Selby and Friends
James O. Fairfax Theatre. NGA. 20th August
2018
Reviewed by Bill Stephens
A packed house greeted Selby and Friends for its
penultimate concert in the James O. Fairfax Theatre at the National Gallery of
Australia. The James O. Fairfax Theatre has been home to the ensemble for some
years, and such has been the popularity of the Selby and Friends Canberra
concerts that its concerts are generally sold out on subscription.
But, as Selby explained in a short talk before the concert,
impending renovations at the National Gallery of Australia has forced the
ensemble to seek a new home for its Canberra concerts and so the 2019 series
will be presented in Llewellyn Hall reconfigured in ‘chamber music mode’. So
while some patrons may mourn the loss of the intimacy of the James O.Fairfax
Theatre and its rather dry acoustic, the move to the larger venue will allow
almost twice as many patrons the opportunity to experience this excellent
series.
The “Tormented Souls” concert consisted of works by
Beethoven, Schumann and Messiaen, all of whom produced memorable compositions
despite daunting personal obstacles. The
ensemble for this concert consisted of Kathryn Selby (Piano), Natalie Chee
(Violin), Julian Smiles (Cello) and clarinetist Lloyd Van’t Hoff who joined the
trio for the Messiaen.
The program commenced with Beethoven’s “Ten Variations
on Muller’s Song “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu”, popularly known as the “Kakadu
Variations”. This work, with its a
solemn adagio beginning giving way to increasingly ornate variations on
Muller’s theme, provided a pleasing introduction to the virtuosity of the trio.
A surprisingly rarely heard trio by Robert Schumann
followed. Surprising, because this gloriously romantic “Piano Trio No. 3 in G.
minor, Op.110” with its swirling, dark opening and exquisite central duet for
violin and cello, contains all the hallmarks that have made Schumann
compositions so popular. The impeccable phrasing and articulation of the trio,
allowed the listener to discover and appreciate the many musical highlights
contained in this lovely work.
The major work for the evening was Messiaen’s “Quatuor
pur la fin du temps” (Quartet for the end of Time). Written in 1941, when Messiaen was a prisoner
of war, the work received its premiere performance in a German prison camp, in
pouring rain before an audience of 400 prisoners.
Written in eight sections, at a time when Messiaen had
discarded the idea of rhythm, the work is complex and demanding both for the
musicians and the audience. In one section, “Furious Dance for Seven Trumpets”
the four instruments played in unison to represent sounds like gongs and
trumpets. A section for solo clarinet,
“Abyss of the Birds” was marvelously interpreted by Lloyd Van’t Hoff who held
the audience spellbound as he negotiated a series a complex variations. But it was perhaps the final violin solo that
will remain in the minds of those who
experienced it when the audience held its collective breath as the final notes
faded to the point where Natalie Chee appeared to be bowing silently as the
sound disappeared. It formed a dramatic and memorable ending to a remarkable
concert.
The final concert in the 2018 series by Selby and
Friends, entitled, “Four Seasons”, will be presented in the James O. Fairfax
Theatre on October 15th.
This review also appears in Australian Arts Review. www.artsreview.com.au
