Art Song Canberra
Sarahlouise Owens,
Soprano
Natalia Tkachenko,
Piano
Wesley Music Centre
23 June
Reviewed by Len Power
Music history is dominated by male composers – Beethoven,
Wagner, Mozart and so on. It was rare
for women to have the opportunity to publish music they had composed right up
to the 20th Century. In her
concert, Sarahlouise Owens celebrates some of those women who managed the
seemingly impossible. It was an
education and a delight from start to finish.
Soprano, Sarahlouise Owens, has returned to Canberra after
an extensive career in Europe. She is a
graduate of the ANU School of Music and Royal Northern College of Music Manchester. She is much in demand for performances in
Canberra.
Accompanist on piano, Natalia Tkachenko, graduated with
honours from the Moscow State Institute Of Music. Since arriving in Canberra in 2003, she has
performed as accompanist for the ANU School of Music and many major
artists. She has also been recognized
for her outstanding work as a piano teacher.
The pair presented a large and wide-ranging program of songs
by female composers from the 18th through to the 21st
Century. There were some familiar names
such as the Boulanger sisters - Lili and Nadia, Cécile Chaminade, Pauline
Viardot, Clara Schumann and Canberra’s Sally Greenaway. The wealth of fine music presented of the
lesser known composers was astonishing.
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| Sarahlouise Owens |
Sarahlouise Owens was in fine voice right from the beginning
with a rousing performance of ‘The Bandits’ by Maria Malibran. She has a voice of great power and beauty and
an ability to provide a depth of character to a song as well. Amongst the highlights of the first half of
the program were a finely controlled performance of ‘The Idea’ by Chaminade, a
bright and joyful ‘Morning Serenade’ by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, a richly soothing
‘American Lullaby’ by Gladys Rich and an intensely dramatic ‘The Knife’ by
Nadia Boulanger.
After interval, she gave a fine performance of a group of
songs by Clara Schumann. ‘If You Love
Beauty’ was the absolute highlight of the concert, sung to perfection. It was closely followed by a haunting ‘Lorelei’. Equally at home with modern works, she gave a
heart-felt performance of Sally Greenaway’s mood piece, ‘Look To This Day’. The concert concluded with an amusing
performance of ‘There Are Fairies At The Bottom Of Our Garden’ by Liza Lehmann.
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| Natalia Tkachenko |
The accompaniment by Natalia Tkachenko was excellent
throughout. Both women deserved and received
a huge round of applause at the end of this memorable Art Song Canberra
concert.
Photos by Peter Hislop
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on the Artsound FM 92.7 ‘In the Foyer’ program on Mondays
and Wednesdays at 3.30pm.