Arts

Music Review: ASO Masters 6 – Richard Tognetti

Concertgoers familiar with Charles Ives’ Three Places in New England seem to fall into two groups; those who like it, and those who don’t. The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s Masters 6 with Violinist and Director Richard Tognetti certainly saw a shift in camps for some.

Concert_detail_banners_758x310px8Concertgoers familiar with Charles Ives’ Three Places in New England seem to fall into two groups; those who like it, and those who don’t. The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s Masters 6 with Violinist and Director Richard Tognetti certainly saw a shift in camps for some.

The introduction given by Tognetti, almost apologetic, came with humour, and something that felt a little like a disclaimer. However, the American musical landscape as imagined by Ives was extraordinary.

The shifting aural perspectives Ives’ music is known for were inescapable at this live performance; enhanced by the splendid acoustics of the Adelaide Town Hall. Tognetti was the spoon full of sugar that not only helped the dissonance go down, but also very cleverly changed the way the piece was perceived. The triptych of orchestral painting gave a cracking kick-start to the evening, because love it or loathe it; it evoked plenty of strong feeling. Tognetti offered, “You may not like it, you may not get it; let’s hope you’ll never forget it.” I certainly did, I certainly might and I certainly won’t.

Craftily positioned (perhaps to quell the ire of the Ives naysayers), the first performance by the ASO of Michael Tippett’s Fantasia concertante on a Theme of Corelli required some restaging, with tutti strings repositioned as a double orchestra and, as Tippett intended, in the concerto grosso tradition, three soloists took front-centre stage; Tognetti playing a 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin, Natsuko Yoshimoto playing a 1650 Nicolo Amati violin, and Julian Thompson playing a 1721 Giuseppe Guarneri filius Andreæ cello. The soloist’s exquisite virtuosity matched Tognetti’s dual-role of also directing the beautiful piece, commissioned for the 1853 Edinburgh Festival.

It may be pedestrian to describe Beethoven’s post-interval Symphony No. 6 in F, Op 68 “Pastoral” as ‘pleasant’, but after the action-packed first half, that is exactly how it commenced. One of the all-time greats of classical music was composed in 1802 when Beethoven was almost deaf, as his thanksgiving to God for nature’s gifts. The vibrant symphonic portrayals throughout five movements depicted a landscape of charm, tranquillity, boisterousness, thunderstorm and finally, after a fabulous concert, a very welcome peace.

History repeats with another performance Saturday night at 6.30pm. Details here.

Reviewed by Gordon Forester
@GordonForester

Venue: Adelaide Town Hall
Season: 01 & 02 August 2014
Duration: 100 minutes
Tickets: $20 – $109

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