories of love to the horror of an ‘evil tempest’ and the musicians seemed to fuse into a quartet. Maybe it wasn’t exactly cricket, but this was a winning team. Rating: 4 ½ stars out of 5 Poetic Visions Benaud Trio Johannes Brahms – Piano Trio No 3 in C minor, Op 101 Paul Stanhope – New work on poems by Garcia Lorca Dmitry Shostakovich – Seven Romances on poems by Alexander Blok, Op. 127   Melbourne Recital Centre 24 November